Writing epic stories with a ton of customizable character names

[fikka]

I am big into stories which allow customizing names. Adding that bit of personalization for me adds a big punch into the story reading. I am planning to start one with a huge list and am open to add more if any author would like.

Just wanted to get thoughts from other before I start on this crazy adventure.

PS: As of now I have the Intro. to Characters done with the tally reaching around 10-15 primary characters and 10-15 in supporting roles.

 

[RejectTed]

Why? Please correct me if I'm wrong but you're talking using game mode to let the reader pick their name. Wouldn't it be much less work to use the built in customization function. I guess you could do nicknames this way, but its a lot easier to write {first_name} than 10-15 nested if functions.

You should also be aware while game mode is very handy it does have a cost. Readers that want to check out a different branch have to either start over or go to the previous chapter one capter at a time. This can be time consuming and turns of some readers.

 

[fikka]

Why? Please correct me if I'm wrong but you're talking using game mode to let the reader pick their name. Wouldn't it be much less work to use the built in customization function.

Oh, I think you misunderstood, I do plan to use the site's built-in customization function and not use functions. I was just wondering if readers would like to set up names for 25-30 characters as well as if other authors had any interest. Most seem to discourage that such a big project is doomed to fail but I am quite determined to make this epic

 

[RejectTed]

Oh, I think you misunderstood, I do plan to use the site's built-in customization function and not use functions. I was just wondering if readers would like to set up names for 25-30 characters as well as if other authors had any interest. Most seem to discourage that such a big project is doomed to fail but I am quite determined to make this epic

Sorry. I absolutely did and am still a little confused. Are you talking about adding side characters that other authors suggested?

On a side note, talking about the kind of story (kinks, plot, goals) you will be writing may get more people interested. Even then you might not get help until you are well on your way. Unfortuntely, there are a lot of really great stories out there that are written soley by the owner.

 

[Loeman]

Personally, I think it takes away from the integrity of the character, to allow customization.

No story is going to fool me into thinking I'm reading about myself and my best friend and some girl I know. I say let a character have their own personality, and identity.

Now - one might say "what's the harm? Pick a name, *and* allow customization!"

But... what about teasing rhymes? Alliterations? Goofy tributes to other media? Misspeaks and misidentifications based on names? Fake names? Nicknames, based on the speaker?

Where does the customization stop? Which side characters get it? Which locations? How should the user know where to slot in a preferred name before they read the story and get to know the character?

Instead of freedom, and choice, as an author that customization option may create limits, and boundaries. Which translates, by result of creativity and consequence, to the reader's experience as well.

There *are* stories where customization won't hurt, or will provide a unique grab, but overall for most semi-serious+ stories or characters, I say names are an important part of a character's identity - allow them to have that, if you respect them.

 

[fikka]

Sorry. I absolutely did and am still a little confused. Are you talking about adding side characters that other authors suggested?

On a side note, talking about the kind of story (kinks, plot, goals) you will be writing may get more people interested. Even then you might not get help until you are well on your way. Unfortuntely, there are a lot of really great stories out there that are written soley by the owner.

Well yes, and to answer both you and Loeman the story Intro would be similar to The Afterparty https://chyoa.com/chapter/Introduction.174046 but instead of being limited to just one night (the night of the Afterparty) expand and span 4 years. Ofcourse, I agree that no story can make one feel with customization that this is their story (most male MC's have a foot long dong, lol) but we are talking about a fantasy realm with a touch of realism. So it's more on lines of If I went to college with so and so people I know it might have turned out in such and such way... (even when someone might have never attended college).

Also, with so many characters planned I was thinking of keeping it as 3rd person POV (Both) and the story would be able to develop (wishful thinking) better if different author might be able to relate or create branches based on their choice of lead character.

Personally, I think it takes away from the integrity of the character, to allow customization.

Where does the customization stop? Which side characters get it? Which locations? How should the user know where to slot in a preferred name before they read the story and get to know the character?

Instead of freedom, and choice, as an author that customization option may create limits, and boundaries. Which translates, by result of creativity and consequence, to the reader's experience as well.

There *are* stories where customization won't hurt, or will provide a unique grab, but overall for most semi-serious+ stories or characters, I say names are an important part of a character's identity - allow them to have that, if you respect them.

I partially agree with your statement that yes it may limit but my response would be that there are millions of stories already over here, Lit. and so many other places but if I was to read stories with a bit of customization more than the regular then there are very few. I don't want to get too deep into customization either like defining their hair color, etc. with variables for all my proposed characters.

