How big is "big"? Can we get an actual number?
VERY big. I have already planned 50+ harem members. I know that that's a lot but its also a very long story. One of the main themes of my story is love and with the size of the harem, I want to make a statement that love does not become cheaper the more people you love. Of course, I also want to explore other kinds of love and for that reason, the story will have many supporting characters who also have important relationships with the protagonist.
Since the individuality of the secondary characters is important to your story, have you filled out character sheets for each of them? For example
Tanks for the suggestion but I don't really like using character sheets. The problem I have has little to do with creating characters and more with how to handle a lot of love interests or a big cast of characters in general. Because the cast of my novel is so big I can't focus on them all at the same time. My two biggest problems are, how many characters should I focus on one scene and how long can I focus on one character before I should switch to another one.
Edited by lunaks on Apr 24th 2020 at 7:12:57 AM
Characters don't only need to be distinct people, they need to have distinct roles in the story, such that removing any one of them would alter the story and the story's overall outcome. Determining how many characters is appropriate for a scene isn't a matter of finding a number, it's a matter of determining which characters would allow the scene to perform its intended function to the overarching plot and the involved characters' own stories. Characters don't just need big, overarching entire-story goals and roles- they need to have a goal and part to play driving and informing their actions for every single scene, whether it's "I want to con this piece of information out of this other person" or "I'm a stabilizing influence for this other character and want to have fun".
Some scenes call for just two characters and adding more would be a distraction, while others call for a lot of moving parts that can't be spared, and only you will know how many will be needed per scene when you go to plan them out (or sit down to write, if that's more your jam).
As for switching focus on characters, again, that's up to the needs of the story, and whatever you're able to make work and feel natural to the reader. My first instinct would be to switch focus at some natural stopping point in that character's story following a development or cliffhanger, then switch to a character whose story would tie into or be some kind of natural progression from the last. I feel like you might want to stagger when the subplots start and end so you don't have too many of them running at once and to help against Four Lines, All Waiting.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
One approach is to set up a situation involving the protag, and then introduce other characters in order to complicate the situation, and to illustrate how they end up interacting with each other. A deceptive person, an aggressive person, and an intelligent person enter encounter each other while looking for the Mcguffin. How do these three play off each other? What if you start with two and add a third? I don't know how many people in one scene is practical for you—it depends on your story and your writing style, but it might be an interesting challenge to have, say, three sub-plots going on simultaneously in the same scene. The other approach is to allow what two or three people do in one scene affect the situation that a different set of characters have to deal with in a subsequent scene. You don't even have to tell the readers that this is what is going on. This is what GRR Martin does in A Song of Ice and Fire. Finally, you might approach it like a reality TV show: 20 contestants all competing for the same goal—they form alliances, betray each other, and engage in exciting challenges in their quest to accomplish their goal.
Hope that helps.
I'm trying to write a story where the protagonist for many reasons ends up with a very big harem. I don't want the harem members to be just eye-candy, I want them to be real characters with their own personality, motivation, and backstories. I'm trying to figure out how I can give them all enough screen time and keep them important. It doesn't help that I have a huge supporting cast and that I also want to give them time to shine. So does anyone know how to handle a huge harem who are all married to the protagonist? What are the pitfalls of stories with big harems or stories with loads and loads of characters and how can I prevent them?