Dealing with large groups of characters

I'm sketching out a story involving 4 couples. Any advice on how to keep that all under control in the readers mind?

I feel like it's too much to ask the reader to get to know 8 people by name, especially given that it's just for a short while. But also, the characteristics, or at least the differences amongst the couples seems to matter.

Why not give some of them ethnic names?

Or maybe match names of the couples together that are sort of similar. For instance, "Tom and Kim" or "Javier and Valencia"

ect...

If it matters who is in which couple, I'd go with Alice and Bob, Carol and Dave, Eve and Frank, Gillian and Herbert.

For reasons which will make sense to a very small percentage of your readers, Eve should be an untrustworthy and manipulative liar, typically passive aggressive.

shivadancer said:

I'm sketching out a story involving 4 couples. Any advice on how to keep that all under control in the readers mind?

I feel like it's too much to ask the reader to get to know 8 people by name, especially given that it's just for a short while. But also, the characteristics, or at least the differences amongst the couples seems to matter.

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If every character is that important to the story, give each character something unique, a tattoo, a speech impediment, a limp, a sexual preference, a nickname, a scar, a sad story, and/or a reputation.

I've had stories with lots of characters and I took the time to develop each character so that the reader can identify with and see each on in their minds eye. Think about it. I'm sure you know more than 8 people just as I'm sure if you met them all on the street at the same time, you'd know each one, remember their names and remember something about them.

Do the same for your readers. Make it easier for them to remember who it is you're writing about. Then, when you're writing about one character, you can remind them about their unique feature.

Embarrassed by it, John covered his scar with his hand while Ted was proud of his kangaroo tattoo. See?

>> This message is hidden because SusanJillParker is on your ignore list.

Whatever. Anyway, it's hard to deal with many couples in a short story. As suggested, give them ethnic links: Hans und Greta, Roberto y Carolina, Billy Bob an' Daisy May, etc. (Okay, I exaggerated. So sue me.) The alphabetic thing is a bit clumsy IMHO: Alice & Alex, Bob & Betty, Carl & Carol, etc. Yeah, sure. But you might get away with it if the fucking is distracting enough.

I don't think I've written anything short with that many established couples as an ensemble -- three has been about my limit. I do commonly refresh the linkages such as mentioning "she glanced at her husband Ferdé". Hopefully this avoids confusion.

Hmmm....four couples, eight people...

Unless they are all entwined on a huge king size bed, naked and all talking to each other, I really don't see a problem.

My current epic has over 100 characters to keep track of. In past stories I have a hard core group of 12 plus peripheral character (30 - 40).

Too keep them straight in my mine, I use character sheets or bios. For the reader, I use their names a lot. First, Last along with title, so the reader know who is talking and what actions they are taking.

Here is a snippet of the bio sheet I used for my novel Walker Brigade...

Walker Brigade
Character Biographies​

First Squad, Second Platoon, Company E, First Battalion of the Sixty-Forth Armored Brigade (Walker Brigade) of the Third Mechanized Infantry Division of the First Stellar Army Corp of the Federated Union of Planets.

64AR/3MD/ICorp - Call designation: Echo Squad

Echo Squad

Echo Squad is the premiere squad of the Walker Brigade but has been on detached duty for two years, only occasionally working with other squads of its Platoon, let alone its Company, Battalion or Brigade. Echo squad has been, for the past two years, working at the whim of the Squad Leaders father, who happens to be a Fleet Rear Admiral heading up DevSecCom the Naval intelligence organization based on Pacifica.

Echo Squad is made up of three fire teams of four walkers each as follows.

Team One...................Team Two...................................Team Three
Max Jones..................Jolene Akers................................Becky Latham

Ellen J Johnson............Fletcher Wilcox/Simon Eckles.........Nadia Stevens*
Sam Westerboc...........Marg Epstein-Phillips*...................Chris Shonner
Charles Wickers..........Michelle Santos-Tomas..................Ernie Barr

*Assigned from other Walker squads

Call Sign: ECHO ONE

Full Name: Maximillian Q. Jones Jr.
Alternate Names: Max, Chief

Rank: Chief Warrant Officer

Bio: Squad Leader of Echo Squad – Team One Leader

Max is a military brat whose father is a Fleet Rear Admiral in charge of the DevSecCom unit on Pacifica.

