This weekend started less than stellar as a combination of factors came forward to make me a rather foul mood individual for the majority of Friday, and for that I apologize to those I spoke and interacted with and may have been on the receiving end of it. But things turned out well enough, and it's been a rather productive weekend (as can be expected for someone on 3rd shift).
But my good old remedy that has always worked for me, worked again - finally being able to get to sleep once my mind settled down from its endless racing in the aftermath, and getting a restful nights (afternoons?) slumber. So again, to the ones that I may have upset or otherwise put ill feelings toward me, I do apologize - but looking at the conversation through a more alert and sharp mind, I still feel my defensive stance was justified in ways that some can understand, others - not so much. But never let it be said that I don't cherish my friends, because each and every one of you that read this, or I speak with on a daily or near daily basis, are important to me. I appreciate you all being there for me, and the concern you show for my well being, and I aspire to be as good a friend to you all as you all are for me.
Now, with that out of the way, how about some more shooting the breeze on the novel?
Chapter Five has me at an impasse as I am torn on just how quick I want to get to the veritable "half-way" point of the book and get into the meat and potatoes of it all where questions begin to be answered, the real plotline kicks off and it becomes increasingly clearer who the real enemies are in the debacle. As it stands right now, there would be one more "filler" mission (which is the best way to describe it, unless it has some sort of connotation tie in with the storyline, which at the moment is only the fact that the Alpha project is involved). That mission was a relatively quick and easy write and ended on a different note that defeated the purpose of it the second draft. It was a good one to take up some space, but I am trying to avoid those now and focus on just the necessary exploits needed to advance the story and keep up with the Joneses per se. Which has me at a bit of an impasse due to its good usage in giving the characters (the bad guys especially) more time to hatch their plans, but I think the direction I'm going has them ready to deploy those at any given time.
If I decide to make this that de facto half way point, then the second half of the book really is when things kick off. If anything, I look at the first few chapters up to this point as being "Disc 1" of a three disc game. Meanwhile, "Disc 2" is the primary "meat" holder of the story, while "Disc 3" is the "potatoes", the sub menu item that catches and ties up the loose ends and culminates with the finale when I am also taking a long look at to see if I want to subvert or change anything about it. As it stands, it finishes out on a rather emotional note as the main character finally realizes that he wants to be nothing like the ones he has chased the entire book, and finds it in his heart to forgive his past and look toward his future. In the first draft, he did this via a circling exchange between himself and the main bad guy, with all answers coming at once and the realization that the bad guy had been behind the entire scheme, then finishing in a one-on-one gunfight with the pair of them exchanging words to discover more of the truth, and the main character finally finishing off his opponent. Second draft was a bit less action orientated, involved a chase scene via motorized vehicles and then a stand-off between the main character, his second in command and the main bad guy, with the second in command being the one to pull the trigger and end the main bad guy.
Main character, main bad guy, main this, main that. Blah blah blah. I suppose it all comes down to how I want the story to end: On a more emotional, dramatic finish - or the typical mano a mano duel between two wills and their firearms while the story plays itself out with the answers to all the pressing questions. Both are viable options, but the second one always played out a bit better in that it was that final step that the main character takes on his path to figuring himself out and realizing that he is who he is, and no one else - allowing him to finally embrace what he has in store for his future and it makes him a better person on top of the already rock solid foundation of a Zack Fair type of character, who has his aspirations, but his only concern is getting back to the people he loves and protecting them from further danger.
The final chapter or two involves the realities of returning home after five years of not knowing how too, and allowing the relationships to focus on themselves without distractions. In the end, the main character had lost a great deal, only to gain so much more that he takes with him on his path to righting what he can, and to save those people who shouldn't have to fear anything, from their past or otherwise.
Otherwise, with that being said - if I move forward with my original plan to ignore the filler "mission", then the next chapter or two are emotional heavy in the things that go on and it also will set everything in motion toward the conclusions of what I hope will be a dark, but uplifting, story of how when a group of people stand together (the Mavericks), they can accomplish anything, and prove that humanity is at their best, when helping secure a safe world, instead of create a hostile one.
Until next time.
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