Surprising Myself

Yesterday, I found myself beat over the head with inspiration.  I have found that when inspiration hits me that hard, I have to follow it before it leaves me.  You can read the resulting story here:

Merlin's Machine

Towards the end of the story, after the machine finishes and Brent starts dealing with the people, I messed up.  I really didn't mean for the story to go that way at the end.  I really like Brent, and I'm not sure whether or not this is the way I want him to go out.  If you haven't read any of my other stories, Brent is a recurring character in my stories that I have grown quite fond of.

I thought about it, and I realized that there are some possibilities I can still go with.

Before those of you who don't understand the creative process behind writing can offer the suggestion, no.  I can't change the ending.  Based on the characters I have created, the events I know are going on around the story, and the events in the story itself, that is the only possible ending.  I can't simply rewrite it and make everything ok.  If I rewrite everything, I will either come to the same result, or betray something deep within me.  There are ways to leave the story as is and repair the timeline so I'm happy with it, but the story stands.  It cannot be changed.  Especially the ending.

I also have several more stories based before this one where I can still use the character, so I don't have to give him up completely even if I don't use a loophole.

For those of you who are interested, there are currently seven stories that I have at least started that all relate to this wide reaching, surprisingly complex, storyline.  Five of them are currently on my website.  I'll be honest, I don't know everything that's going to happen, but I do know a lot more than I've said in the stories.

I actually have an unhealthily long list of questions that I haven't even answered myself.  I don't get to find out the answers to these questions until I write them.

It's a lot more exciting that way!