This week’s writing tip is: Don’t Have Too Many Characters

Too many characters can get confusing for readers, especially if they have similar sounding names, or if they have vague descriptions.

If a reader starts to get confused about who is who, they might put down the book… better to keep it simple.

But how many characters is too many?

The answer to that is, if you don’t need them for the story – if they are nothing more than padding – leave them out.

If your protagonist needs a sibling, give them one. If they only need one, don’t give them several. If you do, you will slow down the plot and cause confusion. Both bad things!

So stick to the characters you need, and get rid of the rest. 🙂

Trust that helps,

Janet