crackerjackjoe (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} crackerjackjoe) wrote,@ 2005-02-10 18:01:00 |
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How many Scenes? How Many Characters?
Do you write novels? Do you have fond memories of algebra class?
If so read on---
Equation: (Goal/Typical Scene)/(1-% of dreck) = # of scenes to outline
or G/W/(1-d)=S
G: Novel length goal: 50,000
W: Typical scene length 1500 words. This assumes that a scene is a combination of a scene and a sequel.
% Cut
Some scenes will be cut for not being relevant to the story question, some scenes will be dreck that can be safely removed.
If 20% of my scenes are unfit for rewrite then
Scenes to outline = (50000/1500)/(.8)
So that is 41 scenes.
It seems like there should be some adjusting factors for genre and the ratio of words to story time. For example, action stories you'd expect shorter scenes. A novel that covers just a few days or hours would probably have very long scenes, while a epic history would have tons of scenes. These factor can't be derived without gathering data, and I'd much rather do armchair theory.
Character to Scene Ratio
The main character should get more scenes than the antagonist, who should get more scenes than the love intrest. The exact ratios would have to be derived by gathering data from real books.
How many main characters?
A novel can have an number of minor characters who have only token participation in the scene that is equal to the goal number of words to write. That novel would be experamental.
A novel shouldn't have more than about 4 or 5 main characters, a scene shouldn't have more than about 4 characters. The main characters should appear in most scenes, lets say half of the MC appear in all the scenes.
(Scenes * Max per scene) + (Main characters * 1/2 * Scenes )
or
(S * Max) - (MC * 1/2 * S )
So the upper bound is 82 characters, main and minor
The lower bound is just the main characters or 4.
This range is too great, so I'll have to introduce a 'stick around' factor. Minor characters have to stick around for 5 scenes on average. So the scenes left over after the MC characters take up their space is divided by 5.
((S* Max) - (MC * 1/2 * S) )/5
So I need about 16 characters.
Do you write novels? Do you have fond memories of algebra class?
If so read on---
Equation: (Goal/Typical Scene)/(1-% of dreck) = # of scenes to outline
or G/W/(1-d)=S
G: Novel length goal: 50,000
W: Typical scene length 1500 words. This assumes that a scene is a combination of a scene and a sequel.
% Cut
Some scenes will be cut for not being relevant to the story question, some scenes will be dreck that can be safely removed.
If 20% of my scenes are unfit for rewrite then
Scenes to outline = (50000/1500)/(.8)
So that is 41 scenes.
It seems like there should be some adjusting factors for genre and the ratio of words to story time. For example, action stories you'd expect shorter scenes. A novel that covers just a few days or hours would probably have very long scenes, while a epic history would have tons of scenes. These factor can't be derived without gathering data, and I'd much rather do armchair theory.
Character to Scene Ratio
The main character should get more scenes than the antagonist, who should get more scenes than the love intrest. The exact ratios would have to be derived by gathering data from real books.
How many main characters?
A novel can have an number of minor characters who have only token participation in the scene that is equal to the goal number of words to write. That novel would be experamental.
A novel shouldn't have more than about 4 or 5 main characters, a scene shouldn't have more than about 4 characters. The main characters should appear in most scenes, lets say half of the MC appear in all the scenes.
(Scenes * Max per scene) + (Main characters * 1/2 * Scenes )
or
(S * Max) - (MC * 1/2 * S )
So the upper bound is 82 characters, main and minor
The lower bound is just the main characters or 4.
This range is too great, so I'll have to introduce a 'stick around' factor. Minor characters have to stick around for 5 scenes on average. So the scenes left over after the MC characters take up their space is divided by 5.
((S* Max) - (MC * 1/2 * S) )/5
So I need about 16 characters.
