Do you need a lot of characters?

SaveitForaRainyDay · Jun 2, 2014

I know this might sound like a stupid question, but do you need a lot of characters for a murder mystery?

For instance, I have around 8 characters (comprising of 5 MCs, 2 red herrings and one of them being the murderer.) But do you think it will be too obvious who the murderer is with this small amount of characters?

I had another red herring, but I had to delete them due to a high word count. Do you think I should add them back in, and instead erase from other parts of my story? Or are two red herrings enough?

Also, I know people say you shouldn't add characters who only make one appearance and are never heard from again, but is this always a no-go? For example, I have one character who tells the MCs something, and it couldn't be told by any of the existing characters. I also have a character who one of the MCs greets once, but is never heard from again. I get that I can probably delete the greeting character, but I guess it kind of relates to my main question.

alleycat · Jun 2, 2014

Sometimes a murder mystery can be about how the sleuth manages to catch the murderer (sometimes that is a thriller story, but not always). In those case very few characters (suspects) are needed.

You have five main characters. Could some of these also be suspects?

Another idea is to hint at some other rational reasons for the murder. For example only, in some stories the murderer turns out to be the victim himself. He planned the "murder" in order to hurt someone else. I'm not suggesting you use that, but you could use some similar ideas.

Really though, it wouldn't be that hard or use that much word count, to have other suspects.

SaveitForaRainyDay · Jun 2, 2014

alleycat said:
Sometimes a murder mystery can be about how the sleuth manages to catch the murderer (sometimes that is a thriller story, but not always). In those case very few characters (suspects) are needed.

You have five main characters. Could some of these also be suspects?

Another idea is to hint at some other rational reasons for the murder. For example only, in some stories the murderer turns out to be the victim himself. He planned the "murder" in order to hurt someone else. I'm not suggesting you use that, but you could use some similar ideas.

Really though, it wouldn't be that hard or use that much word count, to have other suspects.

Yeah, I think my story already fits into the murderer being the victim. Basically there are two murders, one happened years ago, but they're both linked. Some of my MCs are involved in the one that happened years ago, so I guess that could count as them being red herrings. Still not sure if I need more characters though.

sheadakota · Jun 2, 2014

I find it difficult to keep track of a large cast. Until my most recent WIP, I have only ever worked with 4 major MCs. That to me is doable.
More than that and it starts to get complicated and long. The WIP I'm working on has 11 and a dog. Yikes. I'm having trouble giving them all stage time and resolving issues in a timely manor- It does help that I intend to write a sequal in which some will make an appearance- But I'm afraid some are slated for death in this book. No, not the dog-

onesecondglance · Jun 2, 2014

This is a tricky one to answer without having read your MS, because a lot of it is in the execution, but I'd say as a broad rule that a "major" character is one whom without them a "major" plot point doesn't work. Of course, this depends on how you define "major", hence this being a highly subjective question.

Try this: write a one-line summary of each chapter of your book. This is good practice for writing a synopsis, anyway, and if you're an outliner you're more than likely to already have something similar. Assume that these lines describe the major plot points. Which characters are necessary to make these plot points work? Those are your "main" characters.

E.g.

Ch 1: Bob discovers he has inherited a large sum of money.
Ch 2: Anne tries to persuade Bob to invest the money in her company but he decides to give it to charity.
Ch 3: Anne decides to convince Bob to marry her so she can get the money and asks her friend Sarah to help out.
Ch 4: Sarah steals some drugs from her pharmacist boyfriend Ted. On an evening out, Sarah spikes Bob's drink with the drugs and Anne takes him home to convince him they spent the night together.

Exclude people who could be described by their profession alone, i.e. those who exist to help or hinder the characters in a scene.

Ch 5: Anne bribes a council official to grant her a marriage licence.

The council official isn't a "main" character, even though they might have a name, dialogue, and actions in the book, because they really only serve to facilitate the plot action for the true main character, Anne.

Having done that, make sure that your main characters get enough pagetime. If a major plot point hinges on them being around, a one-shot appearance is (probably) going to feel cheap or insubstantial. If you're unsure, get a beta reader and ask them afterwards if they can name all the main characters. If they miss out names, that probably means they don't appear important in the story - and if they really should be important, you need to do something.

Giving characters sufficient time in the story inevitably adds length. So if you're already at the length you want to be, then consider merging or cutting characters. To reuse the example above, if Sarah's boyfriend (Ted) doesn't play a bigger part later on, consider a way for her to get the drugs without involving him. He becomes a background player with less pagetime and fewer mentions, leaving more room for other people.

On the other hand, if he does become more important, he might need a bigger introduction than currently there. E.g. if this happens:

Ch 26: Ted tells Bob that he thinks Anne is going to murder him soon after they get married so she can get his money, but Bob accuses him of lying. They fight, and, in the struggle, Bob kills Ted.

... then you'd need to make sure Ted is introduced properly, rather than just facilitating Sarah getting the drugs in Ch 4.

Speaking just about the numbers you've given, eight named characters total doesn't sound unreasonable, but six main ones (the five you list plus the murderer = six) sounds like quite a lot.

Hope this helps...

