A few days ago I patted myself on the back. I had made great progress on my new book and only had two chapters left to write. Then I realized I was mistaken. I didn't have two chapters left. I had three. I had forgotten one important component of my story. The bookend chapter.
What is Bookending?
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about my lifelong love of the movie Tommy. Well, that movie is bookended. I tried to find pictures to show what I mean, but could not find any, so I'll describe it to you instead. The movie opens with Tommy's father, played by Robert Powell, standing on a mountain top silhouetted by the setting sun. It ends with Tommy himself, played by Roger Daltrey of course, standing on that very same mountain silhouetted by the rising sun. So it ends right where it begins. It comes full circle. It is bookended.
Does every story have to be structured this way? Of course not. Many, many great stories do not incorporate this literary device. But there's something about the ones that do. There's this feeling of satisfaction when you reach the end and see elements from the beginning return. I don't know, it's just...nice.
An Unconscious Decision
I was bookending my own books before I even knew what the technique was. Amelia's Children and Primogénito are rather subtle examples. Amelia's Children begins with Sarah and David arriving in the town of Laurel Hill and ends with them leaving Laurel Hill. Primogénito begins with Ashley driving up the street toward Damian and Jenn's house and Damian stepping off of his boat. It ends with Ashley driving away from the house and Damian (metaphorically) sailing away on his boat.
Road to Yesterday is the most blatantly bookended thing I've written. It begins with Kim, Vi, and Alex having breakfast in a diner in New Mexico before starting off on their journey and ends with the three of them having breakfast in a diner in Georgia after their journey is complete. And their conversation hints at the fact that the real journey is just beginning so they are truly ending up where they began, but with a few more memories and a little more wisdom to show for it.
The New Book
My new book, a prequel to Primogénito, tells the story of the Damian's ordeal with his family, an experience which is mentioned over and over again in Primogénito and which provides the motivation for nearly every decision Damian makes in that book. I opened the new book with a chapter from Damian's father Leo's point of view. Leo wakes up in the morning and is consumed with worry for the wellbeing of his son. So my plan is to end it with Leo falling asleep at night, content that all is finally well with his son. For the time being, at least. Remember, he still has the events of Primogénito looming in his future. But he won't have to worry about all that for five more years, so for now everything is fine.
I almost forgot about wanting to put that final Leo chapter in my book. I was almost planning to end it with...well, I can't tell you that, but it was going to be a scene with Damian and Jenn. You know, their sort of happy ever after scene. But if I end it there my story won't be bookended. And I really want it to be bookended. So Leo gets one more chapter. Yay, Leo!
A Little Preview
Since I've almost finished writing this prequel and hope to be releasing some time in the next few months, I thought I'd conclude today with a couple of sample paragraphs. This is a conversation between Damian and his best friend Nick. We're at the peak crisis point now. Everything is getting ready to wind down, but at the moment tension is high and Nick is having to (again, metaphorically) talk his friend down from the ledge.
“Damian...you’ve been
thinking that what happened to you means there’s something wrong with you. But there’s nothing wrong with you. Mauricio’s the one who did this. He’s
the one who’s messed up. Not you.”
Damian shrugged.
“I’m serious, Damian...”
“You don’t know what the
hell you’re talking about!” He ran a hand through his hair, then grabbed a wad
of the thick black strands and held them in a tight fist. His arm shook from
the tension in his muscles. “Yes, Mauricio did this. But what he did...he did
it to me.” He eyes darted around
wildly and his breath became ragged and uneven. “Say that...that a musician
gets mad one night and smashes his favorite violin. If he’s got enough money,
he can buy a new one and go on with his life. Go on with his career. Like
nothing ever happened. But that violin will never play again. For that violin,
there’s no going back...no going forward...no going anywhere. It’s
broken...ruined...forever. That is
what Mauricio did to me.”
You won't be able to read about the events leading up to this scene for a little while yet, but if you want to know where Damian's story goes from here, you can pick up a copy of Primogénito from Amazon and other retailers.
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