Weaving Characters Back In

Whether I realize it or not, I must be nearing the end of my novel, because I've begun weaving secondary characters back into the story. This novel has a lot of characters, but most of them make one appearance, and they only exist to drive the story forward. I wouldn't even call them characters technically, but rather "names". This may be something I'll have to go back and purge. Every single time my main character ends up in a band or hires a backing band, it would be pretty cold to just refer to them as "the band", especially since she's interacting with them. By my count, so far she has been in four bands and she also used her mentor's band as backup on tour. I've run through practically the entire alphabet coming up with first names. The pitiful part is, only two of those sixteen (?) people even matter to the story. Giving everyone a name just clogs up the narrative and confuses readers. But I digress.

I'm at a point in the story now where important characters need to slide back in. I'm notorious for stranding them and moving on to another plot point. In my previous books, there were maybe two or three supporting characters, so juggling them never was a concern. It's my own fault now for creating so many moving parts. But that's the nature of the story.

My MC had lost touch with her mentor, mainly because I didn't know where to go with their storyline (but that's my little confession ~ readers don't need to know that). After the mentor's breakdown following the awards show they attended together, and after MC and the mentor's assistant managed to calm the situation, MC went home. She had to leave town the following day, and she did call to check up on her mentor, but wasn't able to connect. So, off she went. Originally I had MC not leaving after all, and thus she was able to visit her mentor in rehab, but staying in town turned out to be a dead end, so I scrapped that. I wrote a whole scene of MC's visit to the facility and the two's interactions, but again, it led nowhere, so now when the two of them finally reconnect by phone, the whole rehab experience is presented matter-of-factly and they move on. Which just goes to prove that every situation doesn't require a long, drawn-out portrayal. 

Now, the mentor is doing well and is, in fact, going back into the studio to record an album. She wants MC to write songs for it. It's a daunting proposition, and to make matters worse, there's a three-week deadline. MC doesn't write solo ~ she writes the lyrics and her cousin does the melodies ~ so now she needs to impose on her cousin to work with her on the project. What's in it for him? This conundrum gets settled quickly and the two work day and night writing songs. Then one day after watching an old movie on TV, MC is inspired to write a song all on her own, and it turns out to be a very personal one about the mentor's life. Her cousin likes it and decides it needs to be included with the others to be sent off for the mentor's approval.

They wait and wait...and wait, but hear nothing back. MC is distraught, convinced that she's blown it by writing a song so personal; by overstepping her bounds. And while they continue to wait...

A call comes in. It's time for the record label's A&R guy to step back into the story. The last time he and MC interacted, he was a complete jerk. Since the label has let her go, there is no reason for him to be calling. What does he want?

And there you have it. 

Yea, the story is dizzying, and maybe that's not a good thing. And wait ~ it's only going to get more dizzying. Two big characters have yet to reappear. I may have inadvertently written a herky-jerky story that veers from one plot point to the next. I haven't even mentioned the whole "accidental" creation of MC's band CD. (They went into the studio to record one song and ended up, thanks to the engineer, recording a whole album's worth.) I would be a developmental editor's worst nightmare.

And speaking of editing, I'm fairly certain things are going to get moved around, and some might even be trashed. I can't worry about that now. Every writing session is like a mini-story, and making it all jell will be insanely difficult. I figure that as long as I write out these plot beats, I won't forget about them, and somehow I'll be able to make it work in the end.

What in the world have I gotten myself into?