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Juggling with the WIP

Tip of the Day: Want to see the cover of my next YA novel, THE DAY BEFORE? Go HERE and check it out!! So, I'm a little worried that my WIP has too many things going on. I think it has like 4 different sub-plots going on. ACK!! But I like them all! And I have plans to tie them all together and bring meaning to each of them, so it's okay, isn't it?

Isn't it???

You might be wondering, is it making it hard to write, having so many things going on? Um, kind of. It's a lot like juggling. Don't drop that ball. And wait, what about that one? Haven't thrown that one up in a while, better do it now.

I'm 26,000 words in, so I can't worry about it now. I just have to keep plugging away, and see how it all turns out.

To make me feel better, can you think of any YA novels that have a lot going on and it really works well?

Posted by Lisa Schroeder at 7:34 AM Kate Fall said...

Reading novels with lots of subplots that come together is something I enjoy. Have you read Jellicoe Road? That manages to weave in two time periods and bring them together, and I loved it.

November 5, 2010 at 6:24 PM 
Hmmm. I am the queen of Too Many Sub Plots, and apparently I just dig myself into giant holes that take 400 pages to dig out of, so don't ask me, lol! But keep on writing!

November 5, 2010 at 9:01 PM Susanna said...

I'm not an expert on subplots (still trying to figure out how to get from the beginning to the end writing a novel!), but on a side note, the cover of your new book is fantastic and the blurb sounds like it will be a terrific read! Can't wait to see it!

November 6, 2010 at 6:36 AM 
When I think of subplots, while there can be different plots for your main character to be dealing with, I mostly think of minor characters getting their own stories, too, and yes I see a good bit of that--although I wish I saw more. It doesn't have to be huge stories or anything, but when I see minor characters in books doing nothing really but supporting the main characters romantic crisis or whatever, it drives me nuts. Life isn't like that, especially in high school, and it makes it feel so much more authentic to show other people dealing with things, too. K A Applegate does an amazing job with this.

November 8, 2010 at 6:02 AM