Hello. I wrote a thread about this before in the planning stage, but I'm nearly there. Currently I have c.60,000 words which is obviously fairly short for a fantasy book, but this is a rough first draft. (Spoilers) Context: the story is largely symbolic and blends archetypes and imagery. Overall, it is about a solitary man, Alan, who enters a fantasy world, but the story is not from his perspective and it is by no means a power fantasy. The world is not so much a concrete secondary world with lore as it is a dynamic and fluid creation. Throughout the story the fantastical lands and people they see and meet feel tenuous and constantly flicker and fade. Many of the events are linked with people and places from the real world. Alan entered the secondary world long ago and has attained god-like powers, but is now fading. Robert, Alan's brother, believes Alan committed suicide. Robert enters through his portal (painting), Stephen follows (mountain crevice/arch) The two are initiated by a Faerie-esque guide archetype they later have to defend from influxes of Alan's subconscious but are unable to They escape to the forest and see their first glimpse of Alan as a god-like figure in the sky (the creator of the world), but they don't know it's him. He is drawn by this first disturbance. Later, they encounter a band of knights (as well as discovering Sam, the brothers' dog in giant form who has come to the knights for various reasons) who are hunting a monstrous eater of trees They kill the tree eater and arrive at the knight's city, a form of the cursed settlement (a volcano cyclically spewing metal upon the Classical city). Their leader is a statue of a king. Stephen regrets coming to the world, but in the end saves the city by placing a colossal shield on top of the mountain, an unexpected eruption occurring again as the Robert disturbs the order of things by drawing near it 'God' in the form of Alan returns after dealing with the initial conflict with the guide to rebuke his people and to ask for the deliverance of the two 'enemies' (Alan perceives Robert and Stephen as disturbances, influxes like the other monsters) Robert and Stephen escape, but not before the sorrowful god/Alan destroys the city he loved after their refusal to give up the two heroes Robert and Stephen journey into the highlands and the pinewoods where they meet an old woodsman who carves strange totems, vague memories of a sublime and terrible battlefield made into art (see below) They travel further north, but a rift in the world causes them to become lost. They are periodically thrown into a real world city. Robert and Stephen rejoin and find a waste or desert (suffice it to say the geography becomes surreal) upon which an important conflict took place. Travelling through the waste they discover strange shapes which turn out to be the allies (heroes, nature, saints) and the enemies (everything disliked or hated by Alan) frozen in battle. Heading beyond the waste, they reach mountains. Alan discovers them, having come all the way back from the city to head to his sanctum (a lag effect). A battle ensues until Alan flees (he keeps his distance, flinging stars at them). Discovering the power of flight, Robert and Stephen follow Alan through the mountains until they find him cowering on a still loch at night. Fearful, weakened, he erects two mirror images of Robert and Stephen as guardians (Alan needs his brother and friend most of all) They reconcile. This is essentially where I am. That's probably quite a lot to take in and undoubtedly I'll remove some elements, but the problem I'm having now is one that I myself can't answer. I wrote a thread about this next issue a long time ago. I thought by now I'd have an answer, the story writing itself and all of that. Robert begins to love the world as Alan does, even its faults and struggles. I can't answer why they wouldn't leave other than to initiate a chain reaction whereby Stephen leaves first and so they, too, must go. But that doesn't feel right and not just in the sense that I personally would struggle with leaving. I'm worried I should have had them find Alan and then spend the next half working through such a large issue. It seems odd to go through all of that and then in this second last chapter leave the world behind. It feels too quick. I don't want the last chapter to be anything other than a reconciliation with the three in real life as the events are already quite overwhelming and fantastical. The overall message will be that the fantasy world can be kept with them "in bits and pieces" as they go through life, but it's the pacing issues which are not helping. So I ask you, is it alright, do you think, if they could spend this last chapter reuniting, visiting the guide from the beginning of the novel, doing various things, until Stephen grows discontented, his quest complete, and decides to leave? Robert would then realise that he would need Stephen and Alan would realise he needs Robert. It's just off, somehow. I feel like something bigger needs to happen, but my climax is the discovery of and battle with Alan. If anyone has read this far, I thank you sincerely. Edit: I'm thinking that perhaps the three don't need to come to a conclusion. Maybe the world, since it is already tenuous, thrusts them out. Not in a negative or hostile sense, but in the sense that their shared understanding of their need for each other and the things they've gained from their adventures is enough to allow them to leave. I think this does help, but I can't get past the idea that Alan and Robert would want to stay. It's almost an absolute in my mind, but that's pure escapism.
