Why so difficult?
Tuesday, December 10th, 2024 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizvogelI have a writing dilemma. I'm at the point where H is about to suggest to M that they pool their resources, and I really need them to get on with it. However, there's no way M can join the "camp" without finding out about T, and H needs to get T's permission before that happens. Shoving in that convo between H & T where it makes logical sense would completely wreck the pacing. Also, there's a cool bit later where M figures out about T on her own, and I don't want to sabotage that by having H & T decide they're okay with M knowing beforehand. But I also don't want H to be the jerk who proposes something that will expose T without getting T's consent first.
Argh.
The best way around this would be to figure out a different way for H to propose getting access to M's resource. But M wouldn't let H in on her source if there wasn't something in it for her, and if it's not to save several miles of walking between their two locations every time they trade resources, what is it?
Hmm. Could I move M's figuring out about T on her own to before she shows H her source? That seems like it'd cause other problems, include with pacing. Must ponder. Would rather come up with a different excuse for H to suggest it....
ETA: No, the back-brain's right, that won't work. Completely throws off the balance-of-power between the two characters; would have M knowing all H's secrets without H knowing any of M's. Probably would screw up something else, too; the back-brain is completely vetoing that idea. Find another solution.
Thoughts, if anyone can generate a thought from all that obfuscation, welcome. (Though please no suggestions of "write it both ways" or "write it anyway and fix it later". That epically does not work for me.)
ETA for future reference: The solution was to give M a reason of her own to let H in on her source, something she needed that she couldn't do for herself. So now she's not showing him out of the goodness of her heart, she's showing him the bare minimum she has to in order to get his help. That balances itself, both for the character and narratively, so it doesn't mess up the pacing or balance for the later revelation/discovery about T.
And the path to that solution was to sit down and write the damn words where H proposes M letting him in, and she resists briefly but then agrees surprisingly easily. And once she did that, then I knew why.
Argh.
The best way around this would be to figure out a different way for H to propose getting access to M's resource. But M wouldn't let H in on her source if there wasn't something in it for her, and if it's not to save several miles of walking between their two locations every time they trade resources, what is it?
Hmm. Could I move M's figuring out about T on her own to before she shows H her source? That seems like it'd cause other problems, include with pacing. Must ponder. Would rather come up with a different excuse for H to suggest it....
ETA: No, the back-brain's right, that won't work. Completely throws off the balance-of-power between the two characters; would have M knowing all H's secrets without H knowing any of M's. Probably would screw up something else, too; the back-brain is completely vetoing that idea. Find another solution.
Thoughts, if anyone can generate a thought from all that obfuscation, welcome. (Though please no suggestions of "write it both ways" or "write it anyway and fix it later". That epically does not work for me.)
ETA for future reference: The solution was to give M a reason of her own to let H in on her source, something she needed that she couldn't do for herself. So now she's not showing him out of the goodness of her heart, she's showing him the bare minimum she has to in order to get his help. That balances itself, both for the character and narratively, so it doesn't mess up the pacing or balance for the later revelation/discovery about T.
And the path to that solution was to sit down and write the damn words where H proposes M letting him in, and she resists briefly but then agrees surprisingly easily. And once she did that, then I knew why.
