the dream is collapsing

Poor, poor Ferguson. I just killed his brother (Edward, I hardly knew ye). At least in this case, unlike his father, Edward's "death" is just a deletion; the character has gone back to the void from whence he came, and Ferguson is once again going it alone, with only Ellie and Aunt Sophronia (who is on a stay of execution while I figure out whether to keep her) as his remaining family.

So I didn't write today, but I think that some quality time spent typing out what's wrong is helping me to figure out how to move forward. The problem with Edward was that I made him up as an easy way for Ferguson to discover Madeleine, since his father was no longer alive to provide the necessary intro. But, I had no idea what to do with Edward beyond that, other than to give him an opium addiction (who doesn't love a good opium addiction?) -- and while that might have been fun to write, and given way to all sorts of wrenching moralisms on drug use, it was just getting too complicated. And I think that's why I've been stuck the last few days -- there were so many threads, some half-started, others cut but not yet fully removed, that I couldn't figure out the way forward and what scenes to put next because I needed to advance more plot threads than I actually had room for.

So, Edward is dead (and the twin sisters, tentatively named Maria and Catherine, are likely dead as well, since they haven't come up yet, although I may change my mind if I need Ferguson to have another reason to behave a bit more respectably). I'm feeling good about killing him off and ready to move forward -- but since I have to go to work tomorrow, I'm not going to stay up writing tonight.

I spent most of the day in the city of sin; I had an appointment for a massage and a facial, but I went up a bit early to return some shoes to Nordstrom and redeem the card for free mascara that they sent to me earlier in the week. The massage and facial were very good, although now my neck is really sore -- I can't tell whether it's from the massage, from playing on my laptop while sitting with bad posture on the couch, or from ten minutes of holding my head at an unnatural angle while trying to see the attempt I was making to dig a splinter out of my foot. I was unsuccessful in my home surgery, but the implements (a safety pin, tweezers, a lighter, rubbing alcohol, and cotton balls) are still sitting out and ready to use if I decide to return to the operating theatre tomorrow. I talked to my parents on the way home, and they seem to be in good spirits -- having an empty nest again is encouraging them to make ribald jokes that would make a weaker-stomached person vomit, but I persevered. Then, I had supper, watched this week's episode of "Project Runway" (verdict: I've never seen Tim Gunn smack down a contestant like he did this week, and it was awesome!), and brainstormed on zee romance novel.

Sadly, I have to go to work tomorrow, and I am extremely unenthused about that fact -- and even more unenthused about the three-day offsite I have to attend, which is going to wreak havoc with my personal life. So, I'm off to bed -- goodnight!

Daily word count: 0 (0% of goal)
Productive time: --
RescueTime productivity rating: -- (global average: 0.34)