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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/37325
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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.

Original score: 5