Fleshed out the beginning of A Time For Dying, which is running a hair under 3,000 words. It’s lots of fun letting the characters run the show instead of index cards.

There’s been a few changes to the story. While the basic ending makes sense, the more the protagonist reveals themselves, the more it suggests additional twists. I’m also surprised by the balance of dialog to narrative. Taking the reader inside the character without having them speak, or writing out how they feel has been a huge stumbling block. Dialog comes very easily, narrative much less so. This story taxes both tools equally.

A trick from Charles Dickens about dialog. Dicken’s was as much an actor as a writer, and made quite a lot of money performing his classic works on the stage. Inside his writing studio were five wall mirrors; each represented a different character. When a roadblock emerged, he stood before the related mirror and acted out lines, emoting through obstacle. Sounds insane, but I’ve seen it work. Even with just one mirror.