The Hunt for Those Final Story Lines

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment. ~Hart Crane

Once more I am searching for the end of a story. Once more it seems to be hiding from me behind a crazy mixture of words that don’t seem to be paving the pathway I need to glide on toward the end. Once more I’m feeling the way I did back in 2009 when I wrote this:

It’s been a hard work week so far with too many other things I have to do getting in the way of my five pages a day quota to make sure I meet my summer deadline. I’ve been writing and maybe almost getting my pages, but at the end of the day I sometimes end up thinking that I’m going to have to cut most of those words in the final draft. But I tell myself to just get the words out there where I can cut them or improve them, where I can tell the story I’m trying to tell. In the best way I can.

That’s one of the good things about keeping a writing journal. You can see you’ve been in the same place before. You can see that it wasn’t fatal. The story did get written. You can see that it even got published and people read it. Maybe not as many people as you might hope. What writer wouldn’t wish for an appearance on a bestseller list, but my books being on any reader’s list makes me smile.

Once again for my work in progress, I’m anxious to find those magic words the end. I tremble a bit thinking about reading it over once I find those elusive words for fear I have not written the story I hoped to write when I first typed in the words Chapter 1 and began months ago.

Last year at this time I was searching for the last few lines of A Chance for Kallie Mae so I could type the end. There is always a feeling of accomplishment when I type those words. That doesn’t mean the book is finished, but it does mean that I can now work through it and get it finished. I did finish A Chance for Kallie Mae last year. And now I’m about to be rewarded by having the book released for readers in about 20 days on May 19th.

We talk a lot about the first lines of a book, even often share that first line in hopes it will pull readers into the story. But I’m reversing things a little here and giving you a peek at those last lines I wrote last May for A Chance for Kallie Mae. The lines aren’t spoilers. If you’ve read my books, you know I like an ending that leaves my characters in a good place. You can read my last lines on the book in the picture up top.

I can echo my character. For a truth, the Lord has done good for me. I hope you can say the same.

I hope you will like reading until you find my last lines in A Chance for Kallie Mae.

Do you like happy endings? What do you think of these last lines?

You can still check out the great preorder deal at Baker Book House. 40% off, free US shipping, and some bonus goodies, a bookmark & signed bookplate (while supplies last).

Plus you can still enter the Goodreads giveaway – 10 winners will get a print book.

Last of all, I’ll be sending out a newsletter with a giveaway chance and be having some of those chances here on One Writer’s Journal in the next few weeks. Sign up for my newsletter, if you haven’t already, in the margins here on my website.