Shadowfolk 102

That last panel would make it hard to retconn the idea that Ollie is actually playing Gibbs. Another reason it's wise to stay away from internal monologues -- it makes it harder for you the writer to obfuscate motives, or let the reader work them out themselves, anyway. I'm not sure what other outcome Ollie could possibly have been gunning for, in any case -- if he talks the pirates into cutting out, then the only faction with any chance of recovering Kerry and Jo (and thus the bead) is the Project. It's not like Gibbs would drop him off on the planet first, is it?

For all that this is first-draft material, the intrigue in these latest chapters isn't too bad, but the writing would have benefited significantly from forward planning, even just to outline the different factions' goals and means for achieving them. Once you know those things, you don't necessarily need to outline a specific plot, as long as you make sure each faction/character is pursuing their goals in conflict with the rest of the factions.

This is the method by which I'm "plotting" my current novel project (sequel to the last one). I'm ashamed to say I have a name for my strategy, too: the "bugs in a pan" strat. Since I have eight-odd character groups/factions (so far) with their own agendas, I've started by figuring out what they all want to get and how they mean to get it. I've done some general plotting in terms of a few major events/intersections, but mostly I am putting everybody "in the pan" and letting them fight to see who wins and how. As I write each scene, keeping that idea in mind, the next few scenes are usually very natural outgrowths of the factions working against each other. Then I just steer the process to make sure cool stuff keeps happening -- it just happens because of characters acting the way they should, working for what they want.

Title: Can't Trust Pirates. Originally aired: 10.12.04

Disclaimer: this comic is discontinued, and that won't change.