Sunday, March 8, 2009

A New Ending

What a week. I redid the end of my novel. Well actually I added a new chapter to the end, but it also means that I'm going to have to go back and work some new elements into the plot line. The silly thing is that this was part of my original plot, but I just didn't it include it for some reason.

And then honestly I randomly decided to end my novel. 

I just felt done, but I knew I wasn't really done. The new ending seems better to me now. I've tied up a few more loose ends, and managed to kill someone. Some of my beta readers told me that I needed someone to die during the fight scenes. And I agreed--the type of fighting my characters do just isn't as cool or as real without some sort of casualties. But I didn't know who to kill--I liked all of my major characters, and I'm planning on using them later on in the series. And then it hit me! And so he's dead.

It's funny, but now I feel like I can really dig into the revision process a lot more. I needed that resolution before I could move forward.

Total subject change. So I've never talked to other people (nonwriter people) or friends and family that really know me of my writing desire. But on facebook, I've been putting comments in my status. It's funny because my high school friends don't seem too surprised (I was on the Literary Magazine staff), but my adult friends all do. But I've gotten so much positive feedback, I don't know why I wasn't letting on that I want to be a published author. Maybe the dream is so fragile and the process is so hard, that it is hard for me to make it public. Plus I'm not really a outgoing person--things are rarely about me.  I like blogging because it is just out there. 


3 comments:

Jessie Oliveros said...

I am still in the semi-secretive stage of wanting to be a writer. I think it is the fear of failing that keeps me from making it too public. I think once I finish a novel, though, I may feel more open about my dream. You killed one of you characters off? That must have been hard. I get so attached to my characters. Anyway, in the end if it makes you book better I guess it has to be done.

Cindy R. Wilson said...

I was secretive about wanting to be published for awhile, too. I'd let people know that I liked to write, but I'd say nothing about the twenty query letters I sent out or all the research I was doing on publishers. Sometimes it's easier saying nothing than trying to explain the whole process or give updates when you get rejections. Oh, I have never killed off one of my characters. At least not one that had any purpose. I'd be sooooo sad. But I am thinking that I might have to do that in one of my current projects. Ugh.

Jenni James said...

I wrote my first word of my now agented book almost a year ago (The 15th it'll be one year!) So I consider myself to be a complete newby to the world of writing! And i'm different. I told everyone I knew I was writing, just so I find who could help me. I had no idea what to do when i started... LOL! Thanks to a lot of cool people i've come a long way. Speaking of which, if you ever want to know anything, I'm pretty open. Just ask. Jenni