Ideas are coming...

There is a moment I've written in APoS where Brendan and Colm are headed away from a demonstration that's been attacked by the British Army, and they get rousted at a checkpoint. Initially, I had it set up so Brendan keeps the both of the from being dragged off to jail by talking about fixing cars. He even gives a Paratrooper a quick guide on how to handle a leak in a Range Rover Defender.

It wasn't a bad moment, but it felt...I dunno...perfunctory, in a way. Then today, as I'm in the middle of doing laundry, I got an idea on how to make it more intense. By this point in the story, Brendan and his mates are 15. It's before Bloody Sunday, which happens a few days before Brendan turns 16, and Colm's arm has been hurt by a rubber bullet. Another of Brendan's Chinas, Danny, is now with them, even though his parents moved him to Armagh, to work for the Catholic Archdiocese. He shouldn't even be in Derry, at the time.

The British are rough with the boys, but Colm and Brendan are somewhat used to it. Danny is not. There are strong indications he was molested by a priest, so when one of the Paratroopers gets a bit too familiar, Danny starts to freak out...which is the fastest way to get killed. No one knows what happened to Danny, but Brendan suspects it and uses that to claim the soldiers harassing Danny have threatened to take him into a cell and rape him. And he does it loud enough for a group of people waiting to go through the checkpoint to hear.

This starts a situation building, and Brendan keeps adding to it in ways to let Danny know he's going to be all right. Finally, an officer comes over to put an end to the commotion and Brendan continues with the lie. Makes it sound as real as he can.The troopers let Danny go, and the catcalls and curses coming from the crowd convince the officer to send Brendan and his Chinas on their way. It's not till they're away from the checkpoint that Brendan realizes what he's done and begins to panic. Now Colm, who's been quiet through the whole thing, has to take control and lead him home, Danny right next to them. I like it a lot more.

This sets up Brendan's quick-thinking and willingness to use lies to cover for himself and his mates, even in the face of the threats of the soldiers. Which happens, somewhat, in Book 3.