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Blogs by William C Wresch
Ending a war novel 9/2/2022 10:37:11 AM
I understand some authors have a complete outline for their work before they write the first word. I don't. I start with some characters and a setting, and then just start writing.
With THE KING OF SIBERIA I put Catherine in Siberia and went from there. Most days were a complete surprise to me. That's fun for me, but at 78,000 words I still didn't have an ending. I killed off the main Russian several times before settling on a good death for him.
I thought at one time I would end with Catherine leading a breakout, getting a bunch of Ukraine women and babies out of Russia. But that seems trite, doesn't it? End with the American come to save the day? I got the Ukrainians out, but chose a different method.
So that left Catherine. 78,000 words into an 80,000 word novel, how do I end her? Probably killed by the Russians. It's a war novel. Characters die. But I like her. Does she have to die? I stared at my computer for two days, then woke up in the middle of the night with a way to save her.
I gave her a happy ending. Not the best ending for a war novel, but like I said, I like her.
