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I need to stop reading this late at night. There is no such thing as "just a chapter or two."
( Spoilers for volumes 12-13 aka up to chapter 117 )
( Spoilers for volumes 12-13 aka up to chapter 117 )
I need to stop reading this late at night. There is no such thing as "just a chapter or two."
( Spoilers for volumes 12-13 aka up to chapter 117 )
( Spoilers for volumes 12-13 aka up to chapter 117 )
I have been reading two shounen manga lately, Bleach and Naruto, and have been struck by the ways that both handle a sudden expansion of the cast from a relatively small (but still ensemble) group to a very large one. This is of great interest to me, as several things I'm working on have large ensemble casts, so I wanted to analyze what makes this sort of story succeed or fail.
Note: I am going to write about this without spoilers for those series, other than to mention that there are arcs called "the chuunin exams" and "the Soul Society" that introduce a lot of new characters, and to speak in very general terms about how that works. Please do not leave any spoilers beyond that in the comments. Ie, it is fine to write, "Rock Lee's introduction was a great example of how to set up a character in one way and then let the reader's perceptions of him shift." Do not write, "It was really well done when [spoiler] won his bout with [spoiler]."
However, if you don't want to hear anything at all, even on a very vague level, about those series past the point where you may have read, this is why I am cutting.
( Read more... )
Short, absolutely unspoilery version of what works:
1. Introduce characters and their relationships with each other one by one or at most two by two. Don't have them do anything important until you've given them a nice long introduction.
2. Don't lose sight of the old characters. Literally cut back to them if they're offstage, or else have onstage characters think and talk about them. Have old characters introduce us to the new ones, and be involved with the stories of the new ones.
3. Keep the story and motivations simple until we are already thoroughly familiar with who everyone is.
4. Give the new characters really simple and memorable personalities and motivations upon the first introduction. Add complexity later, when we're not still trying to figure out who's who.
Further thoughts?
Note: I am going to write about this without spoilers for those series, other than to mention that there are arcs called "the chuunin exams" and "the Soul Society" that introduce a lot of new characters, and to speak in very general terms about how that works. Please do not leave any spoilers beyond that in the comments. Ie, it is fine to write, "Rock Lee's introduction was a great example of how to set up a character in one way and then let the reader's perceptions of him shift." Do not write, "It was really well done when [spoiler] won his bout with [spoiler]."
However, if you don't want to hear anything at all, even on a very vague level, about those series past the point where you may have read, this is why I am cutting.
( Read more... )
Short, absolutely unspoilery version of what works:
1. Introduce characters and their relationships with each other one by one or at most two by two. Don't have them do anything important until you've given them a nice long introduction.
2. Don't lose sight of the old characters. Literally cut back to them if they're offstage, or else have onstage characters think and talk about them. Have old characters introduce us to the new ones, and be involved with the stories of the new ones.
3. Keep the story and motivations simple until we are already thoroughly familiar with who everyone is.
4. Give the new characters really simple and memorable personalities and motivations upon the first introduction. Add complexity later, when we're not still trying to figure out who's who.
Further thoughts?
I have been reading two shounen manga lately, Bleach and Naruto, and have been struck by the ways that both handle a sudden expansion of the cast from a relatively small (but still ensemble) group to a very large one. This is of great interest to me, as several things I'm working on have large ensemble casts, so I wanted to analyze what makes this sort of story succeed or fail.
Note: I am going to write about this without spoilers for those series, other than to mention that there are arcs called "the chuunin exams" and "the Soul Society" that introduce a lot of new characters, and to speak in very general terms about how that works. Please do not leave any spoilers beyond that in the comments. Ie, it is fine to write, "Rock Lee's introduction was a great example of how to set up a character in one way and then let the reader's perceptions of him shift." Do not write, "It was really well done when [spoiler] won his bout with [spoiler]."
However, if you don't want to hear anything at all, even on a very vague level, about those series past the point where you may have read, this is why I am cutting.
( Read more... )
Short, absolutely unspoilery version of what works:
1. Introduce characters and their relationships with each other one by one or at most two by two. Don't have them do anything important until you've given them a nice long introduction.
2. Don't lose sight of the old characters. Literally cut back to them if they're offstage, or else have onstage characters think and talk about them. Have old characters introduce us to the new ones, and be involved with the stories of the new ones.
3. Keep the story and motivations simple until we are already thoroughly familiar with who everyone is.
4. Give the new characters really simple and memorable personalities and motivations upon the first introduction. Add complexity later, when we're not still trying to figure out who's who.
Further thoughts?
Note: I am going to write about this without spoilers for those series, other than to mention that there are arcs called "the chuunin exams" and "the Soul Society" that introduce a lot of new characters, and to speak in very general terms about how that works. Please do not leave any spoilers beyond that in the comments. Ie, it is fine to write, "Rock Lee's introduction was a great example of how to set up a character in one way and then let the reader's perceptions of him shift." Do not write, "It was really well done when [spoiler] won his bout with [spoiler]."
However, if you don't want to hear anything at all, even on a very vague level, about those series past the point where you may have read, this is why I am cutting.
( Read more... )
Short, absolutely unspoilery version of what works:
1. Introduce characters and their relationships with each other one by one or at most two by two. Don't have them do anything important until you've given them a nice long introduction.
2. Don't lose sight of the old characters. Literally cut back to them if they're offstage, or else have onstage characters think and talk about them. Have old characters introduce us to the new ones, and be involved with the stories of the new ones.
3. Keep the story and motivations simple until we are already thoroughly familiar with who everyone is.
4. Give the new characters really simple and memorable personalities and motivations upon the first introduction. Add complexity later, when we're not still trying to figure out who's who.
Further thoughts?
.