Sometimes deadlines can be the best inspiration for finishing something. On the other end of the spectrum, deadlines can be the pressure than brings paralysis. For this seat-of-the-pants writer, deadlines mean discipline and focus.
But having said that, I’ve never been so close to a deadline and so far from typing “The End.” My current manuscript is due on March 1st, and with January half over and February the shortest month of the year, I’m trying to stave off the pressure/paralysis. I usually allow the last month before a deadline for revision, but that probably won’t happen this time.
This particular book is part of my Great War series. When I proposed the idea to my editor I didn’t have much more in mind than the setting and time period (Germany, end of the First World War). Even as I began fleshing out the characters (which is where I start, and let the plot develop out of them and their setting) I knew enough of the historical challenges to have a vague idea of where these characters and their story would go.
But I never knew exactly how it would end. Even when I talked to my editor about some of the specifics of the story, I basically said, this, this, and this will happen (some of the specifics) and then… something else will happen and it’ll end. That “something else” was never clear to me, at least until recently. Thankfully I’ve finally figured it out — less than two months before it’s due.
One of the things that both helped and vexed me with this project was the time line. The title of the book is Springtime of the Spirit, which is based on a quote I came across in my research of Germany after the First World War ended. Governmentally, Germany had to start over. Not exactly from scratch, however, since they not only had to pay war reparations to France and Belgium and who knows whom else, but they were basically forced to take the blame for the entire war. They were extended little pity — and yet as a people, they could do little else but hope for a better future, a springtime to follow such a bitter winter. They believed the future couldn’t be worse than the last four years.
The timeline of my story had to begin when the war ended, in November of 1918. For the title to make more sense and to capitalize on the symbolism, I wanted the book to end literally in the spring — taking my characters through the winter. This worked especially well because of the dramatic events of the time and Munich setting, which climaxed in the spring of 1919.
However, as a seat-of-the-pants writer, writing to a time line was a little more restrictive than I’m used to. Not only that, I found it quite a challenge to end the story with any great hope, which is of course the way I want to end every story — with hope and love won. The romantic part was never the problem, but how to end a book where the beloved homeland is in chaos, which becomes the foundation for . . . Nazism? That was a whole separate issue that didn’t play a role in my story, but I didn’t want to ignore it entirely.
I’m happy to say that my worries over this project have been put at rest now that I know the ending. Even though I haven’t written it yet, I have the direction I needed. I think it’s only by the grace of God (lots of prayer) and the anticipation of good editing to come that I believe this book will be one of those things I’ll be most proud of. Or maybe that’s just human nature. The things we struggle with most, if conquered, are the things we’re proud of. Something to think about…
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