From: mbottorff@lshelby.com   
      
   A. Tina Hall  wrote:   
      
   > The 3rd book, (something about moving with) Magic (I still don't know a   
   > title starting with C that is a middle thing between Controlling and   
   > Controlled by), starts 5 years later, in a rush of a number of scenes   
   > showing where everyone from the first two books is now, and the children   
   > that are the hope for the solution (now ~5 years old).   
   >   
   > Another problem caused by magic turns up and is solved. Another minor   
   > problem might be heading for a solution. They are all gathering for a   
   > festival in a new area where people from different tribes live mixed   
   > (which isn't a good idea, but necessary right then).   
   >   
   > Now what?   
   >   
   > The tribe's areas are protected, I can't have someone being dumb and   
   > wandering outside the protected areas (not even the air-headed Spring   
   > tribe).   
   >   
   > 15 more years have to be covered for the kids to turn into adults and do   
   > what the characters planned will fix everything. Their solution makes   
   > sense to me. But how to get there?   
   >   
   > Maybe I just need a viewpoint to start writing with (it's multiple tight   
   > third), but I don't even know who to pick for that.   
   >   
   > Any ideas on what I can do?   
      
   Is it a moving through time problem, then?  You need to figure out if   
   you're doing a jump cut, or montage, and if a montage, what's in it?   
      
   Or is it that you desperately need a new threat/problem?   
      
   The best sort of threat/problem, would probably be something secondary   
   that the first problem caused that's been "brewing" unnoticed, and that   
   will threaten the existance of the kids needed to solve the big problem.   
   You could introduce the foreshadowing now, cut to the main part of the   
   book, where that problem is directly encountered and dealt with, and   
   then conclude the book with a second small jump to where the children   
   are doing their job to solve the first problem.  It'll be cleanup by   
   then, but important clean up that deserves to be shown on the page.   
      
   Structurally I think that works, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to what   
   this secondary problem would be.   
      
   Without it, you'd need to get to the 'children deal with main problem'   
   part of the book fairly quickly, I would think, because that's the only   
   "meat" that this book seems to have right now.  Jump-cutting might be a   
   bit extreme, though.  Maybe take it in small jumps... come up with one   
   significant in some way incident every five years?   
      
   ...One would normally want there to be a little bit of tension going on,   
   and there's not a lot of tension in "we have a good solution that we   
   think will work and we just have to wait fifteen years".   
      
   --   
   Michelle Bottorff -> Chelle B. -> Shelby   
   L. Shelby, Writer  http://www.lshelby.com/   
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