#character numbers

Hi there!

That really depends on your preference. I’ve read novels with only two characters and I’ve read novels with close to thirty. I’ve done a little research to see what most writers say and found a few key points to keep in mind:

-Necessity: Do your characters hold importance to the story that cannot easily be obtained in another way? And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie features a total of 13 characters. Each character had a specific purpose and was essential to the plot. Lord of the Flies features a very large cast, but only a handful of characters actually have presence while the rest are designated background characters (referred to in the book as the “littluns”) who are given roles, but not depth or individuality.

-Role: Not every character has to be the most important. Yes, every secondary character thinks that they’re the protagonist, and it’s possible to have multiple protagonists. But that doesn’t mean that every character is one. It’s okay to have a character that, maybe you really like but can’t get to work in the setting, pop up once or twice in the book as a minor character. 

-Memorability: Personally, I can’t remember the majority of the characters in books like Eragon or The Crucible. There seemed to be just to many, and the plot only revolved around a handful. Yet in books like the Harry Potter series, they would bring up a character that I hadn’t seen in a while and I would remember them pretty well. I didn’t need their entire family history or an epic entrance to remember them, they just needed to make an impact on me.

-Uniqueness: Sometimes the best characters are the ones that show up once. One of my favorites (although he shows up in multiple episodes) is “The Boulder” from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Whether it was the humorous way he talked, or the fact that there were secret underground Earth bending fight rings, he always stuck out to me. Just as it is important to remember the character’s name, you need to remember why they’re important. In this particular case, The Boulder showed the audience and even the protagonist just how powerful and important the character Toph was to their mission. 

The bottom line is that the amount of characters in a novel depend on what you feel is needed. With proper care and consideration put into why each character is in your story, you can put as many or as few as you need to. 

Hope this helps! If you need more help, feel free to message us again!

What happens when numbers come to life? South African 3D illustrator Naydine Bosman decided to find out, turning digits into a colorful menagerie of geometric creatures. Her series, Geometric Animal Numbers, transforms the numbers 1 through 10 into bold, blocky little characters bursting with charm. Each number becomes its own mini-animal, part sculpture, part toy, part typography experiment.…

Jesus Christ TEN QUESTIONS

hang on I need to get into the right mood for this

okay let’s go

1. How does your character think of their father? What do they hate and love about him? What influence - literal or imagined - did the father have?

WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF QUESTION IS THIS ARE YOU MOCKING ME?  IMAGINE THE FIRST PERSON YOU EVER SEE AFTER OPENING YOUR EYES FOR THE FIRST TIME IS AN ALIEN ABOUT TO GUT YOU, SO YOU KILL HIM AND ALL HIS PALS, AND THEN YOU GET “RESCUED” BY A BUNCH OF GUYS WHO DRILL MECHANIZED ANGRY. INTO. YOUR. FUCKING. HEAD.

More seriously, Nuceria’s influence strongly shaped Angron in all the wrong ways.  It left him emotionally and mentally unstable with critical holes in human interation outside of the fighting pits.  And of course, mechanized angry.

3. Brothers, sisters? Who do they like? Why? What do they despise about their siblings?

I could be wrong but I don’t think there’s actually a single primarch outside Horus that Angron likes, and that’s mostly down to Horus’ natural charisma.  Everyone can go fuck off.  Angron is secretly envious of most of his siblings - even Curze - and that comes out in a constant boiling hate.

10. Is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted?

Cuttingly intelligent, intellectual in the sense that all the primarchs have superhuman intellects (Corax came out of the pod already comprehending advanced quantum physics, for example), but Angron has little desire for intellectual pursuit - that’s not what he is.  That’s not what he does.  

11. How do they see themselves: as smart, as intelligent, uneducated?

Smart, but uneducated - but he doesn’t care because that doesn’t matter.  He’s smart enough to do what he does.  At least, that’s what he tells himself - deep down he’s a little envious of the stuff his brothers have accomplished (see above) and that gets him even more angry and determined to be himself.  Yeah, Angron has a lot of self-loathing.

21. What are your character’s manners like? What is their type of hero? Whom do they hate?

22. Who are their friends? Lovers? ‘Type’ or ‘ideal’ partner?

Angron has some measure of respect for those he feels are ‘pure’ warriors - like himself, his World Eaters, Astartes who recognize that they are weapons and nothing more.  However he’s still contemptuous of his own legion because they remind him of the loss of his old comrades, and he’s contemptuous of other marines for the same reason, and also because they’re not World Eaters....yeah.

23. What do they want from a partner? What do they think and feel of sex?

Nope.

25. What are their hobbies and interests?

“I make art, until everyone’s dead.”

40. How is their sense of humor? Do they have one?

motherfucker I will hurt you

10. Is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted?

Horus is witty, intelligent, and urbane.  He is sly, cunning, and wise.  He’s had the breadth of the Imperium’s knowledge placed at his feet and he’s devoured the better part of it.

11. How do they see themselves: as smart, as intelligent, uneducated?

The smartest motherfucker in the room.  It would be arrogant if it weren’t true.

14. Were they involved at school? Sports? Clubs? Debate? Were they unconnected?

Horus was found early enough that he received most of his education direct from the Big E and Malcador, ‘school’ didn’t really figure into it.

16. What does your character do for a living? How do they see their profession? What do they like about it? Dislike?

“I’ll tell you a thing,” said Horus.

38. Are they basically negative when facing new things? Suspicious? Hostile? Scared? Enthusiastic?

Guarded, but open to new things.  As primarch of the Luna Wolves, as Warmaster, he has to be open and flexible in order to adapt and roll with situations as they develop.

41. Is your character aware of who they are? Strengths? Weaknesses? Idiosyncrasies? Capable of self-irony?

To some degree, yes.  Horus recognizes his strengths and weaknesses, but he has a tendency to try and power through things that don’t play to his strengths in the hopes that his strengths will prove sufficient to carry the day.  Horus being Horus, they usually are.

42. What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

3. Brothers, sisters? Who do they like? Why? What do they despise about their siblings?

23. What do they want from a partner? What do they think and feel of sex?

Yiff yiff.

Okay with that joke out of the way, Russ enjoys sex, but he’s not looking for a full-time partner.  He’s got too much work to do - and one of the things that can really suck about being an Astartes is how much travel the job entails.

43. Does your character have any secrets? If so, are they holding them back?