Retraction

I go and say I don't have problems with plot, etc, then I think of a conversation I was having with some people from the writing group the other day.

I was having a problem with distances in my novel. I have these "magical" gates that lead between worlds. On one of the worlds, where they have vehicles that allow you to travel over great distances very quickly, the gates are a long way away. On another two worlds, where one character has to walk between the gates, they were with in a couple couple of days' walking distance. How convienient. It was annoyig me immensely. Kate didn't seem to see the problem, but came up with the answer anyway. A river. Easy. Get a guy in a boat that's heading down stream and he'll go a damn long way very quickly. I knew that. I just couldn't see it. I had dragons in my head (for flying on the back of, though that would have created a whole new set of problems) and could not seem to get past them.

And... yes, there's more problems.

I need explosives to work and gun powder to not work. Or, at least, for guns to not work. Kate couldn't understand this one either, though possibly I didn't explain it too well. This time she didn't come up with a solution. I need explosives. No way around it. Unless someone can come up with another way to destroy a very large alien spaceship that doesn't involve any form of advanced machinery (ie, more advanced than levers, inclines, pulleys and wheels). But I don't want guns because that ruins a whole heap of fun and irony.

Seeing dragons won't help I'm kinda stuck, though it is not something I really have to worry about for a while yet.