And we return.
Theoretically this is simply chapter 14. Really, though, it’s chapter 1 of the second story arc. If the first arc was about introducing the world and Kay getting caught up in Cal’s world, we can now consider that part of the story finished and a new part begun.
Before beginning A Day of Faces I worked out a very loose 3-part structure. Part 1 evolved as I wrote it, twisting and turning into something slightly different. Major beats were still there – how Kay and Cal met, the climactic Aviary assault – but where everybody ended up at the end changed considerably, which had a knock-on effect on everything else.
Most of the last couple of weeks, since ‘Apex Predator’, has therefore been about restructuring part 2 and 3. And while the themes of the story have remained intact, the direction has shifted again. This second story arc is very different now to how I’d originally imagined it.
Crucially, it’s better.
Vicariance is a chance to get our breath back after the 3-parter finale to the first arc. I wanted to remind readers where the characters had got to, without fully explaining what was happening. It’s a chance to really start picking out the characters and Kay and Cal and where they differ – it’s all been fun and games so far, mostly, but now that they’re in a decidedly desperate situation it’s time to see how they each react under that kind of strain.
Kinda harder to do that with Marv, given he’s unconscious for the entire chapter. I’ll get to him soon. In fact, there’s a bit of a character inconsistency/plot hole there which needs addressing sooner rather than later. Nobody’s mentioned it, but I’ve noticed it and it’s annoying me.
I’m back to publishing weekly on a Monday, so stay tuned on my Wattpad channel. The next chapter is probably going to be called…’Allopatric speciation’. Because why the hell not?
Soundtrack: In The Beginning score, by Christopher Franke
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