I have two characters that are siblings, and they both have different interests. They have a couple of he same friends, but their lives are in completely different places, but I want to intertwine the plot lines of their stories regardless. Any tips/suggestions about how I should do this?
Well if you can get through some heavy classics, the old greats of literature do this a lot. My favorites that are like that are A Tale of Two Cities, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Moonstone. VERY complicated plots with a lot of characters that all matter to the central plot in the end. Reading classics like these is just good to study anyway, period.
But to kind of sum them up with advice, basically there are three different approaches (there aren't ONLY three, these are just what the books I listed do):
A Tale of Two Cities: you meet all the main characters in the beginning, and they basically all meet each other too. These characters eventually grow apart in the middle and you wonder how the climax will bring them back together. It does.
The Count of Monte Cristo: One man ON HIS QUEST FOR REVENGGGGE, who also happens to be a master of disguise, travels around a lot throughout the book as he orchestrates his plan to get back at those who wronged him. Along the way, in his many disguises, many different people with different lives happen to meet him and then get involved in the plot.
The Moonstone: ONE mysterious stone, ONE curse, and MANY people throughout the story who have no idea each other exist but they have one thing in common–they all owned The Moonstone at one point in time. Everything ties together in this mystery book (one of the first mystery books ever, actually).
SO THERE YOU GO! Have some kind of thread the ties the two siblings together, which will end up forcing them to come together in time for the climax.
Thanks! The idea of two stories just happening beside each other didn't make much sense, but the 'master plot line' does!
Just had a thought, maybe the shared friends between the siblings could be the thread that pulls them together?
I had the idea that the brother's best friend ends up his sister's boyfriend… maybe too cliche, but the romance' isn't the whole basis of the story.
I like cliches if they're written well, actually.