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Q&A Too Many Goals?

Not unsimilar to myself, my protagonist potentially has too many goals. He's isn't a likeable character (which is how I intended him) so to keep reader interest, I would like them to become invest...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Chris Sunami‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T09:16:01Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/37325
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Chris Sunami‭ · 2019-12-08T09:16:00Z (almost 5 years ago)
Not unsimilar to myself, my protagonist potentially has too many goals. He's isn't a likeable character (which is how I intended him) so to keep reader interest, I would like them to become invested in his projects and goals. **But is it better to focus tightly on one major goal than it is to have a range of goals?**

Specifically, my book is a YA novel. The hero's goals include: 1) expressing himself creatively, primarily through his YouTube channel, 2) playing pranks on his enemies, 3) making friends, 4) getting a girlfriend. His overall story arc is changing from a self-centered, immature and obnoxious kid into a better, more mature, less horrible person.

**Is this too much? Or does it all work well together?** Are there good guidelines for managing a range of subplots like this? To give a little more background, one comment I got from a beta reader is that the love interest is offstage for most of the book. She's definitely crucial to the overall plot --but there's large parts of the book she isn't currently in at all.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-06-29T18:55:48Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 5