Your point of "How should the user know where to slot in a preferred name before they read the story and get to know the character?" is spot on which I myself have faced with the stories that are here. The way I plan to address this is giving the reader a little insight into the characters on their bio page. The other thing I plan to do is the story starts with branching into 2 sections: 1.) Relive the Past 2.) Live the Present
1.) Will allow filling up the plot holes that are hinted in the Bio page and 2.) Will allow developing the story based on the Past happenings.. (that's kinda the idea).

As example:

Short Intro on the story..
Story recounts the life of an individual with high moral grounds being progressively subjected to 'ways of the world' including dealings of his friends and not to mention his enemies. Journey through the protagonist's life during his college days to discover the paths he and his pals could/would take to reach their goal. Dive into the elaborate plots devised by them and against them.

John bio:
John: He is an average looking guy who has grown up with good moral values. He has never had any particular interest in anything and so has been average in most of the things he does, except for his passion for marksmanship. He went on to become the youngest national champion when he was still finishing school. But this is one of his qualities hardly anyone other than his closest school friend knows or remembers. He is 5'11" tall which is average for the guys in his class, however he has been endowed well. He has been known to keep his cool and always be polite but there have been rumors who have seen a different shade of John. He was also rumored to have been in a secret relationship with the school principles's daughter and they moved to a different state when she got pregnant. He is a part of the fraternity group Alpha Sigma Phi.

Romeo bio:
Romeo College Douchebag Member 2 and part of Alpha Erectus. Romeo is a tall athletic guy who is also on the men's basketball team. He is an average player but his ego is off the charts. He is also very arrogant and believes the team wins only because of his contributions. He regularly has fights with Talon because he always tries to put himself first instead of the team. Being pals with Dan he has the basketball coach on his side as well which landed him the spot of the team selector and captain. He also has a lot of say in selecting the female basketball team players, something he uses to extract sexual favors. Being obsessed with basketball, he is also obsessed with all the female basketball players. Among them his major obsession is on Nicole and Naomi. Nicole, because she is one who has never given him any weightage. Second, she is the female captain and as a right he seems to see her as his queen. And third, he had been slapped by her when he tried to sneak in the girls locker room trying to catch her naked. Whereas Naomi, he wanted to fuck just because she was Talon's girl-friend. It would be the ultimate revenge for him. To cast his shadow of dominance for all the humiliation he has suffered for not being the star player of the games and all the fans loving Talon.

Nicole bio:
Nicole is one of the friend's of Miranda and is Scott's crush and part of Pi Beta Phi. Nicole was in many ways the perfect girl. She was absolutely stunning in all departments. She was tall at 5' 7" and athletic but with the figure of a glamour model. She was the captain of the basketball team and a brilliant student. She had long black hair that came up to her back and when she walked would dance with the sway of her hips. She had the perfect figure 36-24-36. Her tits looked firm and stood out when she walked jiggled slightly but she was a sight to see when she danced. The sway of her hips and tits had 99% of the college lusting after her. But there was something about Nicole that stood apart from most of the other girls that commanded such a look. She was very humble and friendly and to the extent quite conservative which was the reason for her widespread appeal. There were some who would imagine taking her home and introducing her to their parents while some were turned on by thinking of how good it would feel to corrupt her and make her their slut.

Lily's friends bio:
Kendra, Alison, Josie have been minion followers to Lily's plans and plotting. Because of them John and his friends have had to go through some difficult times in school and took a hit on their otherwise spotless reputation. Among those was once based on Lily's plotting, the 3 girls floated a false rumor that the three of them Kendra, Alison, Josie were dating John, Matt and Scott and they broke up since guys had small dicks. This resulted in one of the very few incidences where John had lost his cool and he ended up in the girls bathroom when only Kendra was in there. He had pulled down his pants and pulled out his raging hardon to have his way with Kendra. But as soon as he entered the toilet booth he saw the fear in her eyes and his anger subsided, however, his 13" dick twitched looking at the girl in her semi-naked state. But sense prevailed in his mind and he started to backtrack his steps which is when Kendra almost hypnotized by his raging hardon extended her hand to grip his big thick cock and pulled him closer. As John would later tell his friends this was the best blowjob he had received so far. When Kendra came clean with Lily about what happened, Lily was furious. Not only she was annoyed to know that John had a huge dick that all her friends were drooling about, but her own boyfriend was only half the size. In order to redeem herself Lily asked Kendra to file a complaint against John even though it was all consensual from her side. Luckily for John he had a voice recording of his conversation with Kendra and the consensual nature of the act. John was acquitted by the Principle on the spot but he was so pissed with Lily and Kendra that he said that probably he should have had gone ahead and had his way with Kendra and for good measure followed up with Alison and Josie and for the cherry run a train on Lily with his friends. This was definitely one of the very dark times for John and he hoped he was never in such a similar situation again cause he did not know what could happen if it did.

