Friday, March 9, 2012

Whimsical Friday: Help, I'm stuck

Have you ever read the ending of a book and thought how perfectly to all wrapped up. Endings are supposed to give closure to the story, to the hero and heroine in their quest for love. I’ve written so many endings, you would think I was a pro at it. **Insert hysterical laughter**

I’ve been re-editing the third book in my demon series, removing sections that don’t really add to the story. It was a 120,000 words and I wanted to shrink it down to at least 70,000. I know, you’re thinking “What? Why”? Simply, that’s just too long, in my opinion, for an ebook. Anyway, I’ve been working on it for a while now and have finally come to the end. Well, I’m stuck. Sigh.
Let me give you the premise of the story.
The Demon series is a look at three generations of demon’s who have or are working for Satan. Demons in my books are forbidden to mate with humans. Yeah…well…my characters are determined to have what they want, rules be damned. Bear with me now and I hope I don’t confuse you all. Draco Starr meets Missy Green in book 1. It’s a romance so obviously they get together. Rules be damned, they convince Satan to give them a break considering Missy is half demon. Satan says fine but with a stipulation that their child has to work for him at the age of 21. Aurora Starr is that child and she’s a defiant one. She hates rules and does everything she’s not supposed to do, including falling for Scott Monroe, a human. Again, happy ending, they get together. Book Three is about Aurora and Scott’s son. Mick Monroe is a rock star who from birth ahs been guided by Lucifer to become a great rock star. Since its benefited him, he’s gone along with it. But when he meets Laci Harris and her son Tim, he suddenly realizes there is more to life than being a hard core star. Problem is, Satan isn’t done using him yet.  That’s all I’m giving you. Sorry, but you’ll have to wait for it to be released.

So here I am, at the end of the story and I’m stuck. The original ending is corny. It desperately needs a rewrite. Problem is, I’m not sure what course I should set for this threesome. Of course, being a romance they will have their happy ending. But this is the final book and I want to wrap up not just one, but all three.  And its driving me mad! Ahhhhh!

I stare at the page with a blank stare, mind gone. What do I do? How do I give it all closure without making the readers upset, thinking, “What? No, that can’t be.”
Oh, and did I mention I’m still at 90,000 words.

Now, do I scrap the ending for now, go back through the book and take more out of it? Or do I wrap it up first then go through the book again? What to do, what to do.
Any advice? I’m open to anything you can suggest. Like I said, I’m stuck.

4 comments:

  1. Mmmm I'm wondering whether you are overthinking. (You're probably saying Der now). When I get stuck I shift my focus on something else, say another writing project or reading. That frees my mind up and before I know it the muse steps in and the perfect solution appears. Just try it! :-)

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  2. Relax. Have some chocolate. And red wine.
    Of the options you mentioned, what feels the best to you?
    I always like wrapping it....I might think the ending is off but hey, at least its an ending, a finished product, you know?
    If nothing is working maybe just stick with the old ending and pass it on to a beta reader. A second pair of eyes can me wonderful.

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  3. Anonymous3/11/2012

    Times like these is when being a writer is really fun.
    Hope you find the ending.

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  4. Shiela---I seem to always take the route of most resistance when it comes to editing...I'd be more likely to go through the whole thing, scrap the ending and a lot of the middle and rewrite it all.
    I'm absolutely no help to you :P But loved this post and hope you find the ending :o)

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