Blogged out!

Actually, I've blogged back in. And a belated Happy New Year to everyone.
I did believe for a while that I was heading in the right direction with my latest work. However, just as I was about to send work-in-progress copies to Noel The Ultimate Proofreader and to Solvey for their opinions, I realised that the direction I was taking was not the best way to go. Reintroducing someone from the prologue this early via the fourth chapter was actually going to detract from the reader's bonding with the hero of the tale. Three chapters with him was not enough, and I was shifting away from some expected, imminent action at too early a point. This is not a short story, and I shouldn't be making shortcuts to other people in the tale, however important they are to it.
The chapter I'd written feels good, and I will hopefully add more to it later, but it's too early to introduce it.
The hero's journey must take precedence for now.
And I feel better now, too.