Episode 216 - Too many characters is a scene. episode artwork

EPISODE · May 8, 2026 · 26 MIN

Episode 216 - Too many characters is a scene.

from Essential Guide to Writing a Novel · host James Thayer

What's the problem with having a lot of characters in a scene?  Aren't lots of people needed to make street scenes and party scenes and sports scenes and battle scenes credible?   I'll talk about the problem of too many characters, and how we can fix the crowded scene so it doesn't lose focus.  Also, a quick almost  magical way to make our sentences stronger using the global search function on our computer.  And lovely setting descriptions from Rachel Joyce.Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes.  The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars.  If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.Support the showBuy the master class.

What's the problem with having a lot of characters in a scene? Aren't lots of people needed to make street scenes and party scenes and sports scenes and battle scenes credible? I'll talk about the problem of too many characters, and how we can fix the crowded scene so it doesn't lose focus. Also, a quick almost magical way to make our sentences stronger using the global search function on our computer. And lovely setting descriptions from Rachel Joyce. Here...

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Episode 216 - Too many characters is a scene.

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This episode was published on May 8, 2026.

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What's the problem with having a lot of characters in a scene?  Aren't lots of people needed to make street scenes and party scenes and sports scenes and battle scenes credible?   I'll talk about the problem of too many characters, and how we can...

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