Ute Carbone
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Inside the Writer's Garret

On writing and life, with a little chocolate thrown in from time to time.

And All is Well: Where The Story Ends.

1/23/2016

1 Comment

 
I don't generally like books that don't end well. It's not because I don't understand that, in real life, things don't always work out--people battling illnesses die, lovers become distant, and the homecoming is a terrible disappointment. But fiction is not real life. The very point of fiction is  to experience how good can prevail, how love can conquer, how faith can be rewarded.
This is not to say I don't want bad things to happen in books. In fact, bad things need to happen to characters. The struggle, the heartbreak, the striving against impossible odds, this is what keeps me turning pages. In the end, though, I want those characters to prevail.  And there are many kinds of triumph. Quite a few of the books I've loved end with a characters death. But even in those books, there is a sense that all will be well, that redemption is found, or that love can prevail.
As I writer, I strive to leave my characters in a better place when the story ends. Not a perfect place, perhaps, but a better one. I like to leave them thinking all is well. The world is still full of dark places, but these characters will continue to find their way through. This is as true of comedy as it is of more serious fiction.
My hope is that if the ending satisfies me, it will satisfy readers as well. Do the job right, and you leave readers wanting to linger for a moment in the world the novel has created, to stay in this place, this right-now place, where all is well.


In an effort to put my books where my mouth is, I'll share a few of my endings with you. 
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If you pressed me to tell you which ending I enjoyed writing the most, I'd probably say it's the ending to Afterglow. A romantic comedy needs to end on a happy note and I often struggle to find just the right spot for an ending. But this one, ahh, this one came to me like a gift with a big blue ribbon wrapped around it.  
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I imagine that, back on Easterly Street, Allie and Liz are getting into their car, tranquilizer guns tossed into the back, and riding home to the apartment they share. Across the way, Eva is getting an eyeful of Red’s boxers and all that’s in them. Patch, I hope, is calling Laura and telling her she’s terrific. At the bottom of the Tamsett River, sixty-eight singleton shoes are becoming a housing development for fish. And, here at Fat Boy’s Diner, Mitch’s kisses taste like apples and maple syrup, with just a hint of cinnamon. 


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My latest book, Sweet Auralie, is the final book of a series. I wanted to make it an epic story, and searched for a way to turn the love Anton and Lenora share into a legacy upon which a family is built. To do this, I wrote an epilogue,  set long after Anton and Lenora's time. 





​He took a sip of tea, raised the glass to Dorothea and sat back in the chair. “It’s a beautiful day, the view here is spectacular and the company is terrific. I can’t think of a better way to spend my time than to hear the story of your great grandparents.” Dorothea blinked, maybe surprised at his interest, and the bit of wetness is her eyes told him his interest meant a lot to her. “Well then, where do I begin?” “How about at the beginning? How did Lenora and Anton meet?” “Oh, that is a good story. Lenora’s father had died, you see, and her relatives had arranged a marriage to a rather odious man. Lenora, being Lenora, would have nothing to do with the arrangement and stowed away on a ship headed for San Francisco. The ship’s captain was a dashing and bold young man named Anton Boudreaux.” Joshua closed his eyes and as Dorothea spoke, he could feel the spray of salt water on his face as the rigging creaked and groaned under the flight of sails.

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Burrrrr Humbug

1/20/2016

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Wish I were here. Rincon Beach PR photo by Cogito Ergo Imago https://www.flickr.com/photos/37244380@N00/
The garret, AKA my office, is a corner room of my house, exposed on two sides to the elements. Today, as I sit and write this, the wind is howling past the clapboards, seeping in through the cracks. Windchills pull the temperatures down towards zero, even at midday.
One of favorite things to do is take long walks in the woods. On Tuesday mornings like this one, you'll usually find me out with a few friends, hiking through the hills.  Other days, I'll put an hour aside to walk at the local park.  On days like today, I look out the window,  watch the branches of a pine tree sway,  and think about the thick layer of ice covering the trail. I'm not hardy--or foolhardy--enough to brave the elements.
I like walking because it calms my mind. I've gotten some great (and okay some not so great) ideas while out on the trail. New twists in the novel I'm writing, an idea for a blog post, the missing element in a revision. The odd thing about writing is that it's when I'm focused elsewhere the muse shows up and starts showing off. 
Today, the muse is, sadly, absent. Maybe she's seeking out a warmer climate, preferring to spend her time on the sun drenched beach of  an island surrounded by clear blue water. Right about now,  I wish I could join her
.
 
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#Resolved

1/6/2016

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This Bob Satterfield Cartoon is from 1904. Some things never change. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Satterfield_cartoon_on_New_Year%27s_Resolutions_(1904).jpg
Every year, I make New Year's resolutions. Usually, by the time mid-January rolls around I've broken most of them. This year, I've decided to look at things differently. Instead of making a wish list of things, I'm going to work on what I need to move things forward career wise.
                Since this resolutions post is going up the week after New Years, you might think I'd resolve to make better use of my time. It's true that, most of the time, my life is out of balance, my desk is a mess, and I'm late for whatever-it-is.  I've tried hard to balance, to organize, to schedule my days better, but I always end up sideways. What I've decided to do, instead, is to not beat myself up about not being organized and not having a great sense of time. Life often doesn't go according to schedule. And that's okay.
                I have spent some time reflecting on my writing life. I write regularly. I  finish things. I  get my work critiqued and edited. In short, I've passed writing 101. My efforts have let me put five novels and four novellas out into the world. The process of marketing these books, though, and finding readers who love them, hasn't been very successful. I sell very little. I need to figure out how to do this better. I also have six unpublished, finished novels collecting dust on my hard drive. It seems I need to find a way to move things forward.
                Advice is more prevalent than kitty photos on the web. I've been reading and listening until my ears and eyes are ready to pop out of my head. There are a lot of options for writers these days. Choice is a wonderful thing, but it can also muddy the waters. The way forward looks confusing. I have no idea what will work and what won't.  Moving forward is also scary—what if this doesn't work? Then what? This may explain why I have six novels under the metaphorical bed.
                Back when I was teaching writing workshops, I would tell my students to go to the place that scares them, to run along the edge of the cliff. This is where the best writing is, the writing that opens you up, the writing that takes chances, the writing that isn't afraid. I've learned to love the challenge, and each day, when I sit down to my desk, I try to write as deeply and honestly as I possibly can. I've learned to listen to the small resolute voice in my head that says 'go for it.'
                When it comes to publishing and getting my work out into the world, I haven't pulled out the stops. I've let my fear rule me. This year, I resolve to be fearless when it comes to moving my career forward.  This means I have to be willing to go for it, rejection and discouragement be damned.  I have to start listening to the small resolute voice.
How about you? Do you have any resolutions for 2016?

                

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    Welcome 

    This writing journey, this life,  is a long road full of pitfalls and wrong turns. Also, incredible beauty, kindness and friendship with those I've met along the way.I'm so glad you're here to share the road..


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