 

[gene.sis]

John bio:[...] except for his passion for marksmanship. He went on to become the youngest national champion

How many of "youngest national champions" exist?
And even if I'd ignore the "national champion," I couldn't name anyone I know.

John bio:[...] in a secret relationship with the school principles's daughter and they moved to a different state when she got pregnant. He is a part of the fraternity group Alpha Sigma Phi.

Makes it even more difficult, especially combined with the former part.
And in my opinion, it would be much better if you would actually TELL these rumors in the story.

Romeo bio:[...] tall athletic guy who is also on the men's basketball team. He is an average player but his ego is off the charts.

No luck here as well. (and I won't even mention the rest of his bio)

Nicole bio:[...] She had long black hair [...] had the perfect figure 36-24-36. [...] She was very humble and friendly

Um, well... no
And how high are the odds that this girl would be into the person who would be the namegiver for Scott?

Lily's friends bio: [...] his 13" dick

Sure...

Lily's friends bio:

Not much personality described on this one. (Though the rest doesn't sound like an everyday story)

So I wouldn't be able to give any of these four characters a meaningful name.

She was the captain of the basketball team [...]She had the perfect figure 36-24-36. Her tits looked firm and stood out when she walked jiggled slightly

That sounds conflicting. (btw not everyone is familiar with the imperial system)

(most male MC's have a foot long dong, lol)

Lily's friends bio: [...] his 13" dick

So have yours? ^^

I was just wondering if readers would like to set up names for 25-30 characters

For reading? A brief no.

set up names for 25-30 characters as well as if other authors had any interest.

Remember that other authors have to use the variables as well. That means additional work and higher concentration on a "rather unimportant" thing.
Some authors might not even realize that they have to use name variables and use the standard names or even use the names they used while reading.
And it's really annoying if you read a paragraph and think, "What? James? Who the hell is James?" or "Amanda would have never done that! She was described as the tiny, shy girl!"

I think two named characters are enough. In some cases, four or five might work as well but everything above is just additional work without any merit.
In my story, I use a variable for the MC and one for his wife. The MC is present at all times while the wife is present about half of the time. If a character only appears in every tenth chapter, it doesn't add much if they have a special name.
Rather allow the reader to choose nicknames as additional immersion variables for the main characters or names they could use during sex (like "Sex God" or "Daddy") though with the downsides Loeman already stated.

Most seem to discourage that such a big project is doomed to fail but I am quite determined to make this epic

I think so as well. It's similar to the stories which start with 2 options of which each least to 2 options and so on.
Just calculate how many chapters you have to write. You said, "The Afterparty" only depicts one night but by now it already has 700 chapters. Now let's say there are notable events every month... so that would be around 50 of them for your story... that's 35,000 chapters. I don't know how many characters "The Afterparty" has, but I think from skimming it there were about 8 (honestly, I have no idea )... so if you have 25 characters, that would be times 3, so around 100,000 chapters. Now... more characters mean more interaction between them, which multiplies the actual number of chapters. Each character could have about 3 times more interaction (8 to 25) which results in 300,000 chapters. Now if we assume that every chapter is about 500 words, this results in 150 million words. I think the biggest novel series doesn't even count 5 million words... so that would be even epic-epic in comparison to epic novels.

 

[fikka]

Remember that other authors have to use the variables as well. That means additional work and higher concentration on a "rather unimportant" thing.
Some authors might not even realize that they have to use name variables and use the standard names or even use the names they used while reading.
And it's really annoying if you read a paragraph and think, "What? James? Who the hell is James?" or "Amanda would have never done that! She was described as the tiny, shy girl!"

I think two named characters are enough. In some cases, four or five might work as well but everything above is just additional work without any merit.
In my story, I use a variable for the MC and one for his wife. The MC is present at all times while the wife is present about half of the time. If a character only appears in every tenth chapter, it doesn't add much if they have a special name.
Rather allow the reader to choose nicknames as additional immersion variables for the main characters or names they could use during sex (like "Sex God" or "Daddy") though with the downsides Loeman already stated.


