PLOT!

I do not know which of these two events, both of which transpired in the past ten minutes, is worse: 1) Instead of drinking out of my Diet Coke can, which is resting next to me on the end table and is standing at the head of a line of empty Diet Coke cans from the past few hours, I drank from the Diet Coke can that my husband left right next to my computer even though I said to him, "You can't put your can on my tray table, this is my space."  Normally this would not be a big deal- we are married, we can certainly drink of out the same can.  However, not five minutes previously my husband had picked a part of our dog Annie's nail off (why? who knows) and PUT IT IN THAT DIET COKE CAN.  2) I made a really bad cake.  It is so dense it forces you to make that disgusting "ack ack" noise with your mouth (that noise makes me cringe).  I didn't really have all the ingredients to make any one dessert so I just mixed a lot of ingredients that go in some dessert together.  I am not a natural baker.  Anyway... those two awful things are just serving to distract me from an actual problem.  My plot is eluding me.  The plot I am referring to is the story arc for The Guardians of Ben Q. Flanders.  I have no idea what happens.  The characters are clear as day.  I know them.  They exist for me.  The plot on the other hand is living just beyond the grasp of my imagination.  The short story was easy because the plot was really the introductory event to the novel, which serves as exposition and character development.  Now, I need a REAL plot.  I have thought of and discarded about fourteen story arcs in the past two days.  Maybe Diet Coke number nine will hold the answer.  Or maybe I'll just watch t.v.