I am editing “The Scene,” my ninth Work In Progress. It didn’t come out quite the way I envisioned. Still, that is what makes Discovery Writing such a challenge —and so much fun.
This part is also fun. I make sure I didn’t reveal too much. This way, no reader should be able to guess the ending before I want them to know it. Or ensuring that if they have a guess, it isn’t correct.
If I don’t know the end until I write it, why should anyone else?
A reader of an earlier novel said, “I couldn’t figure out why Emily’s husband was so mean to her while she was searching for her past. Did you know why when you were writing?”
No. I had no clue until he told me. I only knew he usually had his way in that relationship. I remember, though, that when I got to that chapter and realized the reason, it made perfect sense to me.
Even now, as I reread and edit “The Scene,” I know that the end I have now is rather abrupt. It could change. I wonder if I will still feel that way when I get there.
Memory is the Key 