Whip out the technique of considering what happens next, and reversing it. All right, what happens next is a confrontation with the warlock -- so it won't!
Fine, says the muse, and goes back to playing catch, and the outline is dead in the water.
Because of course, the actual opposite of "something happens" is "nothing happens," however detrimental that may be to the forward progress of the plot.
mumble mumble grumble grumble GRUMP
