Zeno’s Novel - #AmWriting #WIP #Endings

 Image by Efes Kitap from Pixabay

Do you know Zeno’s paradoxes of motion?

https://demonstrations.wolfram.com/ZenosArrowParadoxAndAnInfiniteSeries/

One of the most famous presents the concept of an arrow, flying toward its target. By Zeno's argument, an arrow shot at a target must first cover half the distance to the target, then half of the remaining distance, and so on. But this requires an infinite number of steps, so the arrow will never reach the target!

I’m on the second to last chapter of my latest WIP, The Pornographer’s Apprentice, and that’s the way the writing is going! The closer I get to the end, the further I seem to be from writing “The End”. My goal was to finish this book during September, but that, like the arrow’s target, seems to be receding into the distance.

Part of the problem is simply finding time to write. I’ve been bogged down with all sorts of extra real world tasks, on top of my normal, fairly heavy work schedule. For instance, we had a house guest for a week, which was fun, but required extra shopping, extra cooking, extra planning, and more socializing than usual. Then my students had a deadline for their project reports, which basically meant that I had a deadline to review and comment before the final submission. Then a bunch of people wanted special, virtual meetings. And so on.

Possibly a more serious issue, though, is the fact that now, when I should be wrapping things up, I keep getting new ideas. I’m introducing a new character (which should be okay, since this is a series and she’ll be more prominent then) plus I’ve discovered new things about the existing characters’ back stories which I’m debating whether to reveal. The series is steam punk erotica, and as I imagine the sex scenes at the center of these chapters, I can’t help devising additional erotic devices my characters might employ.

I’ve got most of the details of the two final chapters worked out, but my imagination keeps teasing me with additional possibilities. I think I’ve got to be firm and resist the urge to spin this out further. Originally this was supposed to be a novella, but it has grown to novel length. I do not want this to turn into Game of Thrones!

Anyway, I’ve got some time blocked off tomorrow afternoon to devote to this project. My goal is to finish the penultimate chapter. Then I’ll have only the last, climactic (in more ways than one!) chapter to worry about.

Unless I give in to my temptation to write an epilogue...!