Can you NOT have a main storyline?

For me, no. That would annoy me hugely. IMO novels would be singular cohesive stories. There may be subplots and other things going on, but it should all add up to one thing. That's just me though.

Alzarakh said:

Ugh, back again. Help? I've come to the concusion that I may have to rewrite my entire story. Big dissapoints...

Can a novel have multiple stories but no main storyline? Mine currently has 3 but any of them could be the "main" one. I wanted this book to be open in that sense to set up the series in a way that the reader could follow/favourite/dislike any of the characters involved.

Later books would focus on only one or two characters at a time with the other characters becoming background characters. They would still affect one another but not in the readers perspective.

Doable?

(YA, Sci-fi, cyberpunk)

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Hmm, some epic fantasy is like that, or at least, the storylines might not converge for a few books. George RR Martin's ASoIaF is an example of this. Some of his characters don't even know the other characters exist. Though I think there's a general hope or expectation that someday, somehow, the story threads will converge and tie together somehow.

But I don't know if this is the best approach for a debut author necessarily.

Aren't young adult stories supposed to be more intimate, self-contained, and finite, and with fewer main characters, though?

Alzarakh said:

Yes but with my writing skills still developing, YA is where I think it fits in the best.

I look at this one as the "introduction" book in a way. I was aiming for an openended plot (the 3 are all connected together and the characters are friends/know each other) but they all revolve around the ending, the start of a war.

Its a bit complicated but they mesh as the story goes on and then it would splinter, following specific characters.

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I obviously don't know what's in your ms. or anything about it, so I could be very off, but this sounds like the first book may not be needed at all.

The story starts where the story starts. If the war starts at the end, maybe the end is the beginning.

Alzarakh said:

Yes but with my writing skills still developing, YA is where I think it fits in the best.

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I'm sure you didn't mean it this way, but that almost makes it sound like you think YA takes less skill to write. That might anger a lot of YA writers who work very hard on their craft.

When it comes to life experience, YA can certainly be easier to write for a young writer. If you're in your teens or twenties, you aren't far removed from the characters in your stories.


As for the original question, I think it's something you have to handle with a lot of care. I see it done in adult epic fantasy, but usually by established writers. I'm not sure I've ever read YA with three separate storylines that don't connect.

Is there some way they tie together? Your characters don't necessarily have to meet, but there should be some general thing tying the novel together.

I want to tell you a joke, but it has no punch line. Will you laugh?

caw

Alzarakh said:

I look at this one as the "introduction" book in a way.

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I know what you mean, but you have to make sure the book does actually stand alone by itself and works as its own story.

Alzarakh said:

Ugh, back again. Help? I've come to the concusion

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Alzarakh, don't give yourself a concussion thinking so hard! Take it easy and be careful. And especially don't self-inflict brain bruises and bleeding when you get frustrated it won't do you any good.

Okay, so I know you meant conclusion. In my opinion it's best to have a main story-line. It doesn't necessarily have to be that awesome.

I'm going to use Shrek for an example. What starts his entire quest? Fairy-tale creatures getting dumped on his land and he wants to get his swamp back. He visits Lord Farquad (however you spell it) Shrek can get his land back if he rescues the princess. Quest 2: Shrek rescues the princess from the dragon guarded castle surrounded by hot boiling lava! Quest 3: Return home and deliver the princess, but he starts to fall in love with her. After misunderstanding he goes to re-rescue her from Lord F--, they get married and he gets his swamp back.

So in all technicality the main story-line is Shrek trying to get his land back and falling in love was a side effect of the quest.

So basically what I'm saying is you can have more than one story-line going, but what you want is an anchored motive. Something the characters set out to do, but get distracted along the way is fine, so long as their first goal is met by the end of the book and that goal doesn't have to be anything dazzling. It could be to find out who stole the cookies or something so long as by the end they do succeed.

Alzarakh said:

Yes but with my writing skills still developing, YA is where I think it fits in the best.

I look at this one as the "introduction" book in a way. I was aiming for an openended plot (the 3 are all connected together and the characters are friends/know each other) but they all revolve around the ending, the start of a war.

Its a bit complicated but they mesh as the story goes on and then it would splinter, following specific characters.

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Just be careful with this. I know that you know what you're doing, but since it sounds like you're a new writer you're probably going to have a harder time getting something so ambitious published as your debut. If you self-publish, no worries, but I've always been against self-publishing myself. I'd rather publish the traditional way.

I can't give much account for your story only having bare details and such, but making something open-ended doesn't sound like that great of an idea to me.

There was a discussion elsewhere on the forum about publishing a series where the first book can't stand alone, and it was advised against. The first book of any series should be able to stand alone.

I know this isn't possible (I've got one of those stories going on right now) But I do advise to make the first book at least have something completed. A goal should be met in each book, and probably, if you can you should hold off publishing your ambitious series first. Breaking into the publishing world is hard so in some instances it might be best to follow the rules until you get your name out there and there's more leeway to publish books that can't stand alone with out their counterparts.

Anyway,that's my two cents.

I think even if you have different plots going on, there should still be one that comes to the forefront for the readers... that affects subplots.

Roxxsmom said:

Hmm, some epic fantasy is like that, or at least, the storylines might not converge for a few books. George RR Martin's ASoIaF is an example of this. Some of his characters don't even know the other characters exist. Though I think there's a general hope or expectation that someday, somehow, the story threads will converge and tie together somehow.

