Slightly Off-Kilter

I've written before about how my stories and characters invent themselves. Before I ever commit to writing a story, I know the beginning and the end. I usually know most of the middle, though sometimes the journey has to be poked and prodded along the way. I'm sometimes surprised by the side roads that get added to the mix but I've never changed a plot, especially an ending, because I thought readers might prefer it that way. The story is what it is and that's how it's going to be. I've often wondered (in my fantasies of being published) about what I would do if I were told, "we really like your novel -- except for the ending." I don't know -- do you stick to your guns or fold? I guess it just depends on what's more important to the writer at the time -- or maybe just how different the desired ending would be from the original.

The story I'm writing now (Blue) nearly threw me for a loop. I actually thought it was going to end a certain way -- though I wasn't crazy about that particular ending -- is that weird -- to not be crazy about your own ending in your own story? Anyway, I had reached a point where the voices had stopped chattering -- and I asked them, in a somewhat disappointed tone, "th-thh-that's all, folks?"

Their lack of response led me to believe it was the end -- or either they were just messing with my mind, as characters have been known to do. Eventually, they started speaking again and gave me the actual ending -- you see, these characters speak to me from hindsight. They already know everything -- and they tell me a lot of things which don't get written. I know their life stories long before my story begins, to long after the written part is finished. So, if you've read any of my work, just know, a story never really ends -- though sometimes, I know how a character dies (though it might not be a part of the original story and be far into the future). And sometimes that upsets me to no end. But, hey, it happens.

No wonder I'm slightly off-kilter.