Writing the End of a Novel is Hard · 10:39pm Oct 13th, 2020
This is sort of both a progress report and a chance to ramble about some of the ups and downs of writing fanfics.
Right now, I've got three chapters left to publish in my latest novel, Magic of the Heart. It's been a month now since I last posted a chapter, and to be brutally honest, it's probably going to be at least a month more before the next one reaches the public eye.
So I was sitting here, slightly frustrated, thinking about why that might be. And I've got some good excuses reasons for my lateness, that also shed a little light on my planning and writing process. If you care about any of that, read on.
1. Tying together sub-plots is tricky
Those of you who are reading know that in this fic, I'm actually telling two stories in one book: Each chapter takes some time to focus on Dinky, and some to focus on Ditzy instead. It's not equal; the story's a little weighted toward Dinky's portion, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Trying to make sure both sides have almost exactly equal weight would probably result in portions feeling unnaturally drawn out or unsatisfyingly foreshortened.
The tricky part is that each of those plot halves is loaded with sub-plots. Magic of the Heart has two core protagonists, but a huge amount of significant secondary characters who all have their own sub-stories playing out as well. As we near the end of the story, those two major halves of the plot are going to convene into one for the climax, bringing the pile of both sets of secondary characters with them.
Think of it like having two major devices in your home. We'll use a tv and a desktop computer as an example. The tv might have a DVD or blu-ray player, and perhaps a cable box or a game console, and all of those associated wires are probably all plugged into roughly the same area.
Meanwhile, the computer has wires for the main device, the monitor, a modem, a router, a printer, and probably some more stuff too.
Now imagine you suddenly had to take all the associated periphery for the tv, and all the stuff for the computer, and plug all of it into the same power strip. If you aren't especially careful and organized, you'll end up with a tangled mess of wires, and have very little idea what wire goes with what device. That's basically what's happening with this story. Progress is very slow because I'm double and triple checking everything I write, and referencing earlier chapters of the (already rather long) story, to make sure each significant character's sub plot continues on course, and I don't find myself in the final chapter only to discover I forgot to mention something critical two chapters earlier because I lost track of it in a jungle of tangled storylines.
2. Creating a satisfying conclusion
Magic of the Heart is the last book in the trilogy. That means the bit I'm writing right now isn't just leading into the end of the story. It's leading into the end of the series. Sure, I might write some more short stories focusing on individual characters from these fics, but the core plotline that started with Shipping and Handling over nine years ago now is drawing to a close in the coming months.
I've had some of the details about these characters in mind for years (for example, Sparkler was always written with the idea in mind that she was secretly Glow's daughter, even all the way back at the beginning of Hocus Pocus in 2013.) and so this is the part where I need to make sure they arrive at their intended conclusion. Even if future short stories continue to build on some of the characters, I want the status of their lives and details of their personalities and relationships to be in their "final" state when chapter 20 concludes. And this is also slowing me down when it comes to writing; I'm not gonna publish these final few chapters until I'm sure the characters have arrived at where I want them to be, because once that conclusion is posted, that's it.
So, in short, I have a massive pile of important characters to work with, and I fully plan to give each and every one the attention and care they need to bring and end to the paths that they've walked (trotted?) since the trilogy began in 2011. And somehow do that in a way that makes sense and follows a logical flow of actual events of the plot.
I can do it! Really! It's just... gonna take a while.
See you eventually with chapter 18!
~PRB
I feel ya. Progress on my own original fiction novel is slow going lately, for some of the same reasons. I have fewer subplots, but three protagonists, with their own arcs that feed off of eachother. I can usually only manage a page at a time before my muse sputters and collapses. But hey, those pages will eventually add up for both of us, right?
I've always admired how you weave all the different characters and their stories together. It's fascinating how you do it and keep them all moving together.
Take your time, PRB. Your stories are wonderful and worth the wait!