This is an important chapter. They all are, but some are more so than others…like this one. We’re dealing with a major subplot here, Chahrity’s kidnapping, that has been building up for some time, and I can’t afford for it to fizzle out. It needs to wrap up with a bang. Spoiler alert, the bang is coming; we just won’t get to it until the next chapter. Even so, that just means the tension must keep building. That’s the goal. Let me also say that one of the things I hate when I’m reading–or watching a show, is when a plot point is drawn out for no apparent reason. So I knew I didn’t want that to happen here. I’d already worked out the mechanics of how the whole kidnapping thing would play out, so there wasn’t all that much danger of finding myself just treading water, but what I really wanted was to write some good, meaty scenes. Ones that stick to your ribs; or in this case, your brain. How do you do that? Does it just happen? Maybe it does for other writers, for me…not so much. Details…subtle little details, are what I rely upon to try and pull that off. Within most scenes, be it action, thought, setting, etc., something will already be happening that starts to build an image in your mind, something that by adding just the right comment or two, will cause the reader to raise their mental eyebrows and go, “Ahhh….”. When that happens for me as I’m reading it takes me from being an observer to being plopped right down in the middle of the story. I wish I could tell you that I think I’m good at doing that. I’m not, but I do strive for it, and it was important that I tried to pull it off here in this chapter. But did I get the job done…?
Over all, I am very happy with the chapter–for a first draft. Both scenes are dynamic, as far as the action and events go, though the prose was cumbersome at times. The thing I liked about the “Juhstice-Dougerty” scene was that it forces the two men to work together again. That relationship dynamic is not only interesting, but more and more important as the story unfolds. In fact, it’s about to send a shockwave through one of their lives;. When you look at it from the writer’s perspective, and ask yourself what the members of The Hand will think about their leader consorting with the crown prince, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what I’ve gotten myself into. I actually liked the other scene even more. The little details leading Shahdow to decide just what he needed to do made me believe he knew exactly what was going to happen. That is they type of thing that sticks in your brain. Another ‘little’ thing that didn’t happen was Chahrity saving Shahdow from having to kill someone. If he’d had to take Fingers’ life, then I’d have had to deal with the psychological aspects that arose form doing so. That’s not the reason I spared the thief, but I’m still grateful I don’t have to factor in his death at this point. All in all, I’m satisfied with the chapter; it needs a good polishing, but I’m confident it will largely stay the same come second draft time.
The Lord is my Shephard, and I pray He’s yours too,
Mike
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