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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48233
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48233
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

@CrisSunami is spot-on: **don't introduce all your characters at once.** Don't start with a scene where they are all present - start with a few characters, then bring in more. Having a great many unfamiliar characters all at once is extremely confusing to the reader: imagine walking into a room with 12 people you've never met before, and you're expected to remember their names, who they are, what kind of people they are, within 10 minutes of conversation. Oh, and you can't see any of them. It's going to be very hard for you, won't it?

You might find it helpful to watch the first episode of any series with a large cast, like _Star Trek - Next Generation_ or _Firefly_. Note how the main character(s) are the ones you start with, while the others are slowly introduced as the episode progresses. The episode is almost contrived in how it's structured - there's whatever reason for the characters not to start together.

A literary example could be G.R.R. Martin's _A Song of Ice and Fire_, a series notorious for having a great many characters. In the first chapter of _A Game of Thrones_ we are introduced to the Stark family, but not to all the Starks. In what is almost a contrived coincidence, the first scene takes place away from Winterfell. We are told Lord Stark has five trueborn children, but in the first chapter we only meet Robb and Bran, plus Jon and Theon. In the second chapter we meet Catelyn, but still not the other Stark children. In the third chapter we jump to Daenerys, but do not yet meet Khal Drogo. We meet the characters a few at a time.

Even if your characters all share the same environment, the same living space, etc., split them up. Find a way to introduce them slowly, let the readers get to know two or three characters before you introduce the next two or three. That's the only way the readers will be able to take it all in.

It's great if you can do like @MarkBaker suggests - introduce each character when the plot demands their presence. But if the plot "demands" the introduction of too many characters at once, tweak the plot, add a scene, split up the character introductions.

Original score: 3