He has made it on his own without his fathers help but has been given opportunities by his father in order to advance his career.

Although Max doesn't appreciate the opportunities he does carry out any mission to the best of his abilities.

Max believes in honor above all else. He believes in what he is doing and the Federated Union of Planets. He is proud to be a member of the Walker Brigade. He is a master tactician and strategist and should be at least four grades higher but does not want to give up his squad or take on the responsibilities of the promotion.

Max was born on Pacifica but was moved around to many different planets due to his father’s duty assignments.


Call Sign: ECHO TWO

Full Name: Becky Latham
Alternate Names: Latham, Second, Sec

Rank: Squad Second

Bio: Echo Squad Second – Team Three Leader

Currently a Squad Second Becky Latham should be leading her own squad but due to insubordination charges she has been held back.

She hit a superior officer after he tried to force her to have sex with him while on R&R leave on Pacifica.

She was born on Pacifica and has worked in the past as a model on the TriV. Little else is known about her prior to joining the Walker Brigade. She is an excellent Walker mechanic and can fine tune a Walker to optimum performance standards.

Becky is also a hyper-space broadcaster - she broadcasts her wants and desires to others when awake in hyperspace. She can also broadcast those thoughts when people are under the influence of alcohol.

There a at least 50 more for this novel.

Good luck.

HandsInTheDark said:

If it matters who is in which couple, I'd go with Alice and Bob, Carol and Dave, Eve and Frank, Gillian and Herbert.

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I'd go with Allen and Bob, Carl and Dave, Evan and Frank, Gilbert and Herbert.

Name

shivadancer said:

I'm sketching out a story involving 4 couples. Any advice on how to keep that all under control in the readers mind?

I feel like it's too much to ask the reader to get to know 8 people by name, especially given that it's just for a short while. But also, the characteristics, or at least the differences amongst the couples seems to matter.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are having the problem with the number of people in your story. If you them sorted in your mind then it should be easy for readers to see them and put them together.
Perhaps you should try something like couples have same initials. Adam & Ava, Barnie & Betty, Charles & Cindy, Denise & Dianne.

IMHO the alphabetical-sequence and -pairing schemes are cheesy pr0n maneuvers, fitting right in with silicone boobs and horse cocks. I would only use them in satires and snarky strokers. Parents and children with all the same first initials are even worse. I can envisage an Incest satire where all the R's fuck each other, and all the T's, and the A's... It's Scooby-Doo chase time again, folks.

I *did* use the Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice scheme in one story -- but Bob & Carol were Roberto y Carolina of proud old Spanish Californio heritage. IMHO ethnic-nationality linkages are a bit more suitable than alphabetizing.

But I mainly try to make each character distinct and to show their connections. And don't try to specify exactly who is where in the 8-way daisychain.

One key element I see missing here, is interaction between the couples. How do they know each other? Who secretly has been doing it together? Who fantasizes and flirts? Which couples are having problems? etc. It's bringing all 8 people into focus as one element of the story and not 8 separate entities. Readers like when everything fits together nicely with some drama and scandal interlaced with the sex and the story.

I have comets and meteors fall on them.

Thank you all for the useful responses. We'll see what the muse devises.

I did a scene with twelve characters. All speaking and interacting then two of them having sex in front of the others.

Third person is a must, I feel first would sound ridiculous, too many "I watched so and so..."

Key is to decide who is going to get the most to the least play during the scene and reference them accordingly, it would be hard to feature all 8(in your case) equally. Plus in reality four couples going at it would result in some 'stoppage' to watch and enjoy what the others are doing therefore letting you off the hook to keep tabs on everyone 24/7

I suggest that you read a few "Group Sex" category stories.
Try "The accidental nudist cabin"; it's damned good.

Handley_Page said:

I suggest that you read a few "Group Sex" category stories.
Try "The accidental nudist cabin"; it's damned good.

