I finished chapter-14-which-was-chapters-15-and-17 in Hobgoblin today, in a kind of surprising way: I had in mind a particular thing, and kept trying to lead towards it, and kept not getting there, and not getting there, and fussing around…then (of course) I realized that “there” wasn’t where it was going, it was going THERE instead…and the chapter finished right up.
Of course I have left the characters in a whole mess of trouble, which will have to be dealt with in later chapters, ha-ha. All I’ve done is pushed the problem forward.
Except not really. What I’ve done is taken two chapters that were full of “oh, is there a problem? gosh no not really, here’s the solution!” and turned them into one chapter that’s shaped more like “I’m going to accomplish something OH SHIT NOW WHAT DO I DO ABOUT THAT!!” and then left it hanging right there. Which, I believe, is, you know, dramatic and tense and all that.*
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When I wasn’t putting my characters in a whole mess of trouble, I was digging a whole mess of trouble out of the front yard. The stupid Shasta daisies. I simply Do Not Want. They choke out everything else, they’re too tall, they bloom briefly and then stand there looking all dead and giant and domineering. Zombie flowers.
Anyway, now I have a nice open patch of Potential in the front yard. I sense a nursery visit in my near future!
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*At least, I hope so.