Worked on the former GN yesterday. I like the way it's going. It's clear, however, that this is just a personal pet project that can't be allowed to take time away from projects that somebody might actually want to read someday. Right now the ms is dividing itself into three chains of thought that are different in ways I can't succinctly describe. And there's no story, really. I can see that the three chains of thought will come together near the end, then, together, lead to the ending I want, the ending that's always been there. I keep trying to find a pattern to all this so that the whole big picture of the piece will suddenly fall into place and make sense, but I haven't been able to find one. If I could find the correct title, that would probably help it come into focus--but I've never been able to locate just the right name for the ms. The story and characters are fun to think about and play around with, but I can't let this take over my time. It must remain a hobby.

Today I took time to work on the dystopian ms, feeling out the backstory and writing down the current story of the main secondary character--in other words, going through the story from his POV. Nothing big about the plot has revealed itself. I was a little surprised to realize some of his motivations and desires, but they line up with what I already know happens, so I'll have to keep thinking my way through the ms.

It may be that, for once, everything is going to hover in midair until a certain plot reveal gets settled, and that once that happens, the ms will start rolling again. I don't know how to decide on something plotty like that, though--usually I let the emotional story dictate what happens plotwise, and when. It'll be interesting if for once the emotional story can't fall into place until part of the plot is set. Lots to think about, here. Definitely a learning process.