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That's what I was going to suggest before I got to lazy to look it up. But with only three intertwined couples IIRC. I can't think of four-couple stories right now.

My advice is take the time to develop each character out of story. Get to know each one. Know what they look like, their fashion sense, their kinks and how they talk. No two people (except for twins) look, act, dress, or talk alike. Make your characters come alive by making them real in your mind before you write them.

On names, avoid having two characters with names that are similar. It can be hard for the reader to distinguish between June and Jan or between Ricky and Randy.

Four couples can be daunting at first but if you take the time to flesh out your characters in your own mind then it becomes easier.

You don't specify the length of your story. I can learn eight people over a novel, yeah. In a short story, no. Unless you're the greatest writer on the planet, but then what are you doing writing swingers fiction on Literotica?

Hypoxia said:

IMHO the alphabetical-sequence and -pairing schemes are cheesy pr0n maneuvers, fitting right in with silicone boobs and horse cocks. I would only use them in satires and snarky strokers. Parents and children with all the same first initials are even worse. I can envisage an Incest satire where all the R's fuck each other, and all the T's, and the A's... It's Scooby-Doo chase time again, folks.
.

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Have to agree, but seemed a way for the writer to keep them straight himself. It seemed he needed the help as I got the impression the story was not yet started. He can always find & replace names when finished.
I put this same initial names in stories as movies or tv shows where all the actors look the same, sharing enough features that they must be together on screen to see differences. They all mumble the crappy dialogue, I can only go by seeing them and never catch any names or voice differences. Yes, perving is best when hard of hearing.

Hypoxia said:

IMHO the alphabetical-sequence and -pairing schemes are cheesy pr0n maneuvers...

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GforGraham said:

Have to agree, but seemed a way for the writer to keep them straight himself. It seemed he needed the help as I got the impression the story was not yet started. He can always find & replace names when finished.

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Yeah, I've done a few name changes. But the OP asked:


The reader's mind, not the writer's mind. I keep them straight in my own mind by living with them as personalities. Then I tray to translate my familiarity into usable language. That's why I tend toward characteristics linkages like ethnicity-nationality, where 'ethnic' names and somewhat-stereotypical appearances keep the players vivid.

And even though I also tend to over-populate my stories, I don't have too many players active simultaneously. I've read that most humans can't keep more than three to six new ideas in their head at any one time. If I exceed three 'mental' notes to myself I must resort to a notepad or voice recorder (which is always with me). I don't put more than six players into an ensemble scene with all their personae visible. Any more would fall off the edge.

shivadancer said:

I'm sketching out a story involving 4 couples. Any advice on how to keep that all under control in the readers mind?

I feel like it's too much to ask the reader to get to know 8 people by name, especially given that it's just for a short while. But also, the characteristics, or at least the differences amongst the couples seems to matter.

Click to expand...

Generally speaking, In a short story a crowd of characters interact with one person or one event. Ditto for scenes.

Yesterday I read one where one central character interacted with a dozen people in one scene. 3 were children on bicycles, 2 were cops, and several were dead. Dogs were eating the dead, and the central character hadda interact with them, too. The focal event was the massacre.

GoldenCojones said:

My advice is take the time to develop each character out of story.

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GoldenCojones has written a hot story with several couples, which I reviewed on Lien_Geller's thread here.

He did sketch out differences with hair colour and body type, also different characteristics. However in such a short story it was quite hard to really take in eight people - that didn't matter. They were fun people (apart from horrid Adam), who formed a good background crowd to the main couple and their tussle with horrid Adam. It's not necessarily that important for the reader to get all the characters firmly fixed in their mind, they will often just go along with it - especially if the sex is hot

Celedriel said:

You don't specify the length of your story. I can learn eight people over a novel, yeah. In a short story, no. Unless you're the greatest writer on the planet, but then what are you doing writing swingers fiction on Literotica?

