Out Wrestling Dragons ... Part II

Greetings, one and all!

*Takes helmet off and wipes blood from her eyes*

So Dippy continues her voyage into the unknown depths of the Lair. The Dragon’s Lair. Specifically the lair that belongs to Dragon Plot. Now, contrary to popular belief, Dragon Plot isn’t being pesky or even mischievous. Dragon Plot is downright mardy. Great word that. Mardy. Northern British English, meaning grumpy, awkward, difficult. Mainly, though, 'mardy' means grumpy. So, how come Dragon Plot is mardy? Is it because Dippy tried to feed it up – and in the process of so doing gave it indigestion? Or did Dippy give the poor thing food poisoning, because she hadn’t cooked its food properly? Either way, the result is the same: mardy, mardy Dragon who refuses to eat, co-operate or play ball. Sad, really. Dippy needs to get Dragon Plot outta this ‘ere funk. And how to do that? Well. Dragon food, it’s a tricksey mixture of the right ingredients:

An oodleplex of character

A dash of motivation for said characters

A massive dollop of conflict

A generous portion of tension

Aaaaaaan’ ... some kind of plan ...

Get the mix wrong and, boy, you will have one seriously sick dragon.

So why’s Dippy all concerned? Well, everything was goin’ well ... until she was writing a scene last night which left Dippy feelin’ cold. She means Outer Space Absolute Zero cold. This wasn’t the ‘Oh, it’s just that pansy, the Inner Editor, having its regularly scheduled Hissy Fit’ type cold. This was a pure bred ‘this really, really ain’t workin’’ type cold. There are many reasons -- characters not wanting to do what they’re meant to do ... not finding the right words ... the scene’s just not ‘big’ or ‘loud’ enough.

It sent Dippy into a mad panic. Like a ‘curl in a ball and shake’ type panic. So ... what’s Dippy doing to get out this funk/mess? First of all, she’s trying hard to beat the panic. Secondly, she’s been making lists and looking over all the information she’s been generating. Dippy hasn’t come up with a solution yet, but she will ... and then ... when Dragon Plot is all bright and healthy, Dippy will be back flyin’ with dragons, rather than wrestling with them!

Dippy would like to know ... what are YOUR personal Writing Dragons? Have you tamed them, and how? 

 *Bangs on her helmet*

Dippy will see you later for more stories from The Dragon's Lair!