New WIP – Young Adult Novel

My new WIP (work in progress) is a young adult novel, and I think it’s starting to drive me insane. I feel like a have a good premise and some good ideas for how the plot is going to go, but I’m having a hard time with some of the other decisions. Like what time do I want to set it in? Present day? The future? And what type of personality do I want my heroine to have? That’s a big one.

I have thought of making her more of a misfit. Kind of like a goth girl with piercings who hates her parents and strays from the conventional. But then I also think of making her popular, but clueless. I know what type of person I want her to eventually become (similar to Alice in Resident Evil), but what I have to figure out before I start the book is where I want her to start out. Shy or outgoing? Clumsy or agile? I have no clue.

Don’t get me wrong. The choices are exciting. But they are also infuriating. When the possibilities are endless, it’s difficult to know which decision is the right one. If I make my heroine a goth girl misfit, it will be a totally different book than if she’s a happy cheerleader type. How do I know which book is better? I don’t. I never will, probably. I just have to go with my gut reaction and hope for the best.