I asked myself a simple question: what is a better ending to this story?
Yes, that is it. I'm not great with complicated solutions. This is the absolute truth. I love to make complicated plans, but I rarely enact them. Embarrassing but true. I have to find elegant, simple solutions to succeed, and my writer-sense (not be confused with Spidy-sense) lets me know that my question was going to work.
My method to answer this question may seem weird; I talked to myself about it while driving my umpteen errands. I suppose people looked at me and thought that is one crazy gal. Oh, well. I chattered on about the tried and true ending, poking at my ideas. I started by asking myself questions. How can I make this character suffer more? How can her darkest moment be darker? What would bring this character bigger change?
There was a little drama, like--I don't know if this is going to work, and then, yay, ideas popped up. I continued to chatter on about the how these new ideas might be better than my old one. I chattered for about a half hour. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first author who uses the the professional "chatterer" technique.
Finally in midst of my chattering, eureka, a better ending to the story popped in my head. A way better end. I wrote that ending, and, yeah, I started chanting (while writing), "I've got this!"
Hint, hint, simple questions and a conversation with yourself may help you improve your story or more, even your life. Try it. Thanks for dropping by. I will return next week with more on this series.
Here is a doodle for you:
Here is a quote that spoke to me this week.
The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and
being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over
and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. David Foster Wallace
