And when you hit a road block…

And when you hit a road block…

Or "This is how writers solve problems."

Ok, so this isn't really writer's block at least the way I understand it to be. Writer's Block is when you're dealing with The Most Evil Blinking Cursor. That's when your mind draws a blank and you either don't know how the story you're working on ends or you don't know how it starts. Either way, ya ain't getting font.

For the past few days…umm…weeks… >.< I've been dealing with a road block with About to Sin. Oh, I know how the story ends. I have it all solved, wrapped up and a nice neat bow on top of it. I'm not even blocked with how the scene after next will play out. That's been mentally written for a while.

Nope. Not knowing is not my problem.

The problem is, I think, that I'm 1) letting myself get distracted and 2) I can't pick which option I want. I'm facing a sex scene and I can't figure out which scenario will better serve the story and character development. Both ideas are valid. Both ideas fit the story. Both ideas make progression. But, which one is best? That's my dilemma. That's my wall. That's what's making me bang my head against the screen.

Option one: That gives me a really hot hurt and comfort kink scene, but there's a logic leap that I don't think I can expect readers to accept. If Something Really Bad happens, would you be thinking about sex? Nope. So, if I want to do that then I need to do a distraction blended with hurt and comfort sex scene. I can pull that off and readers accept that and it would fit the characters, but that means I can't use that card later on. Later on is when I think it would not only serve the story better, but show character growth as well as give the readers a little something they've been wanting.

Option two: This gives me a really hot "what…wait…I don't understand" kink scene. I don't have to deal with the Point of Crisis bringing emotional baggage and I can focus on the conflict of interest between the characters. And there in lays the problem. With Anand's ethical base, I'm not sure him doing this would fit. Oh, he's totally into the kink and the actions aren't the problem. The problem is that he knows Daniel is doing this for the wrong reasons. Sure, he knew that from go, but he thought he could change that. By this point in the story, Anand CARES for Daniel and seeing this destructive behavior is unacceptable. What I DON'T want is to have a character in a sex scene who doesn't really want to be there. So, I have to force his hand somehow. Or…OR I could pluck on his…yes! I can use THAT. I can pluck on his Superman Complex (you've not really seen his Superman Complex yet), manipulate his stubborn streak as well as use the fact that he's a guy. As Billy Crystal said, "Women need a reason to have sex. Men need a place." (However, women are my target audience not men and I need to make this believable to them not just the characters.) But, using the guy thing seems like cheating to me.

I don't want to cheat my readers, but if I focus on his Superman Complex, possessive nature, get him out of this Pit of Angst (yes, you do actually get to see Anand angst and he's not a pretty angster) and then pluck his stubborn streak, I might—might—actually get to pull this off.

Option two will shift The Epiphany to this scene and not the next, but that's all right. The next scene might work better if I don't have call upon technical information that I might not have QUITE right. You can research things to death and it seems like every time I find information, I find something that contradicts it. But, if I do that will I still get the Rip Your Heart Out Point of Crisis scene? Oh yes, sweethearts, I hope to make you cry. I do that because I love my readers that much. Will I steal any power from that scene?

Hmm…guess we won't know until I get it written.

So, I think it's option two. Now…let's get to typing, shall we? And hope I've solved this problem.