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Can the goal change?

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Magnanimoe

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The structure of the novel I'm plotting sets the MC off pursuing a goal, with plenty of obstacles in the way. About 2/3 of the way through a decision by another character inadvertently achieves that goal, but sets the MC off on a much more immediate and critical goal (which ultimately brings about a fundamental shift in the MC that is tied in to why she set off on the initial goal). Before I commit to anything, I'd like feedback on whether this is okay, or if it would violate the fundamental principles of story structure.

Secondarily, should this goal change be reflected in the query? Thanks.
 

rwm4768

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It's perfectly fine to have the goal change.

It doesn't have to be reflected in the query. In the query, you should focus on the goal you can convey most clearly and succinctly. A query isn't a synopsis. You don't have to cover the entire story.
 

Interrobang

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Absolutely. In fact most stories now feature a change in goal, sometimes more than one, otherwise they can become predictable.

If you're writing a paragraph or two in a query letter, then you just need to cover the bare bones (the main character/s, the situation, the problem) not the detail. As rwm4768 points out, it's not a synopsis or a précis.
 

Dennis E. Taylor

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IMO, this would have to be handled very carefully. If you set up the reader's expectation that you are heading for a given goal (especially if it's part of the jacket blurb), then essentially abandon it, the reader may feel like they've been tricked with a red herring.

I've read a couple of different books where a Terran is recruited to help against an intergalactic invader. Then the whole book is about the prep, and they never get to the invader. Both books were fails, as far as I'm concerned, because the write-up made me expect space battles.

If you are going to change the goal, it cannot be presented as a main plot point.
 
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Bufty

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It doesn't have to be handled any more carefully than other turn in the story.

Afraid you're on sticky ground on all points here, friend.

There's no trickery and nothing at all wrong or off-putting if a goal is replaced by another goal because the first was no longer attainable for whatever reason.

And of course a changed goal can become a main plot point.

=Angry Guy;9131354]IMO, this would have to be handled very carefully. If you set up the reader's expectation that you are heading for a given goal (especially if it's part of the jacket blurb), then essentially abandon it, the reader may feel like they've been tricked with a red herring.

I've read a couple of different books where a Terran is recruited to help against an intergalactic invader. Then the whole book is about the prep, and they never get to the invader. Both books were fails, as far as I'm concerned, because the write-up made me expect space battles.

If you are going to change the goal, it cannot be presented as a main plot point.
 
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Jamesaritchie

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I'm in the handle it extremely carefully camp. It's not that a goal can't change, but having it change inadvertently because of something another character does strikes me as a very dangerous situation.

Having a goal change because it never was really what the character wanted in the first place is one thing, this happens often on novels, but I'm not at all sure what you're talking about would work.
 

Cathy C

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Sure. It happens all the time. Jim Butcher's Dresden Files is famous for that. He starts out to do Plot A and he's suddenly involved in Plot B that he didn't even realize was happening. Plot A gets resolved (often by someone else) and he winds up with a horrible debt to someone :evil when he never even asked that the person intervene for him.

Good times... :Headbang:

But great reading! :)
 

Magnanimoe

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Thank you all for the input. Having references helps. I will be wary but will plow ahead.
 

Laiceps

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I was wondering the same thing.
My MC starts out with a goal, (trying to save someone), then realises it can't be done, so she tries to find someone else (whom she lost while she was pursuing the first someone.)
So, technically, the primary goal is a complete failure.
Not sure if this actually counts as a story arc...
As a reader, would you be annoyed if the first problem was never solved?
 

blacbird

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Anything can change. Planning might get you started writing something, but the actual writing will generate new ideas, not considered in the original plan. It's up to you to decide whether or not to pursue those new ideas, when they rise like wack-a-moles, but don't be immune to them.

caw
 

Roxxsmom

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Sometimes the character rethinking his or her goals is the point of the story. Sometimes initial goals turn out to be red herrings. Sometimes goals are reached and spawn new, even more challenging goals as the story progresses. Sometimes characters have multiple, conflicting goals, and they have to choose which one/ones to pursue.

It might feel a bit anticlimactic, though, if the character has been single mindedly pursuing a goal throughout the story, and near the end, another character achieves it for them, and suddenly they have a new goal that will be achieved very quickly and with much less fuss.

Not saying that this is what happens with yours, but the way your described the situation made me wonder.
 

Magnanimoe

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Sometimes the character rethinking his or her goals is the point of the story. Sometimes initial goals turn out to be red herrings. Sometimes goals are reached and spawn new, even more challenging goals as the story progresses. Sometimes characters have multiple, conflicting goals, and they have to choose which one/ones to pursue.

It might feel a bit anticlimactic, though, if the character has been single mindedly pursuing a goal throughout the story, and near the end, another character achieves it for them, and suddenly they have a new goal that will be achieved very quickly and with much less fuss.

Not saying that this is what happens with yours, but the way your described the situation made me wonder.

Thanks. I think my plot matches what you said first. The new goal is more challenging because, to accomplish it, the MC has to grow as a person. It's not achieved quickly or easily and is actually rather painful (as personal growth often is).
 

Roxxsmom

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Thanks. I think my plot matches what you said first. The new goal is more challenging because, to accomplish it, the MC has to grow as a person. It's not achieved quickly or easily and is actually rather painful (as personal growth often is).

That's the important part, I think. The achieving the first goal and finding a new one 2/3 of the way through is what threw me. Only spending the last 1/3 of the story on what turns out to be the most important part of the story might feel a bit anticlimactic, unless there's some clear connection between the two. For instance, if the protagonist had to achieve goal #1 to become the person they needed to be to achieve the "real" goal.

But if a less important character was the one who achieved goal number one, it made me wonder if this would be the case.

Hard to say without reading it, of course, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt.
 

sayamini

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I think the goal can change. Just make sure it's done in a way that the reader doesn't feel jarred by the sudden shift in objective. It should seem justified, if that makes sense.
 
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