: How many names in a book are too many? It seems to me there is a relative limit for commercial fiction regarding the number of named characters. This makes sense, of course. Readers get confused;

It seems to me there is a relative limit for commercial fiction regarding the number of named characters. This makes sense, of course. Readers get confused; lots of people aren't good with names.

Fantasy novels, or other fiction with an adventuring party, might have 6-10 protagonists, but the antagonists are frequently unnamed squash victims.

Series, and epics cut into trilogies, might build up characters over time. But there are a lot of pages to fill, and the reader will have invested dozens of hours.

So I'm curious if anyone knows of any "behavioral science" on the subject, or if you just want to express an opinion.

Thus, perhaps something like Fifteen named characters per 100,000 words ...

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@Hamaas631

If there is a cognitive limit on the number of characters in a book, I suspect that the limit is on the author's side, rather than the readers'. As long as your characters are distinct, memorable, and important to the story, you should go ahead and use them.

If you want an example of a series with an unusually high amount of named characters, I would recommend the Malazan Book of the Fallen. It contains many characters, and that series still has a devoted following. Take a look at the glossary in Gardens of the Moon - the book's nine sequels and spin-offs are not shy about introducing even more characters than the original.

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: How many names in a book are too many? It seems to me there is a relative limit for commercial fiction regarding the number of named characters. This makes sense, of course. Readers get confused;

More posts by @Speyer920

: It depends, but probably you want the distributed approach where the chapter on X tells you everything you need to know about X, even if some of that is only relevant if you're using feature

: How to find the balance between research and the obvious I'm embarking on writing my first popular science book on a controversial subject. For sure the writing must be rational, coherent with

: Describing laughter in dialogue? I'm having a problem that is not addressed by The Chicago Manual of Style or the AP Style Guide I have access to: How does a writer express laughter in fiction?

: How do I describe the effects of extreme psychological trauma on my protagonist? I am working on a novel where my young protagonist has certain character flaws/issues which are the result of

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