tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post5725560090990839762..comments2024-03-26T17:48:56.627+00:00Comments on 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?': How many characters?Martin Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-35026569913533524182008-01-12T23:38:00.000+00:002008-01-12T23:38:00.000+00:00Perhaps you can have too many characters, and ther...Perhaps you can have too many characters, and there have been authors who have solved this by killing some off as the book progresses - helps eliminate them from the lineup of suspects.<BR/>But one thing that does get up my snout is when the names of characters are too similar, and that adds to my confusion. I don't know why authors, editors and proofreaders can't pick this up before publication. Sometimes I think it is a deliberate ploy to get the reader's little grey cells working overtime.Kerriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581470363339796352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-54019155343583823752008-01-12T23:01:00.000+00:002008-01-12T23:01:00.000+00:00I agree. Only the very best whodunits work well wi...I agree. Only the very best whodunits work well with a tiny pool of suspects. Agatha Christie tested herself in 'Cards on the Table' with a mere four suspects, and did a great job, but it's not an easy trick to pull off. With 'whydunits', it's very different. As to family trees - I did include one in The Arsenic Labyrinth, but mainly because it was a fun thing I'd always wanted to do! A kind of homage to the Golden Age.Martin Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082485795280777670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-18904028924154517782008-01-12T19:20:00.000+00:002008-01-12T19:20:00.000+00:00I agree with the post and the comment. A "standard...I agree with the post and the comment. A "standard" police procedural seems to have an average of six to twelve main suspects, plus a handful of the good guys (policemen, etc). Good writing, and the reader can hold that many in the mind without recourse to a family tree diagram!<BR/><BR/>But some of the more "psychological" novels don't have anything like that many. The Thirteenth Tale, for example, which I've read recently, only really had two characters.<BR/><BR/>So maybe "whydunnits" need fewer characters than "whodunnits"?Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291823984059320518.post-26241300329936184922008-01-12T11:37:00.000+00:002008-01-12T11:37:00.000+00:00I think it's a particular problem of the crime gen...I think it's a particular problem of the crime genre, actually, as the writer tries to suprise the reader by bringing out as many 'suspects' as possible. I read a Tess Gerritson book recently...I could not keep track of who was who, or what was doing what to whom, as each of the numerous characters melded into one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com