Meredith Mansfield, Author

Another thing I’ve noticed as I’ve written more novels, (finishing up the first draft of my fifth, now), is that I have fewer important characters.

My first novel, THE SHAMAN’S CURSE didn’t quite have a cast of thousands.  Not quite.  But there are a lot of characters and a fair few of them get at least a scene in their very own point of view.  Now part of this is probably inevitable.  There are six separate cultures in this world that interact to a greater or lesser extent.  And the main character ends up having something to do with all but one of them.  Now, if there are only three important characters from each culture (and some have more), that’s already eighteen important characters.  It’s bad enough that I had to draw up a genealogical chart for the main character’s family relationships when I started finding readers for the sequel, THE IGNORED PROPHECY. 

Not all of those characters have a significant part in THE IGNORED PROPHECY.  Some of the ones that were very important in the SHAMAN’S CURSE are barely supporting characters in THE IGNORED PROPHECY.  It makes me start to wonder if I need to try to reduce and combine characters in the eventual revision/rewrite of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE.

THE IGNORED PROPHECY has fewer important characters, but still quite a few because, well, because they were already there from THE SHAMAN’S CURSE

BLOOD WILL TELL really only has five important characters and about as many more supporting characters.  It also takes place over a much shorter period of time.  (THE SHAMAN’S CURSE covers eight years and even THE IGNORED PROPHECY covers almost three years.  BLOOD WILL TELL takes place in a little over six months.)

DREAMER’S ROSE also has only five important characters.  Come to think of it, they’re almost the only named characters in the story.  Not quite, but close.

MAGE STORM again has five important characters.  (I’m starting to see a pattern, here.)

Fewer important characters certainly makes for a tighter story.  And it’s a lot easier to write the synopsis.