The other day, Marcia said to me, ‘I
know the last line of the book.’
‘Oh, when did that happen? Just now?’
‘No,’ she shook her head. ‘A few
days ago but I wasn’t sure I had it exactly right until just now.’
‘So you know how it ends?’
‘I think so but I still don’t know
how they all get there.’
You will remember from last week that
she is about half way through the writing part of this novel. The
question that springs to mind is: ‘Just how
does this work?’
That is something I have brooded on in
the past and never found a sensible answer but today I think I can
see how it does work. Perhaps, anyway. Let’s see whether this makes
any sense.
You are standing on the top of a hill.
The view is incredible: directly in front of you the is a deep
valley, in many parts it is wooded but there are a number of areas
where there is open pasture in which animals graze and other fields
where wheat and other crops are growing. You can be sure that down
there, hidden from your view, there is a river running through the
valley and looking across at the other side you suspect a number of
smaller streams running down the sides of the hills to join it.
Then
there is the hill top opposite. It is a fair distance away but by
peering through your binoculars you can see it is a smoothly rounded
feature and a small cairn of stones has been built up there to mark
the summit.
That summit is your destination.
Looking down again you decide on the route you are going to follow
but, of course, apart from the first few hundred yards, you are
really guessing as you have no idea what you will find on the way . . .
. . . what diversions will be forced upon you, what fascinating
distractions will draw you from the direct path, what obstacles you
will find that hinder your progress. Above all, for how long will the
present state of excitement at the prospect of the journey and the
arrival at that cairn last. As all explorers know, there will be
times when you really wonder why you are putting yourself through so
much pain and suffering but there will be others when the heart sings
and you would be in no other place.
So it is that Marcia knows the
beginning and she can see her destination in the distance. It’s the
bits in between that are going to provide the challenges.
This is without a shadow of a doubt the largest Pekingese I have ever seen. He is, as his name implies, huge. That name? Well, Maxmegapod, obviously. However, I am told that when he is feeling kindly he will answer to Max.