This sounds like a really interesting premise! Re your edit, I think having the world thrust them out because it is volatile conveniently just as the adventure ends runs the risk of deus ex machina. You could definitely have the world thrust them out, but it would need to be a threat throughout the book, and there would need to be a specific trigger for it (one idea which springs to mind is that the world is always trying to expel 'invaders', but Alan found a way to wedge himself in and effectively jam the mechanism when he first arrived. With all his strength now sapped, the jam loosens and the mechanism goes back to normal, thrusting them out). If you stick with your first idea, I guess my first question is why do any of them 'need' the others? Generally adults don't need each other to the point of giving up everything else the fulfil that need (even with a couple it should be more a case of powerful want, of weighing up the options and the lover tipping the scale IMO - once you get into 'need' it starts to look like co-dependency). If you want all or some of them to leave, IMO the solution is to give them something to get back to in the real world. Kids and/or a romantic relationship are cliche for a reason, because those are the most powerful ties most people form in their lifetimes. It could be anything, though, even just a realisation that as great as this world is, they don't belong here amd it could never be home. Or maybe it could? I mean seriously, what's stopping you from just letting them stay? If you're drawing inspiration from traditional faerie lore, it rarely goes well for mortal visitors trying to return to their human world.
Hi, Alw86. Thanks for reading. I realise how much of a mess that outline was, so thanks for absorbing it. So, I'm not sure about the world thrusting them out anymore for reasons you've stated. Although I've given examples of the world's instability throughout the narrative, with pockets of "lesser connection", it does seem a bit too much like a deus ex machina. I'm still mostly thinking of the chain reaction whereby Stephen leaves first. There was a lot that I didn't mention. Stephen is a stoic character who places a lot of emphasis on duty. He left his wife and child behind (not by any conscious, weighted decision but by a deep sense of duty -- he's pulled in by his "gate" almost subconsciously) so as to 'save' Robert when he disappeared. He was always going to leave the world after he and Robert found Alan. I was always going to have Stephen leave after finding Alan. I've planned and edited a bit more and I'm confident I'll write a few pages of winding down/explanation/reconciliation and then Stephen will start thinking of returning home. A little bit like the Hobbits feeling it's time to return to the Shire. So there's no issue there, Stephen will go home because he was always more pragmatic and less artistic or dependant of the fantasy world. The tricky part, as you've gathered by now, is what to do with Robert and Alan. You ask why not let them stay, but the story definitely can't end with their just existing in the world. It's not just that the two brothers would miss their lifelong friend, it's that there can't really be any progress or change in the narrative with Alan leaving. It's a sad state of affairs, however, when I can't really think of another reason to leave other than missing Stephen. Yes, they're all adults and they can make their own decisions, but the bond of the three was strong. Realistically, I can only imagine that Robert and Stephen just leave eventually, but it's such a weak ending. I don't want to make any concrete world building or metaphysical rules for how the world works as that's not really the philosophy of the novel I'm writing, if you know what I mean. It's supposed to be be dynamic and fluid. There is a vague framework, but mostly it's like a surreal landscape than a concrete fictional world. Edit: I forgot to respond to one of your key points, having something to go back to upon leaving. Stephen has his wife and child, that's fine. But Robert and Stephen have each other and the fantasy world. Missing Stephen just isn't enough, as harsh as it is to say. It's unfortunate that my story hinges on something that I've considered for a very long time in real life and which I couldn't answer. Also, the issue is that the world is technically Alan's own mind, so it's not as simple as leaving a fictional world behind. I'm worried that the whole concept doesn't quite add up or maybe I'm just overthinking it. It's like leaving his own mind for a weaker and more mundane version of it--if he returns.
