I'm actually closing in on finishing my final conflict (for serious this time), which explains why I haven't posted in nearly a month!
Except to tell the truth, I haven't done much actual TYPING lately. *ducks tomatoes*
I've still been working, I swear!! I've been brainstorming up a storm over here!
Endings are HARD. I want everything to wrap up neatly—poetically, even—so I need some time to think about it. I mean, I barely thought of how it was going to end the entire time I was drafting. It's strange having to decide what happens at the end while you're actually writing it. My plotter tendencies have always saved me from having to do this in the past: usually I'm writing toward an ending that I've more or less plotted to death while I'm writing the rest on the novel.
Now this method has its advantages: easier to lay in things like foreshadowing and subtle reinforcements of theme. While writing the current WIP, theme has honestly been the last thing on my mind, so I'll have to go back now that I've figured it out. But I'll have to be careful I'm not being too heavy-handed and preachy. Ugh.
Of course, not knowing the ending has its advantages, too. I want to know how it ends so badly that I'm writing much faster than usual. It was only three months ago that I came back from my vacation in Puerto Rico and sent my first few chapters in to my agent's assistant. Crazy, I know, I can't believe it either! I know some people could have written three times as much as I did in three months, but I'm very happy with my progress.
Do you have an inkling of your ending before you start?
5 comments:
I usually know my ending, but I have a hard time getting there and they usually change.
The ending trips me up all the time for reasons you've mentioned! I usually have sort of an idea for the ending, but it's getting there that's hard! Good luck with yours!
Oh yeah, endings are so hard! I know how I want my stories to end, usually ... it's taking it there that's hard. Sometimes there's a little scenic detour that happens right before and throws me off-balance. But a little break from the story usually gets me back on track!
An inkling? Um, maybe a teeny, tiny, itsty, bitsy one. ;) Mostly I just stumble along and eventually get there. Or I don't get there and just start something new. With my current wip, I don't even know how the main relationship is going to work out, much less what the final conflict is going to be, so I'm writing totally blind. Ah, the joys of being a pantser. :)
Congrats on being so close! You're kicking that story's butt! ;)
Hey YOU! Glad to hear things are going well.
I usually have a vague idea of my ending, but they're always a struggle for me. Good luck!
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