Metaxas

Finished first draft of the crazy scene with a bunch of Athenian art students arguing about politics and identity. That was fun. But it has made me understand better why the detail I've been putting in is a problem.

Basically, I've been writing at the edge of what I understand. So that's bad because you should always know more than you put in. The reason for this buffer is so you have control. So you can nuance and be selective. If all you know is on the page, that margin is gone.

And here's the flip side of that. That means I'm writing for the reader who can see where I've fallen flat. If there is a reader who can absorb everything I've put in, it is unlikely that reader is exactly as informed as I am. Instead they are going to know some aspects more deeply than I. So what they are going to experience is strange omissions, skewed focus, and outright mistakes.

And I am doing no favors for the reader who is less informed, either. If they try to understand everything I have put down, the will discover the text is too thin at the edges. The detail is lacking, the explanations aren't as good as they could be. Because of course they've found the place where I, too, am struggling.

So it is better if the text is pitched for a simpler approach. For a more focused view of topics that I feel comfortable enough in to explore alternate ways of talking about them until I have found what is most powerful and most clear.

Having subjects that are under my full control means I can treat them in essay fashion, introducing the topic, developing it, providing example and counter-example, then recapping.

What I am writing right now is history-based story. The central plot engine is similar to that of a mystery; there are questions which are slowly answered. So, sure, I can throw in side quests and red herrings, from Metaxas to Metaxa, but in the end the primary focus and support will be on the facts of the case. Presented in full, explored, revisited.

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Oh right, health. Too early to say anything. I'll have more news Thursday.