Subplottage.

So I think I'm getting sick. That doesn 't bode well for the first week of NaNoWriMo!

Then again... maybe it does. At least it's an excuse to stay in and write write write! Except right now I'm a little too braindead to even try a drabble or an exercise. So I'm going to write a stream-of-consciousness blog post instead. (Lucky you.) There won't be much time for that when November rolls around!

Anyway... I think I'm just about ready. Just took a few minutes to read the draft of the original "Music Lessons" short story as I left it. And... dude. After about 6 months away from it, I can see why it needs a novel-length overhaul. As it is... plot (if you want to call it that) is choppy, characters that should be important walk on and off the set with barely an introduction, and just as it starts to really go somewhere and connect... it's done.

I've got my work cut out for me.

But it's also cool because I can see areas where I can fluff and expand. For one thing, the first draft had this subplot of my shy, lovable, hopelessly clumsy and nerdy Neil having a crush on a girl... who happens to like his twin brother. It was cute at the time, but the first time my writing class ran it through the critique circle, they said it detracted from the main storyline. Here I am, writing about three kids who lost their mom and one of them teetering closer and closer to suicidal depression... and I'm going off on high school love drama.

So, in the revision, I ditched it. Lynee (the crush) got a brief shout out as (the brother) Jon's girlfriend (all sibling rivalry begone!), but she was glossed over and summed up in a flashback or two so I could allot more pages to the "real story." bye bye, silly subplot!

In the second class critique, we all wanted it back. :) It was a cute breath of fresh air in a dark story, and a little bit of reassurance that -- messed up as their lives were -- these were teenagers with otherwise normal lives.

Which makes me think about subplot... they can give a sort of normalcy and realism to the plot. Something as simple and pointless as a little teenage puppy love brought out a different side to my characters. Neil seems more innocent and sort of pathetic, which makes him stand out all the more when he finally does something brave. And he learns that his school issues are small compared to the disguised turmoil in his family and the pain and depression his sister's going through.

Oh, look at me. Rambling on like you know this story in my head. Sorry. :)

All that to say... I'm looking forward to reviving the minor characters, especially since I'm trying to take a more YA-friendly angle. I want to flesh out their Dad more (who was kind of interesting, but also got glossed over) and I want to add a little more drama between Neil, Jon, and Lynee. I want them to be real high school kids with homework and hormones and all that good stuff. At least in NaNo month, you can call it a word count boost!


Now... here is the cheerleader/helpful advice/double-dog-dare-you part!

If you get stuck in your novel, toss in a subplot that might be mundane in comparison to the big, important, exciting things going on in your "real plot." Let your character develop an unrequited crush or something. Or if you get really stuck... send your MC grocery shopping.

What? That worked for me last year. You'd be amazed what happens at the grocery store. :)

Only 2 more days! Except for my little short story drafts, I, uh... still don't have an outline. Maybe I should do something about that. :/