it occurs to me
that complex autobiographical situations
can be effectively simplified
by picturing characters
singing-it-out as a showtune
foregrounding a minimalist emotional skeleton
even if your goal is
something far more serious
reclothing that 'showtune skeleton'
in more conventional prose
(a completely different heuristic:
how has each character
internalised the myth/con of original sin?
what chinks in their self-confidence
led them to sacrifice which freedoms?)
.