I think so as well. It's similar to the stories which start with 2 options of which each least to 2 options and so on.
Just calculate how many chapters you have to write. You said, "The Afterparty" only depicts one night but by now it already has 700 chapters. Now let's say there are notable events every month... so that would be around 50 of them for your story... that's 35,000 chapters. I don't know how many characters "The Afterparty" has, but I think from skimming it there were about 8 (honestly, I have no idea )... so if you have 25 characters, that would be times 3, so around 100,000 chapters. Now... more characters mean more interaction between them, which multiplies the actual number of chapters. Each character could have about 3 times more interaction (8 to 25) which results in 300,000 chapters. Now if we assume that every chapter is about 500 words, this results in 150 million words. I think the biggest novel series doesn't even count 5 million words... so that would be even epic-epic in comparison to epic novels.

Thanks for the inputs, though all the ones regarding the Bio didn't make much sense to me at all and the tone was rather discouraging. He went on to become the youngest national champion.. does mean the "youngest national champion" currently - I couldn't understand what was so confusing. The Bio as I did write will have their story fleshed out in section 1.) Relive the Past (the Bio page would get updated too if a different Author made contributions that would reflect well in the short Bio) and keep it exciting.

And even if I'd ignore the "national champion," I couldn't name anyone I know.

Lol, I have no hope to have this story fit someone's life that perfectly. I don't think this was needed but I can add a disclaimer if you like "This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental."

You don't need to, that's kinda the idea, the Bio also says that. The idea being the MC does things well where he puts his mind to it, otherwise he's an average Joe. By the way, the Bio has a bit of rumors along with facts intentionally incorporated.

I think two named characters are enough.

My qualm with these types of story is that you allow personalization but then are thrown in a crowd of unknown's and that's where the personalization ends as the MC starts interacting with characters that have names you've never even heard of. Again this is my opinion and how I see the "idea of a customized story". I guess it might also depend on one's social circle when one want's to fill in the names. I mean having a bitchy girl who is always scheming and has 3 minion followers is quite a general description and probably would fit for a lot of readers.

 

[gene.sis]

Thanks for the inputs, though all the ones regarding the Bio didn't make much sense to me at all and the tone was rather discouraging. He went on to become the youngest national champion.. does mean the "youngest national champion" currently - I couldn't understand what was so confusing.

The point of using immersion variables is to give the reader familiarity which reminds them of their own environment.
And as the "youngest national champion" means that there is exactly one makes the character so special that not many readers could find similarities with people they know.
So don't get me wrong, having characters with a special background is fine — even though yours might be slightly over the top for my taste — but they aren't average Joes which everyone has in their circle of friends and acquaintances.

My qualm with these types of story is that you allow personalization but then are thrown in a crowd of unknown's and that's where the personalization ends as the MC starts interacting with characters that have names you've never even heard of.

A story usually starts with something new or some change. Like moving to a new town, meeting new people, going to college, breaking up, experiencing something completely new, and so on. (Though some of them might work better with a bit of back flash)
So if you allow the reader to get into that main character, there will always be new people. Otherwise, they wouldn't read a story but their own biography.
And naming unknown characters with known names don't add anything to the immersion. I'd rather think it makes it weird to read about characters with known names who are all but similar to their name giver.

I mean having a bitchy girl who is always scheming and has 3 minion followers is quite a general description and probably would fit for a lot of readers.

So one out of 25?
Or is your plan to offer the reader to pick his main character for themselves? In that case, it wouldn't make much sense anyway as they would only appear every few chapters. Then I'd rather offer one male and one female name for the main characters and let them see the story with their eyes. (focus on them if 3rd person is used)


And I don't want to discourage you but it isn't easy to handle these variables, especially if you work with other authors. I mean, I use short version variables {m}, {f} and {s} which are fast to type and easy to remember but if you have 25 of them, you have to be really focused on that part of your writing. So if there is only one wrong name in a chapter, it can throw the reader out of his immersion, wondering if they forgot some details of a character or wondering how it would be possible that this character is present right now or kissing the girl of another guy.

 

[fikka]

The point of using immersion variables is to give the reader familiarity which reminds them of their own environment.
And as the "youngest national champion" means that there is exactly one makes the character so special that not many readers could find similarities with people they know.
So don't get me wrong, having characters with a special background is fine — even though yours might be slightly over the top for my taste — but they aren't average Joes which everyone has in their circle of friends and acquaintances.


