That would be a great headline. Fortunately, I don’t have that issue very much.

Where to begin, however, might a be a bit trickier for me. I do know, I want to employ the oft-used In medias Res bit–that is to say, my protago-antago-whatever-he-is character will be standing at the precipice of the consequences that his incompetence has wrought.

I’m not sure, though, whether, I want HIM in the first scene, or whether or not to have a couple of character responsible for meting out these consequences discussing his potential fate.

Odd. I never thought I’d have struggle with something like this. It seems ridiculous. Had I been walking down the street one day, and Miss Cleo runs up in some distraught necromancer-meets-contortionist configuration, proclaiming “you will one day struggle with protagonist placement and nuance for an upcoming novel,” I just simply would not have felt any urgency to “do something about it.”

But now I realize something. This little, and I presume short-lived dilemma is a sort of John-on-Patmos sort of isolating little wraith. Unless you’re writng a book, NO-body cares about it, no matter who you’d bring this up to. And why would they?

THEM: Dude, the Giant’s better get it together, or I’m going to have to check my fan card.

ME: That’s too bad. I know in my world, I’m struggling to tie up a few subplots and bring together three or four story arcs into a logical conclusion.

THEM: Call me later. Gotta run.

I get it. I really do.

Now.