The Choices Writers Make

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

The Parenthood finale was last week (I'll try to avoid spoilers) and there was a scene about halfway through the season that was perhaps meant to provide some subtle foreshadowing, when to me it seemed SO obvious that it was setting up the ending of the show. And I hated the idea. And when the time came, and the show ended exactly as I thought it would, I still didn't like it. That's not to say that the scene itself wasn't done well, because it was.

I just didn't want it to end the way Jason Katims, Executive Producer, wanted it to end.

I searched the hashtag on twitter, however and a lot of people loved how they wrapped up the show.

In an interview about the final episode, Katims said the more personal something is, the more people can relate to it. And so you, you have to tell those stories, even if they're painful.

And I wonder, what personal issues did I bring to the story that made me feel the way I did about the way they chose to end it? I'm sure there are many.

But the other thing I've been thinking about is that Katims most likely took his hardcore audience into account. How could he not? This was, more often than not, a show that made people cry. Everyone expected to shed some tears during the finale. He didn't want to disappoint them.

I struggled and struggled with the ending of my upcoming YA novel, ALL WE HAVE IS NOW. I still have small anxiety attacks about it from time to time, if I'm honest.

But as I was thinking about this show, and the audience, and Katims taking on the painful stories and knowing the audience would probably expect one more during the finale, I also thought of MY audience. And when I do that, when I think of who I write for, I realize I made the right choice.

Will some people hate it? Yes. I'm sure of it. Oh well. Can't please everyone, say artists/writers/musicians everywhere, every day, as they put their work out into the world.

A story is one long stream of choices. If we're lucky, our characters will lead us along the path and make the choices interesting and fun and easy. But sometimes, that doesn't happen. All we can do is keep our mind open to many possible choices, and then, when it's time, we have to just do it - we have to go with our gut and we have to choose.

Scary? Kind of. Maybe it'll work for some people. Maybe it won't. But whatever happens, the choice is made. So now I work on a new story, so I have new choices to worry about, instead of focusing on the one that's already been made.

In life and in writing, I think the best thing to do is to just keep moving forward.

Why I love the ending of The Goodbye Girl

I caught the tail end of one of my favorite movies yesterday, when someone (@readjennymartin) tweeted that it was on TV.

When I was younger, I just adored Lucy, the daughter of single mother, Paula. Actually, as I watched yesterday, the 10-year-old me, who struggled to understand divorce and accept new people coming in and out of her parents' lives, was still there, wishing again that she could be more like Lucy.

Anyway, I was a bit disappointed I didn't catch the whole thing, but that's okay, since I've seen it so many times. I caught the best part: the ending.

I think it can be hard to get endings right, in both books and movies. With my own books, I know I've rewritten endings fairly often, way more than I have to rewrite beginnings. As I was thinking about this particular ending, however, I wondered why I like it so much. And here are my thoughts:

1) It manages to be a bit surprising while being somewhat predictable too

It's a romantic comedy. They are supposed to end up together. And I believe Elliott when he says he's coming back. Yet I also understand Paula's insecurity. I want her to believe him too. And so, when Elliott calls her and invites him to come with him on his 4-week acting stint, wonderful. And she says she doesn't need to go, being invited is enough. But then. THEN, he asks her to get his guitar tuned while he's gone. It's in that surprising moment -- that realization along with Paula that he left his one and only prized possession in her care -- when our hearts go YES! He IS coming back and now Paula knows it too. It's just so, so perfect. Doing something surprising at the end is HARD. In future books, I've vowed to think about this more, because man, when you can find something that catches your readers a little off guard, in the best way possible, it's just the best.

2) It's true to character

I think sometimes it's easy to forget, when crafting story, that our characters must come first. That is -- what they do, how they act, what they say -- needs to be consistent and believable. The guitar IS Elliott, in many ways. It was the perfect thing to bring into the ending, and to cinch the scene, so to speak. I love, love, LOVE it when something that has played a part in the story throughout comes back to play some significance in the end.

3) It's not cheesy

I am not always good at knowing what's cheesy. It takes a lot to get me to roll my eyes. I've decided to watch more Hallmark movies this holiday season so I can get a better feel for cheesy. I mean, I really want to have a better cheese radar. It's important, as a writer! But could anyone view this ending as cheesy? I think not. It's just pure - awwwwww. He left his guitar. Of course! It means he IS coming back. And that's what we wanted as we watched, an assurance for Paula that he would be back and everything would be okay.

There's probably more, but it's way past time to get to work. I've decided I need to do more of this though - when I love a story or a part of a story, take some time to think about why that love came about. I think it can only help me in my own story writing.

Have a great week!