A story usually starts with something new or some change. Like moving to a new town, meeting new people, going to college, breaking up, experiencing something completely new, and so on. (Though some of them might work better with a bit of back flash)
So if you allow the reader to get into that main character, there will always be new people. Otherwise, they wouldn't read a story but their own biography.
And naming unknown characters with known names don't add anything to the immersion. I'd rather think it makes it weird to read about characters with known names who are all but similar to their name giver.


So one out of 25?
Or is your plan to offer the reader to pick his main character for themselves? In that case, it wouldn't make much sense anyway as they would only appear every few chapters. Then I'd rather offer one male and one female name for the main characters and let them see the story with their eyes. (focus on them if 3rd person is used)


And I don't want to discourage you but it isn't easy to handle these variables, especially if you work with other authors. I mean, I use short version variables {m}, {f} and {s} which are fast to type and easy to remember but if you have 25 of them, you have to be really focused on that part of your writing. So if there is only one wrong name in a chapter, it can throw the reader out of his immersion, wondering if they forgot some details of a character or wondering how it would be possible that this character is present right now or kissing the girl of another guy.

I don't think adding one obscure quality would alienate the reader but I'll keep your input and see how best to address this. In general my plan is to actually have these total of around 15 MC's and the reader might actually be able to fit well with one of them and not the traditional way that the first character would be your best bet. As I said in my first post the narrative it to be 3rd person (Both) which would allow for that.

Here are some of the other Bio's that a user might be able to relate better. I am kinda new here so I might be wrong but I felt this choice of characters might also encourage some other authors who might associate better with some other character and be interested in writing for them.

I don't plan on publishing this right away, I plan to have some story arc to develop before I get to that point but I felt starting to discuss here would help in that process to refine certain things, so honestly any feedback in appreciated. If it accompanies suggestions how to address those issues it helps more

PS: I don't know how others do but when writing a story you can use real names and then swap them later with the variable names quite easily using something like Notepad++. I see a lot of writers mix names even when writing stories with 3-4 character variables or incorrectly formatted variables.

Matt: A close friend of John and part of Alpha Sigma Phi. Matt is a care free fun loving guy. He is good at everything except for studies. He has short brown hair and eyes of the same color. He is not very tall or athletic but his charm is off the scale when flirting with the girls. His flattering comments would keep a nun spellbound from her daily prayers and give some an orgasmic delight they have never experienced in life. However, it was always hard for him to get to second base with most girls. Once his words were less important and actions more he fell short being awkward in taking charge. He liked Fiona who was just the perfect height for him but always felt she was out of his league because she was very smart and for that reason he was always drawn to another girl Robin in the class.

Scott: A close friend of John and part of Alpha Sigma Phi. Scott is another close friend of John. He has dark medium cut brown hair and eyes of the same color. Scott was pretty much a tremendous geek, very intelligent and with an obsession for new technologies. Because of those traits, Scott often had problems in his social life, being very introverted, especially around girls. It began around the time his father died when he was young. John and Scott knew each other ever since they were twelve. Scott has a huge crush on Nicole but does not want anyone to know because he feels embarrassed about it and feels she is out of his league. Scott has an elder sister Jessica who he loves a lot after his father passed away. Even though he is younger he tries to take care of her wherever possible. He also has a younger cousin sister Jennifer but is not very close with her and also does not approve with her dating circle.

Talon: A good friend of John and part of Alpha Sigma Phi. Talon had been John's friend for about a year now, when John helped him with Math problems he was struggling with. With short messy black hair and dark brown eyes, he plays on the college football and basketball team and is dating the beautiful cheerleader Naomi. He and the brown-eyed brunette girl are madly in love, and often served as an example for their friends of how a happy couple should be.

Sam: Another good friend of John and part of Alpha Sigma Phi. Sam is the shy kind of guy. He does not seem to be very interested in the girls of this college and gives the reason that he has a girlfriend already and she is studying in another close by college. He is tall but not very athletic but has a towering personality. All the girls find him nice and safe since he does not flirt with anyone and is good natured and courteous. While some girls find this persona of his very bland others feel he is on the verge of stepping out of the proverbial closet.

