Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Yesterday although I had the house all to myself (ah, glorious peace and quiet!), I didn't even bother to get my butt off the lazy chair and write. I rented a few DVDs and spent the afternoon eating mint chocolate ice cream. Let's face it, I was no closer to a solution than I was the day before. And I didn't want to have another round of arguments with my brain. Then at night, I was online, checking my email, when my ex-bf logged on ICQ and we started chatting. This is how part of the convo went. Him: "How's the writing coming along?" Me: "Not so good." Him: "Tell me." Me: "You see, I originally wrote this novella for the Phaze contest. It was suppossed to be an erotic romance but it turned into a sweet romantic comedy so I didn't send it. Then, I started writing all these erotic scenes, which I tried to insert into the story line to crank up the heat, and hopefully send it to the Siren Pub contest. The problem is that these new scenes changed the story." Him: "How?" Me: "Well, for one, the characters changed. Especially the heroine. And the conflict isn't the same. You know, the whole GMC. But that's not the problem." Him: "What's the problem then?" Me: "The story line. The scenes don't flow with the story as it is." Him: "Then re-write the story." Me: "I don't wanna. I like it the way it is." (I pouted like a kid.) Him: "I see. Then tell me what's really bothering you." (I'm telling you, the man is psychic. Oh wait! He's a Gemini; they're half psychics.) Me: "I feel that the erotic element I added in the story is taking over the true internal conflict." Him: "So?" (Gosh, men are so dense!) Me: "I don't know how to achieve a balance." Him: "Do this other contest require your story to be erotic?" Me: "No." Him: "Then send the story as you originally wrote to that contest." (At this point I grumbled to myself something about being so stupid for not keeping a copy of the original story.) Me: *blushing deeply, mortified to admit that I was a moron* "I don't have it anymore." Him: "Tell me more about the erotic scenes. Where does the first one start?" (I have to give the man credit for not laughing at me. So I went on to tell him first about the story, then on to the erotic scenes.) Him: "Get rid of that first sex scene of them at the beach." Me: "But it's a very hot one." Him: *laughed* "Yeah but doesn't make sense in the story." Me: "But...but...but... then they won't have sex until like chapter 8." Him: "Is it necessary for the characters to have sex much earlier?" Me: *sighed* "I guess not." Him: "Then keep the ones that happened after she saved him from the storm." Me: *whine* "But I still want to keep that beer bottle scene." Him: "Write another story with that scene in mind." After I logged out and turned off the computer, I spent the rest of the night thinking about he'd said. Decisions... decisions... decisions... Nothing comes to me easy. Drats!