Balancing loads of equally-important characters

Question

If you have a dozen good guys, but four of them are the protagonists and the other six are more in the background, it's not that hard to skew the pagetime of each character towards those that are more important to the plot.

But if all twelve characters are equally important (like one of those superhero unions or something), then I've found things seem to get difficult. Obviously the characters that are actors more than observers get more pagetime simply due to being more involved in the plot, but I still feel like the less-involved are being shafted a bit, especially as the characters I tend to favour wind up being used more often. So far the most common character has ~11% of the paragraphs while the least common two have ~4% each (with ~14% of the paragraphs being attributed to no one).

Is it reasonable at all to expect better distribution of spotlight? Aside from breaking the cast into subgroups and focusing on one group at a time (which is planned), is there a feasible way to divert subconscious bias? How many simultaneous protagonists is too much?

Answer 1

From what I've experienced, you don't need to give everyone equal spotlight.

Take Star Wars for instance. Darth Vader has considerably less screen time and fewer lines than Han Solo or Luke Skywalker, but nevertheless he's an icon and one of the most memorable parts of the film. It isn't about duration: it's about quality. A well-crafted character can make their mark in a tenth of the time it takes for a lesser character.

Trust your subconscious bias, but don't let it seize control. Your subconscious is biased because there's a reason to be biased: some characters may be legitimately more interesting than others. Make sure you're being honest with yourself: do all your plot threads truly have equal importance? Don't try to squeeze something out of it if it isn't there, just because you wanted it to be there. Your story may need re-envisioning. But like I said, don't let the subconscious seize control, or next thing you know you'll be ignoring other parts of the story. That's a bad thing :) Balance your intuition with your intellect.

Last tip, look at how other writers did it. Stephen King is renowned for managing huge casts of characters simultaneously. Then there's Lord of the Rings. Or, watch an ensemble-style tv show or movie. The same techniques carry over. Lost and Heroes are good examples, as are Grey's Anatomy and a number of other medical shows which follow a large number of hospital workers. 12 Angry Men is a classic courthouse movie which follows a single conversation between 12 people: this may be one of the best examples I can offer. Just look at the time allotment they give to different characters, and think about how that time allotment is used, and why it was used that way, which means thinking about how that time slot contributes to the overall storyline. Nothing helps better than carefully soaking in the techniques of a more experienced author over time. Skill is never gained instantly.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The other think to bear in mind is how often or regularly the characters appear. It is quite possible to build a character with very little space, if every few pages, they make some significant impact on the plot. It is quite a good way of forming a stealth character, who only expresses themselves fully towards the end of the story.

But quality of page-time is more important than quantity. Just like with real people, those who are always at the front, making the waves, are not necessarily the most significant or important. Those who just contribute a small but critical part can be the stars. Make the pagetime fit the characters, and they will shine.

Answer 3

My personal experience is that stories are more interesting when told from the viewpoint of just one or two characters. I have read books where it starts out as if all characters are equally important, but then subtly changes as you go through so that on character in particular is the main one. I don't know if this was intended or if it naturally happened as the book was written. I would say go with the flow and what comes naturally when you are writing, the bias there toward certain characters serves a purpose. :)