Last night, when I was once more wrestling with the pestiferous second scene, it finally occurred to me to wonder how Mr. Enser, who lives and works on the Oponoi side of the river, would know who Ilsabet is or how to find her when she lives on the Fenis side of the river.

And now that I wonder, so does Ilsabet. Once she asks Mr. Enser how he knew–did Lord Narthé tell him in his dream?–it changes everything. The rest of the scene can’t stand as I currently have it.

I wonder if this might not be a piece of my difficulties with the scene, that I was trying to write a scene that ignored the elephant in the room. The only way I’ll know for sure is to write the scene, seeing how it unfolds from the moment Mr. Enser says yes, Lord Narthé did name her in the dream.

You have to love writing: It’s always an adventure.