Character Guide for Readers

[Zodia195]

My stories tend to have a lot of characters in them. For my own personal preferences, I actually do create a character profiles file. Also for my editor's sake, I created a separate one for him since in my own file always includes spoilers.

Recently though, I've thought of sharing my character profiles with my readers so it can help them remember who is who, especially since I am inconsistent with updating my works. Thing is, I don't know how to share it.

Any of ya'll have suggestions? I am all ears.

 

[MindsMirror]

We keep intricate spreadsheets with character event time items to prevent inconsistencies.

We've considered releasing guides, however, since they would contain spoilers, we've opted not to so far.

There are books / series that have done this, but somehow it seems preferable for us to let readers discover the character relations organically.

-MM

 

[Zodia195]

*Nods* That's true.

I always come up with my entire story and plotline and major characters before writing the story. Sometimes I may go back to edit those portions so the story does flow right.

It's just my worry that people will forget who is who, at least the secondary characters.

 

[TxRad]

Character guides would come under the heading of "too much information" for most readers. They want to visualize the characters their way. It's one of the main things that separates books from movies. In my humble opinion anyway.

 

[SimonDoom]

Character guides would come under the heading of "too much information" for most readers. They want to visualize the characters their way. It's one of the main things that separates books from movies. In my humble opinion anyway.

This seems right to me. Plus, as pointed out before, there's the spoiler problem. You don't want to include information about characters that will spoil things for new readers.

If the concern is that readers will lose track of characters, you might try a short synopsis at the beginning a new chapter to remind the reader what's happened up to that point, and who the main characters are.

 

[Zodia195]

A recap? That's brilliant! I like that idea. I'll do it next time I'll submit something since I tend to add Author's Notes in the beginning too.

 

[TxRad]

This seems right to me. Plus, as pointed out before, there's the spoiler problem. You don't want to include information about characters that will spoil things for new readers.

If the concern is that readers will lose track of characters, you might try a short synopsis at the beginning a new chapter to remind the reader what's happened up to that point, and who the main characters are.

If readers are losing track of characters between chapters, you need to post the chapters faster. You don't lose characters between chapters in a novel unless you put the novel down for a month or so. Same idea.

 

[SamScribble]

Any story that requires a manual to understand it is not going to hold a reader's attention for very long. Do you need a manual to read Boewulf?

 

[Haulover]

Too many characters is just that ... too many.

Can you cut some? ("Kill your darlings"...?)

 

[sr71plt]

Have readers actually commented that they'd like to have a character list? If not, maybe you're making unfounded assumptions. If it's you who think there are so many characters the readers might be confused, it's not really a list that's the best solution. As far as character trait lists, I think if you detailed lists, you will have a tendency to overdescribe the character in the text and give details that don't serve the plot just because you created them.

 

[Handley_Page]

Forgive me please, but you make this epic sound like something out of Marvel or DC comic studios. I think that if you have written it right, a reader will not need reminding about character such&such.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Give It A Try

I know readers who love character guides with their complex stories and plots. Keep it simple and give it a try. Either as a short forward or as an appendix. See what the readers say.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

My stories tend to have a lot of characters in them. For my own personal preferences, I actually do create a character profiles file. Also for my editor's sake, I created a separate one for him since in my own file always includes spoilers.

Recently though, I've thought of sharing my character profiles with my readers so it can help them remember who is who, especially since I am inconsistent with updating my works. Thing is, I don't know how to share it.

Any of ya'll have suggestions? I am all ears.

At the end of one of my for sale works I included the profiles I used to keep track of the main characters.

In my current series Warrior One - I have 70 characters and 75 ships, with assorted appearance by any number of enemy ships (never name them).

I have 6 books/parts published and I'm currently working on 3 more where new ships appear from time to time. I don't plan on publishing this one. If you want to know about someone who appeared in a earlier book, buy it.

I am thinking about publishing terms I use in this series. Although most sci-fi nuts would know them.

 

[49greg]

Darn it, I keep thinking I posted to this thread, I know I had a full comment typed out, but then Norton made me restart before I finished.

Now I can't remember what I was going to say.

I blame the Lipitor.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Darn it, I keep thinking I posted to this thread, I know I had a full comment typed out, but then Norton made me restart before I finished.

Now I can't remember what I was going to say.

I blame the Lipitor.

So you let some guy named Norton dictate what you do on your computer? You know you don't have to do a restart when they tell you. Finish whatever your doing then restart. After all, it is your computer, not theirs.

 

[LesLumens]

One thing nobody has looked at is your genre. Sci-Fi & Fantasy readers tend to like having these kind of things. It's often included even in mainstream published books.

There are two possible options. If you have your own website/blog etc., put the information there and link to it in your Bio. You're allowed to do this.

If you'd also like to link from the story text, one option is to create a thread where the first post contains the information. You can link specifically to that post and edit it when necessary. Because that post is on Lit, you're allowed to link to it in an opening/closing note of the story/chapter itself. ( Put a note in the NOTES section of the submission pointing out it's a Lit link so Laurel doesn't accidentally give you a URL rejection )

The thread could also be a place for readers to interact with you, possibly increasing their engagement, and you could add further posts to the thread for points later in the timeline. Those later posts then could be linked from the first post with SPOILER warnings, allowing those just starting to get basic information while those who have been with you for a while can get updated character/location bios.

 

[Zodia195]

Hmmm, that is an idea. I know Pocketbooklover did that with her South Mountain Pack story because she had a larger cast than I (as far as major characters went).

I do like the recap though.

On a separate note, I have tried to make an effort to contact anyone who starts following me or faving my uploads. I am so grateful for anyone who takes the time to check my stuff and I love interacting with those who do like my material. I am so happy Literotica updated our user pages so we know when a story has been update too.

 

[Dam_Fool]

I like to let the character shine for themselves, and usually feedback tells me who is loved most. I've had several spin-offs due to throw-away characters that people refused to let go. Sometimes you may never know who will be beloved. Instead of giving them a info sheet, just let their personality, introduction and what happens to them define who they are.