And Now We Are Forty-Eight
18/03/2025
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It’s the eighteenth of March here in Australia, which means I’ve just turned another year older. We’re still fixing things up after
Nancy Kress recently did a short post on how she fixed a story ending that wasn’t working, although it sneaks in as part of a post about other things.
The short version, for those not inclined to follow links, goes something like this:
Step One: go back to the last point where the story last excited you.
Step Two: Change the action of a secondary character.
Step Three: Chart the protagonists response to that change.
I may have sat there staring at the advice for a good ten minutes this morning, wondering how the hell I’d never thought of it. I mean, it’s simple and rather obvious, but seeing it articulated like that as a process is somewhat revelatory.
It’s the eighteenth of March here in Australia, which means I’ve just turned another year older. We’re still fixing things up after
I’m writing this from an apartment packed down for impending cyclone/hurricane due to hit Brisbane some time in the next 24 hours.
I recently offered GenrePunk Ninja subscribers a list of options for a series of deep dive entries, and got them to vote
4 Responses
Wow, that really is *excellent* advice!
Crikey, am I the only person who actually feels like a simpleton after reading that? One of those painfully obvious things we never seem to come up with by ourselves. Genius.
I'm gonna have me a crack at this.
@Jason – nope, I still feel like a complete freakin' moron.
That is brilliant advice. Thanks for passing it on.