“We have a missing section right before the end of Part 1, the resolution of the final battle, and how this thing actually ends to figure out. I say let’s tackle the final battle first.”
Niall steps away, assisting a customer waiting at the counter. “Right. Now, I know Michael wrote, rewrote, deleted, and rewrote this part multiple times. I’m surprised there wasn’t one of the versions still in the draft.”
“Do you recall any of the details?”
I turn to Noah, who tacks a note card on the board.Someone dies. “There isn’t enough conflict going into the final battle. I mean, not enough emotional conflict. The reader has been building to this very moment and expects a gut punch. We’ve all read enough books and watched enough films where they are placated to the happy ending. This book should not have a happy ending.”
“Why?” Lily asks. “Sometimes a reader wants the happy ending. They pick up the book to escape a shit world. Why can’t we give that to them?”
“Because,” Noah looks from Lily to me, “hmm. I don’t want to sound brash, or maybe inconsiderate. But Michael didn’t get his happy ending, so why should his characters? It’s unfair to him.”
The group solemnly nods, their attention anywhere else but me. But, at the same time, I can sense they are waiting for me to respond, to give my approval.
“I think that makes sense. And, you’re right. There are far too many stories that culminate in this big, grand event. And then you’re ultimately just let down because it’s unrealistic.”
“Or they kill off characters you don’t really care about. Or, even worse, the obvious ones.” Delilah tacks a note card under Noah’s.Teddy?
Lily laughs. “You can’t kill off the main character.”
Delilah turns from the board. “And why not?”
“Because it messes up the ending. We know we need a final chapter or two, or an epilogue after this scene. Which will be tough if the main character is dead.”
“Unless,” Niall says, rejoining the group, “the epilogue is from another character’s perspective.”
“That’s brilliant,” Samuel says, adding a third card to the board.Epilogue / Who survives?
Lily’s flipping through the character chart she had created for all of us, how they all relate back to the main character. We stand around the board, debating the importance of each hero and villain of the story. And, in the end, we have the characters ranked.
One or more that needs to be killed off.
Who should live and who should die.
Who the reader won’t care lives or dies.
There are three names in the first group. Teddy, the main character. Felix, the love interest. Adrian, the main villain.
“Alright, I think that’s enough for today. Extra credit assignment is to bring your argument for who should live and who should die for the next time we meet.” I point over to the bar. “But good work today. Let’s have a pint to celebrate.”
***
Later I’m back in the apartment and logging into my session with Dr. Chandler. I am greeted by a cat’s starfish staring at me.
“Jesus!” I say, looking away from the camera.
“Sorry, sorry,” Dr. Chandler says, removing the cat from camera view. “Patches doesn’t know how to behave appropriately, and thinks everyone wants to see his butthole. Well, now that I’m thinking about it, he’s behaving just like any cat would.”
“And how did Patches get his name?
Dr. Chandler smiles. “A group of us went down to Florida after a hurricane and participated in a Habitat for Humanity build. They put us up in this old camp. Was not a fan of the spider situation in the barracks. Was a huge fan of Patches here. We think he was displaced after the hurricane, looking worse for wear. Hence the name Patches. So, I took him home.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Ehh, I was just looking for an excuse to get a cat. I had kicked my ex to the curb and needed a new roommate.” She stops to take a sip of, what I suspect, is tea. “Tell me how things are going with you.”
I jump into the latest with Niall, which Dr. Chandler had warned me to be patient with. She advised that jumping into a relationship during grief, especially with someone going through the same tragedy, could give false feelings. But, over the weeks, she seems to have warmed up to the idea of Niall and I.
I also bring her up to speed with the work being done on the novel.
