balance

^ That's what I need right now. It's what any good book needs, actually. Balance between the action-packed bits and the not-so-action-packed bits.

The problem with books, and movies and television shows as well, is that they're meant to entertain. And what entertains people is the action-packed bits. That's why the characters of your favorite TV show can never just fall in love easily and spend the rest of their days living a Normal, happy life; no one wants to watch Normal. They'd rather watch a completely freak plane accident kill a couple characters, or see the relationship fall to pieces, or something else that is action-packed, edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

My problem is that I need balance. Every chapter of a book shouldn't be action-packed. Sometimes the characters just need to take a breather; catch their breath after running from the fire-breathing dragon before they're taken hostage by a clan of Oompa Loompas, or whatever the situation may be. Even though the action-packed bits are the parts that keep people reading, there needs to be some Normal mixed in or it's not a story; it's just a string of exciting events that leave the reader (well, this reader, anyway) wondering how so much crazy action-packed stuff could happen to just one person. Unless a character is carrying the one ring to rule them all, I just don't see why every bad thing that could possibly ever occur has to happen to them.

So that's where I'm at. Trying to write a bit of Normal before another action-packed "situation" occurs.

Don't get me wrong: Normal isn't equal to Boring. Normal just means that, hopefully, no ones' life is in danger for a few pages. No one is hanging over the edge of a cliff while dramatic music plays, or fighting off a monster they just happened to run into. Those things are all fine and dandy, but I'm going to let some other hero deal with them. For now, kids, we're going to talk about our feelings. And, even if there does happen to be an ever-changing maze of tree branches involved...well, that's as Normal as the Thistlethought is going to get.