SaveitForaRainyDay · Jun 2, 2014

sheadakota said:
I find it difficult to keep track of a large cast. Until my most recent WIP, I have only ever worked with 4 major MCs. That to me is doable.
More than that and it starts to get complicated and long. The WIP I'm working on has 11 and a dog. Yikes. I'm having trouble giving them all stage time and resolving issues in a timely manor- It does help that I intend to write a sequal in which some will make an appearance- But I'm afraid some are slated for death in this book. No, not the dog-

Guessing the dog is the detective in this one

That would actually be an interesting concept.

Seriously, I wouldn't be able to handle a cast that big. That's why I'd probably struggle if I had to add more characters/red herrings. I think my plot is very complicated as it is, especially with the overlap between the two murders.

onesecondglance said:
This is a tricky one to answer without having read your MS, because a lot of it is in the execution, but I'd say as a broad rule that a "major" character is one whom without them a "major" plot point doesn't work. Of course, this depends on how you define "major", hence this being a highly subjective question.

Try this: write a one-line summary of each chapter of your book. This is good practice for writing a synopsis, anyway, and if you're an outliner you're more than likely to already have something similar. Assume that these lines describe the major plot points. Which characters are necessary to make these plot points work? Those are your "main" characters.

E.g.

Exclude people who could be described by their profession alone, i.e. those who exist to help or hinder the characters in a scene.

The council official isn't a "main" character, even though they might have a name, dialogue, and actions in the book, because they really only serve to facilitate the plot action for the true main character, Anne.

Having done that, make sure that your main characters get enough pagetime. If a major plot point hinges on them being around, a one-shot appearance is (probably) going to feel cheap or insubstantial. If you're unsure, get a beta reader and ask them afterwards if they can name all the main characters. If they miss out names, that probably means they don't appear important in the story - and if they really should be important, you need to do something.

Giving characters sufficient time in the story inevitably adds length. So if you're already at the length you want to be, then consider merging or cutting characters. To reuse the example above, if Sarah's boyfriend (Ted) doesn't play a bigger part later on, consider a way for her to get the drugs without involving him. He becomes a background player with less pagetime and fewer mentions, leaving more room for other people.

On the other hand, if he does become more important, he might need a bigger introduction than currently there. E.g. if this happens:

... then you'd need to make sure Ted is introduced properly, rather than just facilitating Sarah getting the drugs in Ch 4.

Speaking just about the numbers you've given, eight characters doesn't sound unreasonable, but six main ones (the five you list plus the murderer = six) sounds like quite a lot.

Hope this helps...

Yes, this helps thanks!

I think I already know who my MCs are, though, because they each have backstories, etc, and they are featured throughout, so I don't have a problem with my MCs. It's just knowing if I need more side characters/red herrings.

I relate especially to the drug dealer part of that, because the one-time appearance character in my story that tells the characters things is the gun dealer. So I suppose I could find another way for them to find the guns instead of including him.

It's also especially hard because I need to cut my novel down too while ensuring I have enough characters. I'm trying to market as a YA, but I'm currently at 100,000 words, so I don't think I'd be able add anything substantial, anyway.

gp101 · Jul 29, 2014

Large casts aren't necessarily a problem. How you intro them and weave your story can make it easy or tough on the reader. A detective story will almost always involve a lot of interviews of suspects or friends/family of the victim. If you spread them out and limit how many charcters are involved in a particular scene it's not too tough to follow. That said, if you continuously introduce new characters then revert back to one of the earlier ones later, yeah, it can get confusing.

There is no magic number of characters you can introduce without confusing the reader. But if you can differentiate them by a trait, an abnormaity, a habit, etc, it makes it easier on the reader to remember who you're referring to later in your novel. And don't overlook the importance of character names. The name of a foreigner that is not common in everyday English-speaking society will stand out and will be remembered. As will a strange nickname---but you can't give every character a foreign-sounding name or cute nickname without more relevant info as they will get all muddled together in the reader's head. Also consider the spelling of characters' names and the number of syllables in their names. If you have five major characters and three of them have monosyllabic names beginning with the letter F then a reader will have a tough time differentiating between Frank, Fred, and Fitz. Vary the syllables in their names and the first letter of their names to give the reader a better chance of differentiating characters on name alone--then fill in the character traits. How you make them talk and act will only help cement them as different in the eye of the reader.

jeseymour · Jul 29, 2014

gp101 said:
Also consider the spelling of characters' names and the number of syllables in their names. If you have five major characters and three of them have monosyllabic names beginning with the letter F then a reader will have a tough time differentiating between Frank, Fred, and Fitz. Vary the syllables in their names and the first letter of their names to give the reader a better chance of differentiating characters on name alone--then fill in the character traits. How you make them talk and act will only help cement them as different in the eye of the reader.

I keep track of characters with a character list. Had to do this because I was constantly finding myself with three characters whose names began with T. All in the same novel. Keeping track of them helps me name them with new letters. I also make a note of what they look like, if it matters. They can't all be blond.

Do you need a lot of characters?

SaveitForaRainyDay

alleycat

Still around

SaveitForaRainyDay

sheadakota

part of the human equation

onesecondglance

pretending to be awake

SaveitForaRainyDay

gp101

jeseymour