Miranda: Crush of John he met in college. John has a crush on Miranda as soon as he had laid his eyes on her. She was perfect in his eyes. Miranda is 5' 5" tall and has a beautiful hourglass shaped body. She also has a wonderful pair of 36C boobs that John had partially seen at a swimming pool party when she wore a bikini top. Everyone seems to know that John has a crush on her, but does she, no one knows. They have always had a nice friendship, but sadly, nothing more. Miranda always seemed to be busy with herself and her own world. She was a cheerleader but did not take part in their other activities or parties. She was good in studies and helped her other cheerleader friends who were deficient in grey matter. She definitely had a side which was a mystery and added to her carnality. Guys would fantasize about her innocent school girls looks who craves for every demeaning sexual act that could be dished out to her and would love it. Even lesbian and bisexual girls in the class had an eye on her for this reason. In their dirty imagination Miranda was a naughty pussy eating submissive princess or a strap-on wielding dominatrix. Miranda is in a sorority Pi Beta Phi with Nicole and Sonyawith them as their lead members.

Sonya is a close friend of Miranda and part of Pi Beta Phi. She is 5' 7" tall and has long, wavy blonde hair and deep-black eyes, she is the captain of the cheerleading squad at college and the envy of all the other girls, as well as the object of the boys’ lust due to her fit body and the large breasts that were even a bit bigger than Fiona’s. She is engaged to James and is supposed to get married within a year. However, her engagement does not deter the boys to drool over her sexiness or try to attempt their chances. It has been rumored that before she got engaged Sonya was a party animal during her high school days and had a number of relations, some included teachers. However, no one here in college has yet seen her slutty side or can confirm her past life.

Alia is a close friend of Miranda and part of Pi Beta Phi. She is quite short at just under 5 feet. She has a dark tanned complexion which is a turn on for some that find her quite unique among the usual mix of girls. She has a nice ass, one of the best around, which seems accented because of her short stature. Most of the guys. from the nerds to the douchebags in the class have already copped a feel of her ass while passing behind her through the narrow corridors which makes her very uncomfortable. She had a very bad experience in school when while playing she got stuck in a crawl space and the school boys had enjoyed pulling down her pants and having their way. She was lucky enough not to get raped that day but the boys had enjoyed spanking and fingering both her holes.

Fiona is one of the friend's of Miranda and is Matt's crush and part of Pi Beta Phi. She is short at 5 feet 2 inches but packs a solid rack of 36D's. She has golden brown flowing hair with a hint of red streaks that falls up to her shoulders and frames her angel like face with light blue eyes. She was the prom queen in her school and has been one of the prime fantasies for most of the boys in her school and here in the college too. She could have easily been a cheerleader but she thought of it as a thing girls do to entice boys. She was quite studious and felt this was a better use of her time than flirting around as a cheerleader. She was definitely more exotic in her appearance than Sonya except for her height but that also meant a lot of the boys favored their chance with her rather than trying for the cheerleaders. Her shorter height also meant average looking nerdy guys would try and hit on her as well and was more approachable, something she realized in hindsight and regretted. Her large tits were always a sight of focus and some of the tall douchebag guys in class always looked for opportunities to stand close to her and then look down her cleavage. Tom always had his sights on her tits and used to tease her by sucking his thumb as if he was sucking her tits and used to call her "Miss Dairy Queen" in references to her milky jugs.

Naomi is one of the friend's of Miranda and is Talon's girl-friend and part of Pi Beta Phi. Naomi is also a very close friend of Nicole and also plays basketball. She has a slim tall figure and perky tits. She is the only girl who was also a cheerleader but something she got involved because of her boy-friend and in order to spend more time with him. While she was madly in love with him she was also quite jealous and being a part of the cheerleaders she could keep an eye on him and also make sure to keep the other girls away from him. To say she was possessive about her boyfriend would be an understatement. Her perky tits were most of the time a reason for the jealousy she had since Talon had once rated he liked Sonya, Fiona, Miranda, Nicole and Naomi's tits in that order before they started dating during an innocent game of truth or dare. Naomi was definitely pretty but depending on who you asked was sometimes not considered in the same league as her friends. However, she still had a modest following among the boys who drooled over her looks especially when she wore her really short cheerleading outfit. Unknown to Naomi one of the guys here in college was massively obsessed about her and was from her school. Someone who had been fantasizing about her since he hit puberty and was the main girl in his fantasies that ranged from playful quirky to demented.

Maki is a friend of Miranda and part of Pi Beta Phi. She is the most quiet and shy person of their group. You can see that she came from a girls only school and a very conservative background and hardly seems to have spoken to any boys. You can see that its not her shyness but the discipline in her upbringing that makes her reluctant to carry on a conversation with any of the boys outside the realm of books. Many of the class douchebags enjoy dropping words with double meanings in their conversations with her which she fails to understand given them an added pleasure. She has been given the nickname of "pussy-cat" by the guys from Alpha Erectus. Tom has had her repeat vulgar hand gestures for the amusement of his group while the poor girl had no idea or realization what it meant. Nicole tries to keep her away from the douchebags of the class which has made Nicole a target in their eyes.

