Chaotic enby thoughts: Character pov switch thought for multiple MC'S

[ConcubusBunny]

Chaotic enby thinking

Hello my guys, gals and enby pals so as I was plotting out a scene something weird happened I wanted to know how you people will react now the current mc comes back home and has a chat with their life partner and their friends after the chapter ends the next one will make the Children that was introduced in the previous chapter instead of the other Mc's I was using before, now is this too rushed will this too overwhelming adding seven more Mac's after being introduced to 7 of them and not really letting them shine yet cause this is this the only chance I could think of to get people acquainted with the rest of the main cast?

 

[greyblob]

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Chaotic enby thinking

Hello my guys, gals and enby pals so as I was plotting out a scene something weird happened I wanted to know how you people will react now the current mc comes back home and has a chat with their life partner and their friends after the chapter ends the next one will make the Children that was introduced in the previous chapter instead of the other Mc's I was using before, now is this too rushed will this too overwhelming adding seven more Mac's after being introduced to 7 of them and not really letting them shine yet cause this is this the only chance I could think of to get people acquainted with the rest of the main cast?

I had a minor stroke reading this. Do you have 7MCs and want to introduce another 7?

 

[LostLibrarian]

too overwhelming adding seven more Mac's after being introduced to 7 of them and not really letting them shine yet

Yes.

 

[SakeVision]

This happens all the time in my novel.
It's not overwhelming, but some people simply don't like it- because they don't like it. Just as some people love it.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Have as many MCs as you want, but I recommend using third person. Head hopping in first person gets disorienting.

 

[Zirrboy]

Try as I might, I will never be able to match the levels of sheer, irreverent chaos that this person achieves with seeming ease.

"overwhelming" will depend on implementation, but my immediate association is that you're (perhaps subconsciously) putting off some sort of problem you're having with your existing cast or plot.
This is nothing but guesswork, but a look in that direction shouldn't hurt at least.

 

[Echimera]

I would differentiate between POV characters and MC(s), but that's more of an aside. POV characters can be one off or recurring with varying frequency and can, there's really no big limitation to what an author can do besides to their skill in pulling it off.

The most important aspect is clarity I think.
If you have to can read through half the chapter before you realize that the POV has changed, something went wrong. A clear and consistent naming convention for the chapters might already be sufficient here.
If it's a recurring POV side character that hasn't showed up in 100 chapters, maybe an authors note might be in order so people have the option to refresh who that was again.

One neat trick I really like is having the MC chapters be in first person while other POVs are in third person, though the novel has to be started with that in mind or at least already be in first person. It's also harder when there are multiple MCs and additional POV characters.


PS: please try to get some punctuation in your posts, it gets hard to read when it's not even clear when a sentence ends and which parts belong to the same thoughts.

 

[ConcubusBunny]

Have as many MCs as you want, but I recommend using third person. Head hopping in first person gets disorienting.

Oh I know I don't even know how to write first person

I had a minor stroke reading this. Do you have 7MCs and want to introduce another 7?

Yes, any advice on how to make it not so over whelming to readers that aren't bused to this type of story?

Try as I might, I will never be able to match the levels of sheer, irreverent chaos that this person achieves with seeming ease.

"overwhelming" will depend on implementation, but my immediate association is that you're (perhaps subconsciously) putting off some sort of problem you're having with your existing cast or plot.
This is nothing but guesswork, but a look in that direction shouldn't hurt at least.

Not really putting off more like I had a short story thread with 1 of the MC's that sorta gets resolved but not in the way that they wanted and now their frustrated and the rest are just there to support them so not really putting it off.
The people I want to focus on for a few chapters of some pre existing problems that I want to touch to get people to have a sense of the rest of the cast but not really solve cause you can't solve PTSD and depression in such a little time.
After which I want to come back to others with the first mc to explore the other 6 MC's characters in more depth

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Oh I know I don't even know how to write first person

 

[LostLibrarian]

In general, seven or less is the maximum amount of data a person can memorize and keep at once. Introducing so many people at once will lead to all of them turning into a giant mush.

This is also the reason why most stories only have a handful of ongoing side-plots at once, because at some points, readers will simply forget. It's also the reason, why (web)novels with a lot of characters often use clear delimiters and re-introduce characters often.


It isn't impossible to introduce more characters or to have more sideplots, but the higher the number, the more people will feel like they "forget" stuff or "can't understand all of it". Such feelings will often turn into a dropped book.

Ease your readers in it, introduce characters slowly with clear intent and - at best - a reason for them to appear in the story. If you need a big group, then introduce it as a group and take multiple chapters or arcs to introduce the people in detail one by one.

Just look at how popular media handle it. They overwhelm you with a shot of the big cast, and then they immediately introduce a small side-plot to focus on only a handful of characters. And they'll move on when they gave the reader/viewer enough time to memorize it.

 

[greyblob]

Yes, any advice on how to make it not so over whelming to readers that aren't bused to this type of story?

The highest number of MC's in a novel I've ever read were 3. I never read anything with multiple MCs or end up skipping until the one I like returns.

here's a question: do any of these characters interact with each other? are their stories/journeys linked in some way?

if the answer is no to either then don't bother.
if the answer is yes then you have a lot on your plate.

first I'd say go third person limited (no switching)

second start off with your most favorite MC. slowly flesh them out while introducing the rest as side characters(do not switch yet).
once the first character is solidifed and the readers have some idea about the cast then go ahead and repeat for the rest of the characters.
I've no idea if this would work, but I think this is the way to do it.

 

[Zirrboy]

Not really putting off more like I had a short story thread with 1 of the MC's that sorta gets resolved but not in the way that they wanted and now their frustrated and the rest are just there to support them so not really putting it off.
The people I want to focus on for a few chapters of some pre existing problems that I want to touch to get people to have a sense of the rest of the cast but not really solve cause you can't solve PTSD and depression in such a little time.
After which I want to come back to others with the first mc to explore the other 6 MC's characters in more depth

Not "Problems they have", but "problems you have with them".

The characters might not have turned out the way you liked, with you having a clear idea what you want them to be, but just can't seem to nail it.
Or that you introduced them in a way that made for interesting first encounters, but now you need to figure out how to make them into the people you want them to be for the rest of the novel, perhaps figure out that goal in the first place if you have so many.

I'm someone with at best rudimentary knowledge about psychology, so I'd dread having to write characters both during depression/ptsd and organic recovery. Assuming you are no professional either, perhaps that's something you feel you're not ready to tackle?
I haven't read your story ofc, so this is but a guess from your response.