You have to know the end before the beginning, Part 1

You cannot start out writing a novel like Rome's Revolution without knowing how it ends. Can you imagine an author writing a whodunit without knowing who the killer is beforehand?

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You can't tell me that you haven't gone to a movie which seems great right up until the climax and then the ending is so disappointing that you decide you don't even like the movie. That's because the person who wrote it had this great idea but didn't know how to end it.

When I originally wrote VIRUS 5, I always knew how it was going to end. It was that OMCOM survived, the VIRUS units digested the Stareater but there were mutations leading to the Bridadiras and Cecetiras. I had no idea that this would lead to a sequel but leaving loose ends seemed like the best strategy. Even when VIRUS 5 evolved into the long-form version of Rome's Revolution, I left the ending intact.

When I was sitting on my deck, wondering what happened to Rei and Rome when they got to Deucado, it seemed like an interesting story but I had no intention of starting to write a book without knowing the ending. The idea that when they arrived they were attacked and Rome meeting up with her father seemed cool but there had to be a reason behind it all.

So the story remained untold. One day, out of the blue (or more likely in the shower), I came up with the climactic scene where Rome meets MASAL. I could just hear her whispering "But you are dead" and MASAL's booming voice replying "Hardly." That was it! I had my ending. The entire middle section of what is now Rome's Revolution flew by and I knew I was going to write the third part.

Tomorrow, more endings.