Answer me these questions three (or four or five)

I'm starting to get back into the writing groove after the break, so look forward to more random and meandering posts.

Today all of my writing projects are plagued by questions:

TDC -- What is Daerian's purpose in this book, besides being hot and hopefully undermining DLI genre conventions. (But I did figure out the volcano stuff, so go me!)

"And In The Living Rock, Still She Sings" -- What is my conflict? I can only write so many pretty words about a man, a woman, and a snake before the story starts demanding a point. Stupid story.

"Aconite & Rue" -- What hopes, dreams, and fears is Elle hiding from me? All that fun stuff that would make her something more than a girl-shaped hole where a character should be.

And I was going to say "why is the world ending?" for that damned queen-in-a-tower story, but I think I know. That one's starting to kick me in the head.

Why does my normally tasty coffee suck today?