Jessica is the real elder sister of Scott. She does not attend this college but works here as a support staff in the administrative department. Since she did not have the opportunity to attend college she is at the moment on the lowest rung of the career ladder having just confirmed a position after working for six months as an intern. However, to support the family and see her brother Scott attend college she is always willing to make any sacrifices. This last bit of information unfortunately for her is also known to some of the teachers who have a lecherous mentality. During her interview for securing her permanent position one of the teachers Peter who also handles the Administrative work asked her to sit on his lap while he assessed her typing skills. Fortunately for her it didn't go any further and she secured the job. John, Scott, his sister Jessica and their other friends were all part of a gang while growing up. Jessica was a tomboy no one looked at apart from being Scott's sister and never realized when she turned out to be a bombshell. Scott suspected some of his friends had started noticing Jessica in another way but couldn't say for sure.

Dan: College Douchebag Leader and part of Alpha Erectus. A gangly boy of about 23-24, much much older than the other kids. He talks in a dirty filthy accent and dissed out filthy abuses in every next line. He leers at all the girls let alone the pretty ones making sexual facial and hand gestures. He is really tall, like some 6' 2" with quite an intimidating stature. His hair parted down in the middle, rough and burly. Broad chested, the top 3 buttons of his shirt were always open, from where the thick bushel of chest hair peeped out. His trousers dirty and muddy, and it seemed he was a street person and no-one muddled with him. His father was a big politician and was a big donor and board member of the college. It was rumored Dan had raped or molested a few girls of his school and nearby locality but it was quickly covered up by his father's cronies. It was also rumored that he had a number of male college teacher like Peter, Michael, Arthur and Jacob wrapped around his fingers also a number of female college teacher like Sally, Sandy and Sharon wrapped around his dick. While he was eager to fuck any pussy he got he always fancied the virgins but his current obsession was the ones in relations and so Sonya having recently being engaged was his object of obsession.

Tom: College Douchebag Member 1 and part of Alpha Erectus. He met Dan only in college but immediately became somewhat of his right hand man. Tom was, for lack of a better term, an asshole. He treated girls like crap, yet he always seemed to be fucking a new one every week. Whether it too hook, crook, charm, force, alcohol or even drugs. He loved breaking into virgins and other guys crushes and subjugating them to a week of wild fucking until they became submissive and could be led into any depraved activity willingly. Once he had his fun he would pass, share or swap them with his other pals. Every month he would have wild orgies with his pals sharing their catch. He knew the crushes of all the boy's of John's group. How John felt about Miranda, Matt felt about Fiona, Scott felt about Nicole and often told you all how much he would love to have them riding his dick. It pissed John and his friends off how he talked about their crushes. He also hit on Miranda and Nicole often, but they rejected him every time. Tom was such a lowlife that he made a photo-shopped image of Nicole giving him a hand-job but Arzoo a girl he had fucked and used came forward and told everyone he had a smaller dick than what he tried to show in the fake image.

Aaron College Douchebag Member 3 and part of Alpha Erectus. Aaron is actually a big wimp and does not have much of a standing on his own. Before coming to college in his school days no one even noticed him around. Throughout his schooling he was only fixated on a girl which was the only reason for him to attend school and study to keep up with her in the same class. In his mind he would day dream and play out different scenarios with the girl of his dreams. Initially some of them played out as him being her boy-friend or husband but later on when she started dating another guy they were more on the lines of him stalking her, breaking into her apartment, tying or abducting her. All of them ending with how he would fuck her. He was good pals with Romeo because they shared a common interest, the interest being in fucking Naomi. He was the one with the massive obsession with Naomi from her school days.

 

[gene.sis]

Mh... I'm not sure if using so many characters is a good idea at all. Who can remember that many names and backgrounds? And will it be intimate?
Well, maybe someone else has experience with that and can tell something about it.

In general my plan is to actually have these total of around 15 MC's and the reader might actually be able to fit well with one of them and not the traditional way that the first character would be your best bet. As I said in my first post the narrative it to be 3rd person (Both) which would allow for that.

The thing is that you have to write 15 stories in one while I'd recommend writing only one story. I mean, if readers fall in love with a secondary character, you can always do a spin-off.

