Pros And Cons Of A Small Cast
We love reading about characters and the trouble they get into. But there's only so much love that goes around when it comes to fictional people. Sometimes, a large cast like in The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien) works, but a small cast like Pevensie siblings in The Chronicles of Narnia (CS Lewis) usually works better. Here are some pros and cons for a small cast.
Pros
1. It keeps the story concise.
With a small cast, the story centres around those few characters. This is good because your characters are the heart of your story. People will read a not-so-amazing story if they have characters they care about. Without the choice of a large character group, most of the conflicts and dynamics are linked to a few characters. Everything around the story goes back to characters the reader cares about. The catch to this is that you must seriously develop this character.
2. It's easier to remember the characters.
In a story, we tend to remember the main character first, the antagonist second and around six other characters, give or take. All the other characters are forgotten or some vague memory drifting around. The smaller the cast, it becomes easier to remember the characters. If I asked you to name all the main Lord of the Rings characters without stopping to think, it'll be a little hard to do that, right? Unless you're a hard core fan.
3. It's easier to develop and create character arcs.
Especially if you're starting out as an author. While there are many good resources out there with worksheets and templates on how to create characters, it can still be a little challenging. Don't get me wrong, I love making characters, but it gets hard if the amount of majorly developed characters exceeds five. With less characters, this process becomes A LOT easier. Believe me.
4. Stronger character dynamics.
Less characters means that there are less personalities which in turn means you can make more contrast between them. With contradicting personalities, interactions between the character becomes juicier. We all love watching a good argument on screen, even if it's not so nice in real life. Character dynamics also raise likeability and tension.
Cons
1. There's only a limited perspective.
One of the advantages a big cast has over a small cast is the broadened range of perspectives about the world. If you have three main characters, there's only three world views the reader gets to know. This can be a real downside if you have created a massive world and want to show it off. However, there's a solution to expanding perspectives. You can make your world become an expanded universe which can be featured in multiple, different storylines.
2. The same characters get boring.
If you start out with a set of characters and finish with the same ones, gets kinda boring. Especially if you don't have new, strong characters popping in and out to change things up a bit.
3. Less character dynamics.
This might seem contradictory to the fourth pro. But when you have too few characters, you get the same kind of interactions over and over again. It becomes a repeat of previous scenarios. Snore. A fix to this would be to change the characters over the course of their arc. Their interactions would change as a result of the change within themselves, which is always intriguing to read about.
These are some reasons for and against having a small cast for you story. While smaller casts, it keeps the story central around the main characters and is easier to develop them as well. However, there's a limited perspective and less dynamic. If you have any more reasons to add, feel free to leave a comment down below. Remember, the ultimatum is to have as many characters in your story as needed. If you need a large cast, definitely go for it.
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