Despite what the talking heads say, all writing advice, even if it is from so-called writing experts, is not always the best advice for your type of story. Analyze your own story and see which flow best suit it. You can create your own signature flow.
I recently read where a writing tip advisor said: One should list all the main characters on the first few pages of the novel.
[This good advice if you write children books or young adults books, but it can not be done with all young adult books.]
That is only possible if the story is short with only two to four protagonists. But it is impossible if the story is long and the main character’s life venture into other locations and they meet other people. Especially in long novels. It would seem silly to add someone from the character’s adult life whom they haven’t met yet, if the story is a life progressive story.
A life progressive story or novel aren’t common nowadays because they are hard to write. But they usually start with a character in their youth and narrates as they live their life. Therefore, you introduce new characters, and even bring back old characters from afar throughout the story. In life progressive stories everyone doesn’t die off because the writer knows how not to write themselves in a corner. They don’t leave corpses in every room in the house.
This advice is not recommended if the antagonist is someone the author specially designed to keep the protagonist on their toes. Don’t give away too much too soon. That spoils the story.
Some might say every antagonist fits this bill, but no they do not. Well, always in a clear, precise manner.
For example: In the first book of the Unholy Pursuit series, I do not tell who is Ana Bufaye’s archenemy in the beginning of the story. Readers don’t learn who he is until later. In the beginning, I wanted to introduce the main character, her backstory, and her plight. The other main protagonist, Bea Wyett, her daughter, and her two love interests are mentioned in the beginning, but not her adversary and his main men. I tell what her opponent is doing, not his name.
unholypursuit
The Novel: UnHoly Pursuit: Devil on my Trail 
It’s good to know the rules so you know when to break them. 🙂 😀 Happy Writing!
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Thanks.
I mentioned it and asked authors to decide what is best for their own books. The article was written as a carved in stone rule that should apply to every book; if not, then the story should be trashed or deemed not worth reading. I think that kind of advice kills creativity, not help it to grow.
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I agree with you on the need for flexibility. Too many rules like these turn books into formulas and stifle creativity. 🙂
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Exactly! Books aren’t academic articles nor essays. An author needs room to grow the characters so that they won’t be one-dimensional. I feel a character should be as expressive as an individual, living person.
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And that’s the key to a great book, isn’t it? We, as readers, identify with the characters because they’re real!
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Yes, readers read a book about characters because they sounds real, not not how academically correct they sounds. Too stiff writings usually turn readers off. They want to read the emotions of the character. How he or she is thinking or feeling? Now, writers have to be careful and come out of the character’s head and let the reader see some physical action. Because too much living in the head can get boring too.
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By the way..I liked your word “adnudder.” That’s a word I haven’t seen used in literature in a long time. 😀
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Happy writing to you, too. 🙂 😀
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This listing characters in an index sounds like how plays are written, not novels. It makes no sense to do this in a novel. Who give infantile advice?
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Yes, I thought that sounded more like a play than a novel. 🤔
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