50 Tips for Writing.

25. I will say this once and only once

If you don't want to take my advice, that's your choice. Don't make the mistake of shoving a huge cast of characters at the very beginning of a story. No one can keep up with sixteen characters all introduced at once, their names, backgrounds, personalities, looks etc, etc. Introduce the main character; establish him or her to your audience. When your readers feel as if they can know and understand the basic persona of your protagonist, add your antagonist or minor supporting casts. Shoving in every single one of your story cast all in one go at your reader's face is suicide, they'll run away dizzy and head spinning, mumbling about your weird ass story with too many people. Set your pace. Systematically start slowly and bring in each new character one or two at a time.