Lance's story has taken precidence in the last few weeks. Slowly, If It Weren't For the Two of Us and Hi, I'm Lance are starting to line up a bit more evenly if not exactly.
What I like about this chapter is the crossover of Jakob into Trent's book.
Read If It Weren't For the Two of Us, Chapter 37 here.
When I started this type of writing a long time ago, Mike and Trent were the main leads. I'm not sure who I identified with more. I could relate to both of them as the story developed. From the "older" standpoint, I'm sure I was more like Mike. However, Trent had more growing to do, so he was probably a more enjoyable character to write.
Then came Lance. The decision to do a second book was a leap. Extracurricular was just a fun flirtation, particularly during the pandemic. But as If It Weren't For the Two of Us developed, I found digging into Lance's persona was intriguing. I learned to care for this messed up character and knew his own book could be rewarding. I often wondered if script writers for television series felt the same for the characters they developed. At least in those cases, they see actors portray what they have put on the page. For you and I, we are left with our imaginations. There is something special about Lance's story.
Enter Jakob. I wasn't sure where to take Lance through his recovery, but I did want him to find someone. The sexual tension between Trent and Lance could only go so far without it being rehashed. I could have made an ongoing triangle between Mike, Trent and Lance, but that didn't interest me. I was more interested in creating love stories more than I was Dynasty. Jakob grew on me in no time. His vulnerability made him someone I wanted to eagerly develop. He was easy to love.
Realistically though, new relationships don't always go easy when sandwiched into friendships. Someone is going to feel pushed out. That's why this chapter is very satisfying to me. It touches my heart. It's not like all my characters in Jackson Bend aren't contending with some obstacle or another — they are — but being on a journey together helps. Jakob deserves this.
How do you feel?
Quite a bit of this chapter overlapped with the most recent chapter in "Hi, I'm Lance", but I didn't enjoy it any less. It was fun to read things from Trent's point of view. Trent is maturing at a somewhat slower pace than Lance is, but that's life, right?
ReplyDeleteThat was a really great scene with Trent and Jakob. Very brave of Jakob to reach out and display himself and his vulnerabilities to Trent.
ReplyDeleteAnd Trent is always the good guy and sees the true Jakob despite the smell of hot dogs. His gift of the t-shirt was a lovely choice and welcomed Jakob into the world of coupledom.