Isaac Asimov wrote that it was easy to predict the income tax, but difficult to predict the expense account. Futurists get a lot of things right, but predicting societal paradigm shifts is more akin to magic than logic. Writers could learn from this. We may be creating the world of our novels, but we are bound by our background. When we plot our stories, what makes sense to us as a reasonable solution to the problems we threw at our characters will be shaped by our experience. However, what is sensible may not be brilliant writing. I’ve read that authors need to find the third way, the resolution that is surprising and yet the only way to end the story.
Here are two authors who can be used as models: Fredrik Backman and Gail Honeyman. Both of them lead the reader down a path that seems straight and predictable, then turn a corner that arrives at an unimagined yet completely satisfying ending. I’m still working on my someday-to-be-patented ultimate 5-point checklist to find that third way in plot development. When I do, I’ll share it with you. In the meantime, let’s keep looking for that elusive third path.