I’ve stopped writing.
The clack of the keyboard has fallen silent.
It’s the damn ending.
I’m about three-quarters of the way through this draft and I’m at the point where I’ve introduced a new character. In my first iterations (my fictional African country), Lyra meets Ayaan, a Muslim teen about her own age, who helps Lyra when she needs it most and Ayaan accompanies her on the rest of her journey.
In my First-World/Second World version I still had Ayaan help Lyra when she most needed it, but I’d painted myself into a corner with her location (too far from the setting of the climax), her family (a caring, yet traditional father who refused to allow Ayaan to travel in dangerous territory) and her culture (women rarely ventured out on their own). I could find no logical way for Ayaan to go with Lyra the rest of the way, so I left her at home.
Now that I’m revising the section where Ayaan and Lyra first meet, I’m rethinking Ayaan’s role. She’s still a Muslim girl in a traditional culture, but she is as independent as Lyra–more so, perhaps. I like her as a character; I think she’d add value to the ending.
Which means I need to rethink the plot of the climax. If Ayaan is there, what can she do to help Lyra? She has to have a specific role, something that only she can do, otherwise she’s mere window-dressing and that would be doing Ayaan a disservice.
To answer that, I have to skip ahead even farther. What is my climax? I already explained in my last post (“I Shot Lyra”) how I have to consider the consequences for Lyra confronting the bad guy since she can’t seem to die.
That’s where I’m at. I haven’t even gotten back to Ayaan. I’m using a process that, in teaching, is called “backward design”. Start with what you want the students to know (curriculum), figure out how you expect them to show you that they know it (tests, assignments), figure out the skills they need to know to successfully complete the assignments (unit plans), then figure out how you’re going to teach those skills (daily lesson plans).
So here I am, thinking (again) about the ending. I have to figure out what I want the readers/Lyra to know (what insight, message, theme), then figure out how I expect Lyra to get there (plot points), then what she needs to get there (tools, allies, etc.) then write it (pacing, characterization).
It’s frustrating as hell. I’m brainstorming, thinking, sitting, thinking, but my mind is a whirling kaleidoscope of ideas, a tornado of thoughts, a murky fog of reasoning. (Enough metaphors for you?) I know that the right ending is somewhere in the mess that is my imagination, but I have not yet been able to get it to settle. It’s like building a puzzle with blurred, indistinct pieces without knowing what the picture looks like.
I have the solution, though: Step out of the fray. I have to step back and ensure I’m asking myself the right questions.
Excellent. I have a plan, a way forward. I’m not stalled; I’m simply at another stage of the writing process. No problem. It’s ok. It’s the way it works. Lots of writers experience bumps in the road like this. I can handle it.
Thanks for listening. Now I’m going to go back and crack this nut.
Just one more thing… anyone know the right questions I should be asking?