Warning--SPOILERS
The thoughts included:
- A character I've been on the fence about doesn't die, he just gets hurt really bad and gets his eyeball poked out, which is what I've been wanting because I can see him in my head being older with an eyepatch.
- The reason he doesn't die (and only gets hurt really bad) is because he does something the MC told him to do earlier in the book.
- I can bring this around to an idea I keep circling in the ms: when you've got no good choices, intentions count as much as, if not more than, outcome. If you don't have the equipment to win, and you honestly do the best you can, then you shouldn't berate yourself for not winning.
Now, the interesting thing about this writing-wise is that it seems to me to slam straight up against audience, market, and business. Explaining would mean humongously detailed spoilers, so I won't explain--but it's clear that I've got an unintended subtext here. My MC does something that one isn't supposed to do in YA or midgrades. I'll need to keep pulling back once in a while to keep an eye on that subtext, while making sure I go all the way in staying honest and true to the character. I know what my guy did. I know what drove him to do it. I need to make sure that I don't back off who he is, or accidentally drop the core of him just because I feel bad about it whenever I put my temporary gatekeeper hat on and look at the story from their angle. Every bit of this story thread has to remain mindful and deliberate and thorough.
