How many main characters...?

LOL!

Hmm. There is no real answer to that b/c it all depends on your novel. If you need 3 POV that's fine. Personally, 3 is the number I mostly use b/c it works out well for me and it gives the story just enough perspective and it leaves interpretation to the reader.

However, if you need more than that--but I would NEVER go past 5. It gets to the point where stickynotes are needed...-- but that is fine too. You just have to be careful to not confuze characters or their personalities.

In my story this year, I plan on using around 3. I plan on switching from my MC who is a 15yr girl, to a 13yr boy, and to a 14yr old girl. But I may include another before it's over. Like I said, everything depends on your story: how much you have to tell, what is going on to who, and how it forwards the plot.

'07..... Butterfly Dreams
'08...... Her Kingdom of Nothing

Well, I personally have seven important characters around, and I think it's not too much. It does, however, require care in my opinion because if you switch PoV too often, then the reader looses track. I'm also doing a fantasy novel, which I think makes it easier to have multiple MCs around.

Also, I think some characters work out better in the storyline without too big an omniscient presence. I'm thinking of those who don't talk so much right now, those who keep their thoughts to themselves. Showing them can ruin the effect, y'know?

Anyway, I'm drifting out of the main topic. My point was, it does depend a lot on your story and how you want to tell it. I'm a girl of many characters, I do admit, but keeping only a few is also quite doable and good.

I usually have two or three main characters, but then there are another dozen major characters (family members, best friends, enemies), and another twenty or so important characters (the minor characters, people who might only show up once or twice and do something interesting), and however many placeholders as I want (nameless people who are there, part of the throng).

Counting everyone, including bad guy's minions and household servants, I've got close to 80 who will appear in the story, not even countng the random crowds. But most will be placeholders. (Of two dozen mercenaries, I've only named three, for example. And I don't know how many of the servants will do anything except run for their lives from the mercenaries.)

If it makes you feel any better, I've only seen one writer with too many main characters, and that was spread out over a dozen lengthy novels. Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time." By the time it got to book five, I started to loose track of people. But usually you have to have a major epic series before you start to have too many.

"Be nice to the imaginary people. Don't kill too many." -- e-mail from my youngest sister, June 23, 2008

3 or less for a basic story. Up to 6 for something more complicated, but gradually weed them out. For example, one of my favorite books, Desperation, had 8 main characters but came down to around 3 really important ones by the end of the book.

-----

Bloodcider's Blag

Thanks for all your help. I'm probably going with three now, but one is a villian, and won't appear for a while yet. But it won't switch P.O.V's, I'm having an ominescent third person narrator. (I hope I spelled that right!)

3 sounds like a great number. How does omniscient 3rd person work?

I've read books with two main characters or even one. I suppose zero might be too few!

An on the too many count - I reckon if you start to go past 3, it probably only works if it's a very long book - otherwise your main characters aren't really that main.

Tom

I think therefore I am pretentious.

All you really _need_ is one character, although you could in theory write a story with no characters, it would be kind of difficult. ;) And how many is too many would be when you get to the point that your readers can no longer keep them straight or keep track of them. Anywhere in between is just fine and dandy.

Title: Breaking Light
Goal: Finishing this novel. (Probably be 100k-120k at this rate.)
Sanity level: Do you even need to ask?

As many as your novel needs. Last year I had 6 and all in first person POV. It was amazingly fun actually. This year I only have three, but that's all my novel wants. If you feel like you really have too many, see if it's possible to fuse some storylines or characters together, so you can have all of the quirks and twists you want, but you have fewer things to keep track of in end. But I would only do that if you really think you have too many.

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing noise they make as they pass by"
-Douglas Adams
My blog

If you have a third person narrator, you still need POV, by the way.