This week I went back to the outline. I changed it, I rearranged events, I started drafting a plot summary from a different character’s perspective.

The Tower card keeps coming up. It was a significant emotional plot point in the first draft, but it’s also appeared twice in my weekly readings.

I’m starting to wonder if my light revisions are enough. Maybe I need to blow this whole thing up. I’ve given my characters too many things to think about. At some point they need to say, “This is a problem, but it’s not my problem,” so they can focus on the stuff they can actually control. I keep having to make exceptions to world-building rules, and instead of solving the problems, it’s just lowering the stakes.

Time to say, “this is a thing that can’t be fixed” and see what the consequences are.