So it has been a while since I last wrote. Part of this was due to the fact that I was in a show, which helped remind me a lot about what I was writing about. However, in the past few days I have done everything in my power to commit to writing the end of my book. I did everything that people tell you to do. I told myself it didn’t need to be a perfect ending, that I could fix it later, etc. But my characters were literally rebelling against me. The ending I originally had planned just did not work. It didn’t add up. At least not as it was. Now I can’t go into specifics, but I decided I couldn’t just barrel through to the end. I needed to backtrack, and fix some stuff. I was afraid this meant revising literally EVERYTHING I had already written (A process I’m not ready for yet) so I decided to cheat a bit. I went back a little bit, and saw an opportunity that I had intentionally had my characters not take. I thought about it, and said “Well…I didn’t want that to happen then…but what if it did?” and to my amazement, it seemed to make plotting the ending so much easier. While I’m still working out a tiny kink (I have two ideas and just need to pick one) the rest of the ending is really well organized/plotted out. This is a big step up from my vague notion of what would happen. I think the reason my understanding of the ending was so vague, was that I had no way to justify it as it was. Now the ending feels like it will be satisfactory, or at the very least, well earned.
I found the idea of beginning the editing process from page 1 through what I have now, too scary to handle. If you’re having similar problems, maybe the method I’ve used will help you. I will report back in a few days to discuss whether this new plan is a success. I have high hopes.
