68: The Unraveling Tapestry
11/13/2013
Finished the third scene for Dissolutions two days ago. It’s the love scene between Diallo and Alena, and where Diallo shows her their yaras inscribed in the tree. It took all day to write the first two pages, then three more pages the next day. Then I took a few days off and finished the last five pages in one long day of constant work.
I think it turned out okay. Putting them up in Diallo’s secret love nest helped. The language was slow and labored, though as usual the dialogue came easy. I got my notes gathered for the next scene and am ready to go. Got to cram a bunch into this next one. Diallo, Joyul, and Kanunga scraping Kinjul’s bride-price hide; Joyul’s telling of the animal-bride myth; the warning that Pardos is in the area so they’re restricted to the village; Kembara is there playing with and eating the scrapings from the hide; Kinjul appears and belittles Diallo; Tamal–Dougga–Bakar make a raid on the smoked meat hanging there in the hub, etc.
The hard part will be how to manage Joyul, because she knows Alena is leaving and Diallo doesn’t. Kanunga’s unaware of Diallo’s relationship with Alena, so he’s oblivious to Diallo’s interests. I might have Joyul suggest to Diallo that he should go talk to Alena, quickly – but he doesn’t get a chance because the boys’ raid interrupts everything.
I’m not sure. It’s a tricky situation of juggling who knows what while not revealing what they know, yet keeping the conversation natural and unrestricted. I’ll figure it out.
Present-Day Reflection
7/31/2026
Today, Dissolutions consists of 14 chapters spanning 98 pages. It speaks to the loss of oneself in a relationship, then losing that relationship. It’s about the transition from stability and security into fractured and separate components.
There’s a core thread woven throughout this unraveling that holds it all together, however – the idea that when things fall apart, structure always gives way to both emptiness and freedom in equal measure. It’s never just about endings, but also about new beginnings.
