October Novel Prep Challenge

You can also give your characters side quests. Is someone trying to find the perfect _____ recipe or a mate for their cat or the right vacation spot or the perfect paint color for _____ or shoes to match _____ or their old 3rd grade teacher, etc.

Think about complications you have had in your daily life. Think about natural complications from their situations. The one who is married and fell in love with a trans girl would have to sneak around, maybe their spouse knows something is up, maybe they think he's cheating or it's such a ridiculous idea, they think he's prepping a surprise for their upcoming anniversary. Yikes! That would be heartbreaking! When things come out, not only would there be the normal fighting and feelings of betrayal on her side (and hopefully guilt on his), but also friends choose sides. He would get a lot of flack from friends and family! No one likes a cheater anyway. Do they have a friend or family member they confide in? How does thar go? Does it blow up and that's how they are found out? Does that person support them? Is it real support or are they faking? And don't forget the financial strain of supporting 2 people and the hoops to jump through to hide it. Does the trans girl know he's married? That's a whole other situation. Does she wonder why he works out of town so much (his story for why he's when his wife) or does she know and is okay with being the side girl? Is she pressuring him to leave her? Is he worried about losing his friends and family? His assets in a divorce? The family heirloom ring his wife wears? His antique car she'd always teased him she'd take in a divorce if he ever left her? Maybe he has a reason to stay with her beyond guilt or duty. Maybe she was injured in some pre-story accident and can't care for herself fully or they have a child with a disability that really should have 2 parents because of the level of care needed. Maybe the wife is emotionally fragile after an assault before the story happened or she has a history of abuse or her ex cheated and broke her heart so this guy promised he never would. But now...yikes!

As for the dying character, how are they taking it? Have they decided to give the last of their life more meaning (or any meaning if they lead a previously meaningless life)? What does this look like? Doing YouTube videos? Organizing fundraisers? Donating their assets? Maybe part of their complication is finding JUST the right organization to leave their stuff to. And then when they FINALLY do, near the end, the news breaks of some corruption in the organization. Or maybe they decide to go help orphans in war-torn country or widows in an African nation. Is this even realistic for them? If not, do their friends and family sadly support the idea anyway because no one wants to face the reality (or tell him the reality) that it will never happen? Maybe he's seeking a treatment, traveling the world for real or via the internet, constantly pestering his doctor to try this or do that. There's a lot of anger and fear and grief, in many cases of a dying person. Maybe he'd always been depressed and would say he couldn't wait till he died and now he's freaking out. Or perhaps he never meant it, but joked about dying and now really regrets it. Maybe he needs to finish a project or reconcile with someone from his past or finish a checklist of some sort--7 Wonders of the Modern World, find all the bird species in his area, eat at and rate every restaurant in his town, etc. Maybe he has unfulfilled promises like sailing to the Bahamas with his brother or helping his sister set up her nursery or taking knitting classes with his mom or roadtripping to Disney World with his kid. Is he able to fulfill his promise(s)? Are the people understanding? Are they angry about him dying and take it out on him regarding not being able to fulfill the promise? Do either him or them have insight into this? And there's all the regular death stuff--deciding who will be his executor (which can be a big point of contention)? Who gets what in the will? Who will be his medical power of attorney? Who will give the eulogy? What will they say? What funeral home will they use? Will he be cremated or buried or something else? (Lots of options so check that out.) Will he make a decision then near the end, realize it was a bad one? Maybe he chooses a funeral home and then the news comes out that they have an employee who has been dumping bodies in the woods. (I read a news article about that years ago. WTF?!?) Ir maybe the person with the medical power of attorney won't agree to his wishes and he has to tell them they won't have that privilege anymore because he's appointing someone else. Maybe they wouldn't agree to not put him on life support because they couldn't say goodbye. Maybe the character has a kid or elderly parent or beloved pet they have to find a new home for. Maybe they want to donate their house to an organization but friends think it's a waste and family want it. Maybe they find out who their real friends are as people start vying for stuff. And it's common for people to start pulling away near the end because of the upcoming heartbreak, which hurts him, too. Maybe he understands or maybe he doesn't or maybe he experiences both at some point. Maybe he has a well-meaning friend or family member he doesn't want to hurt the feelings of but they won't give him a moment's rest about something or they think all his ideas about his funeral service are terrible and try to insist he do something else. This could eventually lead to a falling out. Do they reconcile in time?

There's tons to do with both characters. You can also check out Adopt a Subplot and other threads in the Adoption Society area on the NaNo site. It's under the Story Structure section, if I recall. You can adopt unlimited things and unlimited people can adopt the same thing. I find tons of ideas there, myself. Good luck!!