How many Characters does your Story need?

Short stories, up to a 100 pages : 4 Characters

• Why 4?
• 4 Characters are enough to develop consistent Relationships.
• A limited amount of characters allows you to focus on developing intercharacter Dynamics.
• 4 Goals are enough to develop for a Short Story.
• You can choose to dedicate 25 pages to each Character.
• Or you can Interlace their Stories & let the goals overlap.

• Atmosphere & Exploration
• Why are the Characters visiting this Environment?
• How is the Atmosphere?
• What are the dominant Colors?
• How do they Relate to this Environment?
• How is the Exploration organized?
• What’s the Role of each Character?
• What’s the Goal of each Character in this Environment?
• What are they looking for?
• Do they all have a spirit of Discovery?
• Do they all want to be here?
• Which kind of Conflicts can the context create?

• Conflicts
• Why would the Characters oppose each other?
• Are their Oppositions in their Behaviors?
• What were their initial Relationships?
• How did they evolve?
• Is there a Clear Antagonist?
• Is there a Clear Protagonist?
• How would their Alignments shifts?
• Why would their Relationships Change?
• What would cause this Change?
• Would their be a shift in their Goals?

• Dialogues
• 4 Behavior types are enough to create Dynamic Dialogues.
• The whole Dynamism is based on the diversity of Reactions.
• How will a Character react in a due Situation?
  • In a Comfortable situation?
  • In a Calm situation?
  • In an Investigation situation?
  • In a Conflictual situation?
  • Is a Crisis?
• What’s the Point of View of Each Character on the Situation?
• How do they differ?
• How do they converge?
• On which topic do they agree?
• How can you use opposition to Rhythm the Story?
• How do the Characters ambitions Pace it?
• How Specific are they when they oppose each other?
• How Brief are they?
• How Relentless are they?

Medium to Long stories, 200 to 500 pages : 6 to 12 Characters

• Why 6?
• It allows you to Start fast.
• And to plan a continuity if you’re willing to write a sequel.
• Or even a Saga.
• From there it’s Easily Scalable.
• 12, 18 & 24 are all multiple of 6.
• Re-evaluate the Characters relationships.
• Determine which Characters is incomplete.
• Then introduce new Characters to assist your Existing Characters.
• Let them help each other grow.

• Diversity & Consistency
• Increasing the number of Characters will develop the potential to create new Relationships.
• Increasing the diversity of Dialogues.
  • Of Conflicts.
  • Of Locations visited.
  • Of Settings & Perceptions of these Settings.
• The Plethora of elements may make you think that the whole will tend to become more Inconsistent.
• Where the opposite is more likely.
• A Diversity of element will allow the Story & the World to develop their own Consistency.

• Start with the End
• If you’re not sure where to begin a Story, Start with the End.
• Defining the End of a Story will give you a clear direction.
• This sense of Clarity will ease your Writing.
• And will make the Story easier to Read.

• 2ndary Characters & Expanding the Story
• Do you need more characters?
• Which role will they play?
• What support will they provide?
• To whom?
• What dissension will they cause?
• Who are they most likely to develop relationships with?
• Who do they share more affinities with?
• Who are the Expandable Characters?
• The Characters you can get rid of?
• The Characters you should get rid of?
• How will their Disappearance will affect the Story?
• How will their Disappearance will affect other Characters?
• Who will be the most affected?

• The Making of a Sequel
• What are the Main elements of the Original Story?
• What are the Main elements of the Sequel?
• How do they Compare?
• How do you Compare them?
• How should the Story Evolve?
• How should the Characters Evolve?
• How should the World Evolve?
• Which new Themes should be treated?
• Which new Settings should be visited?
• Which new Characters should be introduced?

If you want to know more about how to Write a book in a Month.

Series – Trilogies, Sagas & Campaigns

• Start with Short Stories.
• Should you start with a Trilogy? Probably Not.
• It’s easier to Begin with multiple unrelated short stories.
• It will help you to choose your favorite genres & settings.
• It will also allow you to develop a sense of Consistency.

• Creating a Small World
• If you want to keep cohesion between these short stories create a custom world, preferable city-sized or town-sized.
• Anything bigger will be a pain to manage, especially if you are looking for advanced realism.
• Writing needs to be easy & fluid.
• You don’t want to be blocked by the economy, ecology & physics of your world.
• These will develop progressively as you create Characters & Settings.
• You’ll get more interested by them & will want to make them more detailed.

• Which Genre for a Series?
• The Most popular genre is Action Adventure.
• Why Action Adventure is the most Popular Genre?
• It can cover all the others.
  • And in most cases it will.
  • You often find elements of Comedy, Drama & Horror in Action Adventure.
• It is Accessible.
  • For you & the Public.
• It’s Flexible.
  • As it is long you can develop the Consistency & the Coherence in the long run.
• It’s the easiest genre to create Immersion.
  • Not necessarily the best.
  • Especially not to create intense emotions.

• Which Setting for a Series?
• The most popular settings are:
  • High Fantasy,
  • Traditional Science-Fiction,
  • Western-style,
  • Contemporary/Modern Era.
• Any of these Setting can easily fit a Series.
• You can also let the Setting & the Genre evolve as the Series Unfolds.
• Creating this way a deep sense of Progression.

Archetypes

• Why 12? Why 18? Why More?
• For the same Reason as the rest.
  • Scalability.
• Do you need to create new Relationships?
• Do you need to make the Relationships evolve faster?
• Do you need to change the Pacing of the Dialogues?
• Which new Character can affect the Pace of the Story?
• Do you need more Conflicts?
• Do you need fewer Conflicts?
• Which Kind of Conflicts does the Story need?
• Who will be responsible of these Conflicts?
• Do you need to change the Function of a Character?
• Do you need to change the Alignment of a Character?
• Do you need to change her Role?
• Do you need to change her Class?

If you want to know more about how to Start a Series.