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In the majority of group sex stories it is obviously not a requirement to know much about the couples aside from tit size, hair color and a name so we know which bimbo is sucking who at the moment.

finding four fully fleshed out developed sets of couples would be harder than hitting the lottery. It has its exceptions of course, but Group is a heavy stroke category.

shivadancer said:

I'm sketching out a story involving 4 couples. Any advice on how to keep that all under control in the readers mind?

I feel like it's too much to ask the reader to get to know 8 people by name, especially given that it's just for a short while. But also, the characteristics, or at least the differences amongst the couples seems to matter.

Click to expand...

I've done this a couple of times just for the writing challenge of it all. A few tips:

Give people unique names. Holly and Kelly are different, except they both end with --lly. Holly and Karen would be better.

Not all eight characters will be equal. It may feel that way in the planning stage, but as you write the story, you'll learn there are only a couple of characters who truly matter to the story. The other people are more in the background.

Do what you can to give primary characters unique traits. A well-placed mole, a big nose, large nipples, shaved balls, whatever. Same with hair color or physical mannerisms. If Gretchen is always flipping her hair back over her shoulder, then writing: "I know," she said, flipping back her head. Will tell the reader "Okay, that's Gretchen, she always does that."

If you're focusing on the sex, then given their naughty parts unique traits. One girl might be shaved, another shaved and well-tanned, another maintains a narrow landing strip while another has carefully manicured her pubic hair into a sexy little heart shape. Meanwhile, that one guy has a thick prick, while what the other guy lacks in girth, he makes up for in length. And the other guy has shaved his ball sac smooth while that last guy has the kinkiest pubic hair you've ever seen.

Good luck!

Hypoxia said:

Yeah, I've done a few name changes. But the OP asked:

>> I'm sketching out a story involving 4 couples. Any advice on how to keep that all under control in the readers mind?​

The reader's mind, not the writer's mind. I keep them straight in my own mind by living with them as personalities. Then I tray to translate my familiarity into usable language. That's why I tend toward characteristics linkages like ethnicity-nationality, where 'ethnic' names and somewhat-stereotypical appearances keep the players vivid.

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In order to have any chance of the reader keeping them under control in the readers mind it is imperative for the writer to have them very firmly fixed in his own. NaokoSmith's review of "The Summoning", and her very kind call out in this thread, reveals that I only did a passable job with that even though I had done a long character sketch outside the story for each character.

Also, as Bucky said, there will truly be a smaller number of primary characters and focusing on those is not, IMHO, a bad thing. But you still have to make all the characters real.

It is probably just an odd quirk of mine, but I HATE the ethnic thing. That's not to say I haven't done it, but I hate it. I hate describing a person as "Black" or "White" To me there are too many underlying racial connotations with those descriptions. Maybe I'm just being stupid, but I'd rather describe the skin tone "Chocolate" "Bronze" "Mocha" "Cinnamon" than say the character is "Black." I'm probably wrong but I think that by fixing an inaccurate stereotype in the readers mind it steals something from the character that I should be giving them by letting the reader see and get to know them.

GoldenCojones said:

In order to have any chance of the reader keeping them under control in the readers mind it is imperative for the writer to have them very firmly fixed in his own. NaokoSmith's review of "The Summoning", and her very kind call out in this thread, reveals that I only did a passable job with that even though I had done a long character sketch outside the story for each character.

Also, as Bucky said, there will truly be a smaller number of primary characters and focusing on those is not, IMHO, a bad thing. But you still have to make all the characters real.

It is probably just an odd quirk of mine, but I HATE the ethnic thing. That's not to say I haven't done it, but I hate it. I hate describing a person as "Black" or "White" To me there are too many underlying racial connotations with those descriptions. Maybe I'm just being stupid, but I'd rather describe the skin tone "Chocolate" "Bronze" "Mocha" "Cinnamon" than say the character is "Black." I'm probably wrong but I think that by fixing an inaccurate stereotype in the readers mind it steals something from the character that I should be giving them by letting the reader see and get to know them.

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I agree interracial sex many times smacks of racism here in one form or another. Especially black male/white female the black is always degrading to the white woman and she is somehow seen as 'dirty pr trashy' for being with them, that in reality is the 'taboo' of it and it is nothing short of racist.