I don't have the answer to your problem, but I would strongly counsel you not to fall into the How I Met Your Mother trap, In case you're not aware, that was a TV show where the creators had decided the ending even before the first episode aired. Nine seasons of character development later, that ending no longer made any sense for the characters involved, but the creators still forced it in because they couldn't let go of their original and now out-dated vision. My point is, stories and characters tend to take on a life you never intended when they were an ideal in your head. Sometimes this is super frustrating. Believe me, I feel your pain. Just last night I started outlining a story I have been kicking around in my head for a while now. In my head it was a light-hearted, kind of zany semi romantic comedy, something fun to read and fun to write, but somehow once I started getting it down in black and white, it came out so bleak. I mean SO bleak. As in, the ending is basically a toss-up over whether the MC has committed suicide or not (I'm inclined to think he has). When I was done I actually stared at the page and thought 'WTF brain, WTF'. I've looked at it again this morning, and the structure is actually sound. The elements which just seemed quirky and slightly absurd when floating vaguely in my head do lead to this outcome when applied to a real (fictional) human character. So now I have to decide whether I'm going to keep all the elements I originally wanted and write the bleak story they organically result in, or replace some of those elements with other things which were never part of my original idea until I get a set which naturally produce my chirpy rom-com. The one thing I can't do is write the story as I planned with the elements I planned. Oranges don't make apple juice, no matter how annoying that fact is for me. It sounds like you're going to have to do a similar evaluation. Now that you've looked at it from every angle, you've reached the conclusion that the story which contains the elements you wanted has a natural ending you don't want. Thus, IMO you'll need to look at changing either the elements or the ending.
Yes, I think it's very similar. Right now I'm just staring at my document thinking of reasons why Robert and Alan would leave. It could just be as simple as missing Stephen and realising they might not need the world anymore, but it's not that simple because the world was strong enough even to pull Alan away from Robert and now even Robert finds majesty and wonder in the world (where once he simply wanted to find Alan). They're writers and painters. It's so tempting just to have them stay, but there's no moral or value in the story that way. Just perhaps to give a clearer indication of Alan's mindset, here are two passages: (A letter at the beginning of the story) It is not for us to know the ways of the hidden land, that realm in which even strife is made beautiful—the heroes’ struggle giving definition to the world, making it whole. No, I will never arise in new health from the wiseman’s homely house, never feel the cold air in my lungs as I stride upon the mountain path seeking forgotten things. Never challenge the dragon with the starry eyes, nor converse with the magi whose power shapes the land. No golden crown to which to pledge my soul, no sword and shield to take up in defence of something greater than myself. No wolf of a hundred fangs waiting to devour me when all else fails and the world, dying, hungers for my soul. And I would gladly give my life to save any one of these, for just one glimpse of my true home. (Dialogue) Alan arose with the first rays of morning. The stars wavered on the loch and faded. “I placed the final stone—my last hope. I remember an azure glow from within the gate. It coloured the threads of the rope I was to use; but I turned away from the tree mesmerised and knew I had found the way I had taken in my dreams. Entering, I saw an Elfland of my own making, my own Tír na nÓg, my Cockaigne, Atlantis, Annwn. A world of forest and snow and silence, of heroes and yes—of monsters. I have seen it all, the wizard, the warrior, the saviour. The land itself." Once again, I appreciate your responding to me. Might need to take a break and clear my head.
It's a fantasy world... Multiverse rules apply, absolutely anything can happen no matter how impossible it may seem. If one or more character's have "god-like" powers, then reshaping reality and the fabric of the universe is a small thing. You can do anything from a psychic link between the three between dimensions so that they may maintain their friendship, to creating/stabilizing the portal between worlds. There's literally nothing that's off limits. Tell me what you want to happen specifically and i can throw you a few ideas to get the wheels turning.
