Wed 8/22 - 1,162 Words

Felt good... knocked 'em out... met my quota...

But I'm just having fun in the story right now, knowing that I need to get serious with the "next big conflict."

I have a fairly decent outline, where I did a great job nailing down the first five or six chapters, and then I nailed down the last few... solid concrete ideas of what I want to be doing in scenes in those parts of the book, how I want things to wrap up, the thrilling scenes at the end, the resolution of conflict, the hope and love at the end of the story. So that's all fine and good.

Then I hit the middle.

I've battled this before, and we've talked about it a lot. I'm at the point where I know the story is strong, characters well-established. I know where it's all going to end up, but I need to flesh out the story, have more happen to turn it into a full novel, without making the stuff in the middle look and feel like marsmallow fluff.

Again, I've fought this battle before... I know what to do. I know I have to introduce another conflict (or an extension of the original), just like that Catherine Zeta Jones movie we were talking about.

Part of me just doesn't want to do the conflict work... I'm having so much fun having fun in the story, having the two lovebirds enjoy each other, laughing at the antics, etc.... but I know that recess is over, that now it's time for some serious shit again.

Part of me is excited too... cuz I get to play a little bit of God at this point... kinda like an adolescent God with a mischievous grin on his face.... hmmm... what can I do at this point to really fuck these two characters up and make them do just about anything to get back together? There are so many choices, what seems real at this point?

So... I need to spend some time plotting, cleaning up the outlines, pitting characters against each other until I find something that feels right... maybe I need to kill someone. Maybe I need to drop a bomb in a closet...

I will take the dog out on some long walks and think about the story. What's the best way to make life really fucking awful for the protagonist, so the reader says, "Oh no! How will he get out of this? Will he win her back? Did he screw up? I'm routing for you, main character... I care so very much about what happens and what you do. I want you to win. I want you to be happy. I want you to make me happy. Don't you dare piss me off at the end of this book..."

Love the pepper flakes analogy there, Bill...