“Yet They Grind Exceeding Small”, End notes

[aadler]

[ Endnotes posted 10 Jun 2019 ]

Since this is a remix, what prompted the direction this story took in differing from the original?

I didn’t so much differ as explore and expand. The original was even less than a snapshot, barely (and intended that way) a split-second glimpse into something that raised a lot of possibilities that I could see, and I decided to run with them.

Is there any particular significance to the title?

Basically, I just liked the sound of it. Though it had a lot of ancestors, the original line came from Longfellow: “Though the mills of God grind slowly; Yet they grind exceeding small …” Which is to say, fate (in this case retribution) is gonna get you in the end, and Xander was the deliveryman.

What is the thing I like most about this story? the thing I like least, or about which I feel most doubtful?

What I liked most was the slow build, the oh-so-gradual reveal that there was more going on here than we — or Ethan — realized. What caused me the most concern? the question of whether I was doing that slow build effectively. It was just about as good as it was possible for me to make it, and seems to have been well received, but that was what worried me most.

Is there anything I think I could have done better, or might do differently if I had it to do over?

I say this a lot: No, this story wanted to be a certain thing, and turned out as intended. It could have been done better, of course, but I’d have to be a better writer to make that happen.

Was there a different direction I could have taken the story, and what would have been some of the advantages of the not-taken path?

There are always different alternatives, but I honestly can’t think of anything that would have worked better than the way I did it. Anyone who wants to remix this one is welcome to show me how it should be done. Turn out something better than mine, and I’ll be delighted.

Any observations to add at the end?

Xander may be the unpowered one of the group, the comic relief, the ‘ordinary guy’, but underestimating him can be (and has proven to be) a deadly error. For all his smiles and genuinely happy-go-lucky nature, there’s a quiet, unshakeable determination there that can all too easily manifest in startling ruthlessness. And if he does come after you, the grown-up Xander won’t be impulsive about it, no, not at all. You’ll never see it coming till it’s too late. Ask Ethan about that one.