I've written my first draft and am editing it. This will take me a while. The book feels to have finished at a natural point, however, it has left the relationship status between the two main characters open. They never really get together fully because they both have a duty to their realms, have done some misguided 'stuff', and they are opponents, however, one of them does something that binds their actual lives together in the bid to save the other's life, but walks away. I have ended it here. But I have several new chapters in my mind that would throw them together again and involves a more rounded arc for them both and a more satisfying ending. If I added them to this novel, it would feel like a bolt-on or another rise in pace and action, but if I wanted to write a second book, I'd need to think of how to flesh out a few chapters into a novel. Any advice?
Maybe you should make the relationship develop throughout the middle-point and change the ending of the novel itself than add new chapters because it undermines the already written down ending. They are pretty important from what I read, and usually adding new chapters after the ending could seem obvious as a tie in and ruin the pace.
Things like this generally work themselves out through a few drafts. Usually the answer will come through the writing and revising.
Thanks for the responses. I think I will continue editing the first draft, but also sketch out the additional scenes and see what happens. I hadn't realised how big a journey it will be to edit. Still struggling with the opening image and getting caught up in exposition overuse, but maybe once I've completed a few edits I'll post it in the Workshop.
To me, it sounds like you've reached the end of your story and have a good beginning to your next story.
Do they need to end up together? If you feel the story has finished at a natural point I would be wary of changing it to shoe horn something in, that by the sound of things, isn't required.
Can you tweak your new stuff to slip it in somewhere in the existing story? Maybe go back and sacrifice in other spots to make room for it?
If you follow the character arc, it will come to a natural and resolute conclusion, whether it is 50k or 100k. What defines a character arc? A character arc is the path a character takes over the course of a story. A character's arc involves adversity and challenges, as well as some changes to the character, and ultimately leads to resolution.
I always end the story when I suddenly can't imagine any more words on the page. It's like how Margaret Mitchell ended Gone with the Wind. She suddenly knew it was the end of the book.
Pope Julius II would often say to Michelangelo: When will you make an end? He would always reply with: When I am finished! Is a story ever finished? It is when you have finished with it but that doesn't mean the story ends there. Personally, I make 'The End' in a way that marks the end of an era, period or the end of a tough struggle or situation/battle. Yes, some characters don't survive and others live happily ever after but I'm never done with the story as I'm never satisfied that something will never happen again and not just reoccur in a different way. This mindset also keeps me imaginating... That's not a correct word but imaginating describes what I do perfectly. So, imho, there is never an end to a story and its characters. It is only the end of the story in that flavour.
