I had written the events of Parable of the Sower and perhaps seventy-five pages more when I realized that I had a much longer book than I had planned. I looked back and found a way to end Sower. Then I began trying to write Talents. Problem was, I had come to like Lauren Olamina and Acorn. And yet both had to.
Conflict is the essence of story.
And anyway, Olamina wanted to change the world. She couldn't do that by living a quiet, comfortable life in Acorn. Knowing this didn't help me. I kept rewriting the first 150 or so pages of Talents and heading up one blind alley or another. I couldn't seem to tell Olamina's story no matter how hard I tried.