This idea you mentioned in the car on the way home today... the one about Lars? Yeah, that one. Um, complicated, but really interesting idea... Might get ol' Lars in a heap of trouble. Which would SO serve his ass right for complicating Novel #1 so incredibly much.
I like it. I think.
But I really want to consider it carefully before going whole hog on it, ya know. I mean, if I get half way through the story and ol' Lars-y boy has nothing more to do.... well, that wouldn't be so spiffy....
The thing is this: Do we really NEED to know what's going on back home at all? I mean, yes, as backstory/history for Novel #1, certainly. But would it really make much sense to tell it like this - i.e., so explicitly? From my own standpoint, sure, I'd love to put Lars into some danger and see what gives and the whole roots of Fenn's drug addition thing is just tingly-good... It's just the order of it, I guess, that worries me...
So that's one thing to consider: should it be written as a prequel (where Novel #1 (or perhaps series #1) should be read first, then this story). Or should I write it as the first part of the story, INTENDING it to be read first? Hmmmm.... I think I'm inclined to go with the former. Not sure why. Just appeals to me. Feels right....
The other thing that appeals to me about it is that it gets me out of having "more" characters, know what I mean? I mean, yes, being inside the head of the bad guy is interesting, but I'm not sure I'm there yet...
I mean, look what happened with Aiden. We don't hate him. We pity him. That wasn't really the plan...
If I want to go the inside-the-mind-of-the-villian route, I guess I need to get that Greg Keyes book and psycho-analyze the crap out of it. 'Cuz otherwise, I'll probably end up with another Aiden - or worse, another Maribel! They were both supposed to be the bad guy/girl who took the fall and look what happened with HER... yeesch.
I really couldn't stand that happening to Reygin... I mean, I think it would be enough to understand his motivation - maybe through some kind of confession or discovery of a journal or conversation overheard or something (ya gettin' all this Lars?). But the inside of the man's head is probably a can o' worms, yeah?
Oh.
And if I'm using Lars for this.... Luci ought to show up. Heck, she wanted to show up anyway and I told her to fuck off. (You see how they are? Never, never name a character with a name that starts with "L". Never.)
Very interesting. Lars is loyal, so I can actually see him going to extremes if Fenn were to ask him to "watch over things" while he was gone. And given some dislike for Uncle Reygin (I hate that name still) and a pinch of rumor that Reygin is lying about something....
Yeah, it just might work. It just might
Thanks, Dottie... Glad we had this little chat...
-WL
