Meandering around a shit show

[BrightLightsAndSound]

So I've just read through my novel in progress and I think I understand why I'm not actually getting anywhere.

I've got a good solid 50K words and I'm enjoying the style/tone and themes.

The reason I'm feeling lacklustre about it though is because I've just got these mental characters wandering around a complete shit show.

The reason it's a shit show is because I'm a big fan of surreal and/or dystopian kind of settings. My problem is I seem to have taken every single "good" idea I've had and crammed into a single story that doesn't actually have a story. My characters are strong I feel, with clear personalities but no goals.

I'm beginning to see that I need to pick just one of the concepts/dystopian ideas and plough ahead with that. But how do I decide which one to work with when I love them all? I'm also struggling to create a strong plot. It's like I'm enjoying building these worlds and characters, writing dialogue and creating an atmosphere but I'm struggling to make the reader give a shit, you know? Any advice/thoughts?

I think giving your main character a goal is the key to both the plot and making your reader care about them. Get that clear and make sure they're acting accordingly. I think this is a really common problem by the way.

Google helpingwritersbecomeauthors.

She gives a very easy to read breakdown of how plot and character arc work together to make a novel. Her methods are a very formulaic and won't work for everyone but sounds like it might give you an idea of where to go.