-=> Quoting Ken Staley to Jan Chandler <=-
 KS> Just finished Ben Bova's great work on writing science ficiton.  His
 KS> view is that EVERYTHING must advance the story...and that which
 KS> doesn't, regardless of how brilliant, needs to be 86ed.
 
 SO!! Now I know where that irritating bit of advice originates!  
 
 KS> One of Bova's other suggestions was for the writer to LISTEN to his
 KS> characters and let THEM do what they want.  If eavesdropping is
 KS> something this kid would do...DON'T chop it ... at least not all of it.
 The kid's hungry for attention from his father, but he knows better than
 to go barging in his father's office when he's  "on the phone" (holo-phone
 in this case).  He developed a habbit of listening to the conversation
 until his dad finished.  
 KS> Obviously, somewhere in that 550 word piece, something too important
 KS> to leave out was snipped.  Find it.
 It's a pivotal piece, but I'm wondering if the full exposition couldn't
 be better resolved in 'Part Three'.  
 What has happened is that the young fellow hears his mother and father
 arguing about whose fault it was that this awful catastrophe occurred 
 (their planet was almost destroyed).  Now, in their society, the whole 
 clan is held responsible for the deeds of one member - good or bad.  
 
 The father takes full blame for the incident, but his wife won't let 
 it stand and she convinces him to lay the blame at someone else's feet.  
 From there, they plot just how they're going to accomplish this. 
 
 It is unfortunate that the child overhears the conversation for two
 basic reasons, one: he idolizes the clan that his parents are plotting 
 to destroy  two: certain atmospheric changes (caused by said catastrophe)
 affect the minds and bodies of the young more so than the elders.  
 The combination of incidents warps the child and he becomes our classic
 victim/perpetrator.  
 KS> Another of Bova's comments...don't let page after page of exposition
 KS> pose as dialogue.
 guilty, guilty, guilty  
 KS> Read a similar book where said good-to-bad boy was hiding under the
 KS> bed when said conversation occurred.
 Right off hand, I can't recall one.  
 Thanks, 
   Jan C. 
... "42? 7 and a half million years and all you can come up with is 42?!"
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR]
---------------