PS: I don't know how others do but when writing a story you can use real names and then swap them later with the variable names quite easily using something like Notepad++.

Yes, that helps.

pair of 36C boobs

While the height is fine for a biography, I wouldn't state bra size at all. Especially as it doesn't say much about the size or the look of it. There is again the issue of metric/imperial measurements. Additionally, there are different bra size systems which kind of use the same letters with different meanings.

 

[fikka]

The thing is that you have to write 15 stories in one while I'd recommend writing only one story. I mean, if readers fall in love with a secondary character, you can always do a spin-off.

I do like, er no.. absolutely love long stories with a ton of characters. Something on the lines of The Circle by SteveWallace https://www.literotica.com/s/the-circle-ch-01-2 and his other works. And that's where this deep desire to do something big comes into play. Not to mention to construct a build up to pull off an epic orgy scene one needs a ton of characters. There are also other scenarios where having these many characters is warranted.

I have started publishing to stories that already exist here and keep my goals for those modest while I work on this dream project silently and stealthily

While the height is fine for a biography, I wouldn't state bra size at all. Especially as it doesn't say much about the size or the look of it. There is again the issue of metric/imperial measurements. Additionally, there are different bra size systems which kind of use the same letters with different meanings.

Thanks, that's useful info.

 

[fikka]

I had some time to think further on this and the idea with these multiple characters was akin to what we have in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Re-live the Past section can be thought of as the origin stories of all these main characters. Some of them could be overlapping to make it more immersive. It also gives those writers who are interested in participating almost a free hand in developing the characters. Of course, if it's an origin story of a Thanos like character then it does need to follow those basic queues for everything to make sense at the end.

I did publish a short arc (so far) of a GI Joe fanfic I had written 10 years back but never got to post it anywhere which does deal with quite a few characters. Of course with a fanfic one does not need to spend much time on character development since most readers have a good enough impression of them.

I'm also going to start contributing to other stories that interest me and hope I can get a partnership going with a few. Another thought was maybe some writers might be interested in lending/incorporating characters from their story.

I'm just brainstorming here so a lot of idea's I'm pitching might not fly.

 

[Peri2g]

I won't speak to the discussion going on with gene.sis because, frankly, I'm lazy, and that's a lot of words. hahah.

That said, I will speak to the point of having large amounts of characters with names. For me, I avoid that like the plague. If you start naming everyone, I'm not going to remember who they are.

Unless their name adds to the emotion of a scene, don't even say their name, and unless they are important to the story, don't say it more than a few times. But if they're a main character, I would use their name every chance you get until you're sure the reader's got it remembered, so long as it doesn't sound awkward. I think this is even more true for adult fiction. People have already disengaged their brains, to a certain degree. Keep it simple.

This is a movie example, but I think it applies. There's a reason I can remember "Farmer Maggots crops!" from The Fellowship of the Rings even though it's only said once, and can't remember the name of anyone in The Hunger Games movies, except some of the main characters.

"Farmer Maggot" evokes a powerful mental image combined with the sight of the scythe bobbing up and down behind the corn stalks.

But I had to remind myself who Finnick was, and why I should care, even though he's supposed to be a main character.

Besides, when you name everyone, and one of those people ends up being important, you have to go back and see which one of those "people who's name you never bothered to remember" they were.

 

[fikka]

That said, I will speak to the point of having large amounts of characters with names. For me, I avoid that like the plague. If you start naming everyone, I'm not going to remember who they are.

I agree but I don't plan to rush into it, not taking the DCEU route but Marvel's. The characters are to be quite in focus and built over chapters. The Survivor fanfic project I have in mind is similar on those lines as a stepping stone where there are 20 characters and in a few episodes you generally have a grasp of their names and traits.

Another way is if you look the The Afterparty story, the Introduction barely describes the characters but over time writers have added chapters that if you have read the arcs you can get a good idea about the characters.

I think in a story if you can give each character 2-3 good scenes that also match their traits the reader will get a good enough grasp and then minor references in subplots is all it should take.

"Farmer Maggot" evokes a powerful mental image combined with the sight of the scythe bobbing up and down behind the corn stalks.

That's a nice example and I'm definitely going to use some of the similar references to develop the characters.

 

[Tip]

I don’t care but add default names that aren’t “the girl’s name is Doe because I’m too lazy to fix something that can even be done later.” If you pick defaults and I can change them later, nice but if you make it all ridiculous work because I’m reading about you want to make out with Doe, I’m out of the story.