Taking Some Time

Published on Feb 15, 2013
There are moments that I try to steal in between coding and life in general in order to spend a little time writing for myself on a new project. For the last few months however, since the end of NaNoWriMo I have been dreading finishing my new book. Well, I will be honest I have three book projects going on at the same time right now and each of them seem to have their own challenges of reaching the end. Two works of fiction and the last a Christian themed book on biblical servanthood. ## Find An Ending That Fits The novel that I literally started in November and have gotten about half way through is lost in trying to find its conclusion. I know where the books is supposed to end but I don't know how I want it to get there and so I have spent a few months drafting up a plan in my head to get to to that conclusion. It's rather frustrating trying to get characters from one place to another without forcing them down a direction they would never realistically choose or that would change them fundamentally into individuals I never wanted them to be. I hate having character evolve in a way that does not fit their original purpose. Though in thinking about it I wonder if perhaps they are trying to change into something they were meant to be. I think about people in real life rarely being the people that they intended, but through intense situations they are changed and whether that is for good or bad relies solely on the choices they made to get them from point A to B. Recently when I spoke to several young writers I told them that characters will change, but that you should allow them as long as its not generic or unrealistic. I suppose then at this point I'm not taking my own advice and listening to the characters in my own book. Sad. However, it still stands that you should not let your characters solely guide the story, but that you should remain in control of what you are doing in your writing. A character makes a decision, because you wanted them to make that decision. The book I'm working on now is my first real attempt at full-length science fiction and has been a great inspiration for other places in my life to pursue dreams that I have had without reservation. No more shrinking back. So I guess when I finish this blog post and dinner I will spend a few hours crafting another chapter of a book that I spent a month straight loving every minute writing.
Justin Hough author picture
Justin Hough

Chief Development Officer at Hounder. He is a Christian, husband, father, writer, developer, designer, and a digital carpenter crafting amazing web experience. Also, created the Centurion Framework many moons ago.