Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry, Northern Ireland
A book I'm working on is set in this town.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

The great thing about Word...

Microsoft Word can be a pain in the ass, sometimes, but one great thing about it is the ability to cut and paste so easily. I'm doing a lot of that in this run-through, making the flow of the story smoother and tighter and less cluttered with nonsense.

I dumped a lot of Brendan's angst-y chatter and focused on the emotions of the moment and his general confusion. Which shifted to him deciding it was time to rebuild his life. Mainly because he has a near breakdown when the B-girls sneak into his room as he's taking a shower.

He comes out of the bathroom to find them on his bed, and they start drilling him with questions about Joanna. They'd seen the tattoo on his left shoulder and want to know who she is. It sends him crashing back to the bombing and the horror he'd witnessed, and he howls for them to get out of his room.

Their response? This is our house. You're just a guest, so we can go where we want.

He finds out they've snuck in several times and collapses into near hysterics from the anger and the memories slashing at him. He has to slam into the bathroom to keep from hurting them. He's there for hours trying to calm down. Doesn't have his heart medication. Nothing. It's not until night begins to fall and he knows the stars will soon be out that he begins to calm down.

He dresses and goes downstairs to tell his aunt and uncle he cannot live there. His door has no lock, and he does not feel safe. Aunt Mari and Uncles Sean convince him not to leave by saying he can move into the pool house. Scott's in there, now, so has to return to his room. Which makes him very unhappy.

But due to the fact that he was willing to leave and fend for himself, Brendan feels he's made the first step in rebuilding his life.

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