The end
'How to explain my novel’ is not something I was thinking about when I wrote the series. Perhaps there are some super authors out there who do think of this dimension when writing. They specifically target the plot so that it is easy to sell.
But I am definitely not one of them.
I was too busy thinking about how to explain what I wanted to show with the story, which I believe I have achieved —even if it’s at the cost of the book likely being impossible to write a screenplay for… 😂
But yes… I’m now stuck with the quandary of really liking my story, but not knowing exactly how to get it across to its rightful audience. I know those odd kind of people exist out there, but it is just finding them.
Well… I mean, I know I can explain absolutely everything. I know my story back-to-front, upside-down and right-side-wrangled —these days. I know there are things within it that not even the most meticulously-driven detail hunter will find; and they will definitely require explanation. That’s just because I’ve always liked easter eggs.
That’s the alternative meaning of easter egg, although I am also partial to chocolate with higher dimensional formatting.
But… therein lies the problem. How much is too much to explain? I know I shouldn’t go into detail, but what parts will destroy the mystery by giving too much away.
And if I don’t explain enough, will readers just assume this series is what it appears as face value. When I am here to tell you, that it definitely isn’t. At least I think I’m here to tell you that. If I wasn’t supposed to be, or you’d rather I hadn’t then perhaps we can go back and start again?
The beginning
Most people, when describing their book, go down one of two routes.
They explain just the beginning, giving you a glimpse into the start, but with no real clue, apart from the occasional trope guideline, as to where you’ll end up.
Others go into ‘Summary Mode’, where they try to tell a sweeping arc of the story but leaving the gruesome, or wholesome details out.
Because of this, and I really have to stop myself, I’m tempted to explain ‘the end’.
I mean, what is the difference between an end and a beginning, anyway?
Apart from the fact that ‘end’ is short and sweet, and ‘beginnings’ are fraught with too many characters that play havoc with your undiagnosed dyslexia.
I have at least settled for putting the difficult bit in the title, as Sir Humphrey would say. And by doing that it means I can go back and write stories with the impending note of nostalgia that I haven’t yet earned. At least not in the eyes of any readers.
For me however, it is a very different story.
I am very nostalgic about this series.
It has been with me for over two decades.
I’m pretty certain ideas within it have come from even earlier.
Ideas that go back further, even before myself.
So, considering I’ve been working at this for so long, and I hope that I still have a lot more to write and experience. Perhaps it is best to start at the middle?
The middle
I’m sure there are tricks you can learn to get good at marketing.
Knowing my luck I’ll learn them after the fact.
I just simply don’t have the funds, however, to pay for council in this area.
So, I have to do it myself.
I’ve already spent quite a lot more on this book (and series) than I first thought I would. But the more I’ve researched and learned, the more it has become necessary. And the more I read, the more I’ve realised that whilst this might be my first published book, publishing is not the end, it is the very start of getting people to know about the story. Getting people to take a chance on me, and my ability to entertain. Convincing readers that —even though I’m new— I might be worth the risk of spending some money, in exchange for a plot about kitchen sinks and explosions.
Yes, I think I’m very much in the middle —and maybe that is where I’ll stay, permanently?
The mirror
In the middle is where we find the mirror, like an ever shifting cursor. One that constantly projects the future and reflects interpretations of the past. A criss-cross of complexity that only those who pay no attention at all seem to navigate with their sanity intact.
And now that things have turned philosophical —as they nearly always do— you have to ask yourself one question: “Will there be things like this in the book?”
And I’d like to be able to tell you. But then perhaps I’d be veering into the realms of misdirection. What’s the difference between misdirection and false advertising? Especially in a world where subjective interpretations are key? I don’t know… which is why I’ll leave that kind of thing to the pages of my new book…
‘The End of Worth and Distance : Episode One’.
It’s very nearly almost here…
… and there, and ever-times somewhere in between.
If you are interested to find out more, check out my book website or author website.
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