november 5
155 words/2183 total
I backtracked AGAIN but at least I got slightly further along in the scene this time. Like, we're ready to smooch f i n a l l y, and probably no more false starts. It's really something to realize that I've never written a fluff scene without some underlying tension in it before.
- Benjamin and Kiernan's fluff scene comes on the heels of Kiernan receiving some Upsetting News, and we're aware that Kiernan has Secrets™
- Edna and Amir's lowkey tender scene comes on the heels of Amir being hospitalized (and in fact takes place in the hospital), and Edna's crying a lil because she was so scared
- Clem and Jada don't really have any fluff *scenes*, just fluff moments where Clem says something she shouldn't have and spends the scene immediately afterward in regretful disaster state
That's not even counting my past novels, where every. single. fluff scene. has some kind of underlying tension - something bad or dangerous just happened, or is about to and the characters know about it, or there are things they can't say to each other, or they have a history together, or or or...
Like I'm just realizing the reason this fluff scene is so freaking hard is because I've literally never written a fluff scene before that's pure fluff. Like...Megan and Zafira have been awkward and nervous and walking around their feelings to this point, but at the end of Chapter 24 or 25 they admitted that they liked each other.
So???
Because now all that tension resulting from "do they like me or am I reading too much into it" is gone. And there is danger coming, but they don't know that, so it's not hanging over their heads. And they don't have a history together, because they only met at the start of the story and are kids in their early twenties. And I realize admitting you like each other doesn't magically mean you can say anything to each other no problemo, but it's a pretty big thing to say, so after that other things are easier, especially if the relationship goes well.
No wonder I've had to restart this scene like three times.
BUT NOW. Now we're getting somewhere. So with any luck, I will actually, G o d w i l l i n g, get in a decent word count today and not undo it all tomorrow.
