My previous novels all made due with a main character and a couple of ancillary folks, so it was easy to remember who was who. In my sci-fi/fantasy mashup, I've been to five settings so far, and I'm about to go to a 6th. That makes keeping track of who's who more complex than I'm used to. Therefore, I'm writing each character down in my outline journal as I create them. And yes, I mean each nd every one of them since you never really know who will grow into greater importance as the story progresses.
So here's my confession - this is kinda boring. Yes I know I should be enthusiastic about each and every facet of my writing, but some of the bits and pieces outside of writing makes me feel like I'm back in English class outlining the plot to Moby Dick. It's not that I don't remember each realm and the basics of who's who, but specific character names for those who aren't the main guy or gal sometimes slip my mind. In previous books, I've found myself accidentally renaming characters and have had to go back through and fix the ones I got wrong(and that was with a much smaller cast). It would be a bit awkward for the reader to begin caring about the Elf King Vindrael and then discover his name had been changed to Tahthal down the road. I'm sure the audience would be like, "Who's this? Was the King replaced? And why did we not get at least a chapter about that?" Meanwhile, I'd be happy as a clam, muddling along and thinking people were still reading about the same guy.
I'd forgotten to write their names initially here, so as I began to write again, I had to go back through the novel and write down each person in the story so I could keep track. I now have a couple of pages of characters and character notes, and I keep having to remember to add to these notes every time I write someone new. Yes, this might just be another bitch-fest, but it's still one of the less sexy parts of writing.
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