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We live in hope...

Quentin Nokov makes a very valid point - even if your storylines are separate, they need to work together as a cohesive story, by the end of which some kind of goal needs to have been achieved. Often this goal is there from the outset, because something needs to motivate the characters to act, but the final goal could be a new one that supplants the original goal along the way.

Like in LOTR (talking film version here, as haven't read it) - Frodo's original goal is to get the ring to Rivendell and let the elves deal with it, get back to the Shire, live quietly ever after. Then he gets there and takes on a new goal - take the ring to Mordor and throw it into mount Doom. Alongside these goals there are other characters working on other goals - defending Rohan, liberating Theoden, persuading him to ride to the aid of Gondor, persuading the Ents to attack Saruman - but all these goals and side stories are in pursuit of the one overarching goal.

In order to have one overarching goal, you don't have to have a main plot thread, as it's possible to give all plot threads equal weight while still working towards the resolution of the same story problem, but it's more difficult.

I always try to adopt the K I S S system - keep it short and simple. In today's fast world of technology and travel, many people prefer to read a novel which is not complicated and they can finish the book over a short time without feeling perplexed or frustrated at the plots. But that's just me and my preferences. Personally I wouldn't do it unless you are experienced and can pull something really good out of the hat. As a new writer and now an author, I feel KISS is best.

Alzarakh said:

Yes but with my writing skills still developing, YA is where I think it fits in the best.

I look at this one as the "introduction" book in a way. I was aiming for an openended plot (the 3 are all connected together and the characters are friends/know each other) but they all revolve around the ending, the start of a war.

Its a bit complicated but they mesh as the story goes on and then it would splinter, following specific characters.

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Hey Alzarakh.

I understand 100% what you're going through: sometimes some serious world building is required for awesome stories, and the "major" plot requires so much set up... My suggestion would be, particularly since you're writing YA, to check out Marissa Meyer's book Cinder. It was her debut novel, and it is the first book that sets up the Lunar Chronicles. 3 of the 4 books are out right now, but Cinder is a great example of how to start with one, contained plot in the new world you're building, but how it serves as a solid foundation for other plots that seem unrelated or were just too big for the first book, to come in later. Cinder is kind of slow at times, but it's very well written, and does so much good work for the later books.

I just finished Cress (the 3rd book) and it blew my mind. There's so many story lines, subplots, and settings going on now, but it would have made a terrible first book. Check out her books if you haven't yet, but I think the series could be a great reference point for you.

A novel is always a question and an answer.

The question is asked throughout the entirety of the novel.

The answer is given in the climax.

The answer to question is why the reader has the patience to engage with your novel. Without the question, the reader won't stick around. With a question, but no answer of any kind, the reader will throw your book across the room in outrage.

Ask a question. Give an answer. That's the main story. So, yes, I think you need one.

Alzarakh said:

Ugh, back again. Help? I've come to the concusion that I may have to rewrite my entire story. Big dissapoints...

Can a novel have multiple stories but no main storyline? Mine currently has 3 but any of them could be the "main" one. I wanted this book to be open in that sense to set up the series in a way that the reader could follow/favourite/dislike any of the characters involved.

Later books would focus on only one or two characters at a time with the other characters becoming background characters. They would still affect one another but not in the readers perspective.

Doable?

(YA, Sci-fi, cyberpunk)

Click to expand...

a story always has a main plot line, all the other plots are side plots that feed into the main story. I'm sorry, I just don't think there can be one. Otherwise you're writing Cats the Musical and I've found a way to make a plot line out of that. So....yeah.

I would think this is highly possible, as long as there is something which links them, somehow some way...

A pivotal event. An historical event. A locale or setting. Some sort of theme.

If not, call it experimental and go with it.

Thornbird said:

I always try to adopt the K I S S system - keep it short and simple. In today's fast world of technology and travel, many people prefer to read a novel which is not complicated and they can finish the book over a short time without feeling perplexed or frustrated at the plots.

Click to expand...

I think this is a bit of a generalisation, and probably a gross underestimation of some readerships. Fantasy, Sci Fi and historical fiction readers don't tend to be put off by complex plots and vast amounts of world building, but I can see KISS being a good rule of thumb for genre romance or MG. It depends what you're writing. Generalisations don't apply in every instance, that's why they're generalisations

Thornbird said:

But that's just me and my preferences. Personally I wouldn't do it unless you are experienced and can pull something really good out of the hat. As a new writer and now an author, I feel KISS is best.

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And this shows how you can only ever say something works for YOU. Others may find it useful too, of course

Possible - yes.

Advisable - ???????

Novels don't need to have a plot. I'm reading "A Sportsman's Sketches" and it's 25 short stories all linked together by the main character; a "slice of life" kind of thing.

If it was good enough to end serfdom in Russia, it must have done something right!

Yes, your novel likely needs a main storyline -- but it doesn't have to be shown through a single character. Look at GRR Martin's series. The main storyline is about a battle for a throne and the struggles of a kingdom to protect itself from enemies both carnal and ghostly.

But that story is told through several characters, not one.

Most TV shows don't have a mains story line, they just go from one arc to the other. As long as your character has a reason to live...

For myself, I mention how much times passes or I use weather events as a marker (if the characters happen to be in the same vicinity).