Let's Begin at the End

Isn’t that where good stories usually begin, at the end?  Think about it.  You’re sitting around with your friends and someone says something that triggers a memory.  You want to tell the story that’s in your head.  Why?  Probably because you think the ending is exciting, funny, scary, or in some cases, especially when boys tell stories, gross!  You wouldn’t tell a story about buying a lottery ticket unless you won, right?  Although some people do like to give you all the details about what they’d do with the money if they did win.  What are those odds again?  Does anyone really want to hear about the time you got up in the morning and drove to work in traffic?  I don’t, unless you pulled a man from a burning car on the way.  Now that’s exciting!

It was the same with our little book (I call it little because it’s still so new and delicate in so many ways.  It’s not even two months old for goodness sake!).  Although I had the basic idea for the story I wanted to tell, the story of three young siblings making a movie with an old video camera, it was not ready to be told.  The ending needed to have that special element that would make it worthwhile to take the journey with us.  The ending was actually the driving force. 

Once I knew the ending, the meat of the story and the silly details began to flow.  The fun part was imagining what ideas the kids would come up with for their movie, how they would verbalize the events that were taking place, how they would solve problems they encountered along the way and how they would work together to reach their ultimate goal, the funny, exciting or scary ending. 

Finally, the beginning was the hardest part for me.  What would give the kids the idea to make a movie?  Would there be a leader or would all three children have a say in the events of the day?  How would the beginning relate to the ending? 

It does seem a little awkward, doesn’t it?  But again, remember that it’s the exciting, funny or scary thing that happens at the end of the story that really makes you want to tell it.  Or, maybe that’s just my crazy way of looking at things and the rest of you are wondering what I’m talking about.  Either way, it has been an amazing book journey for me and Joey and we are very excited to bring you our little book, A Reel Cool Summer.  We’re happy to be able to begin at the end, with book in hand.  It may not be as exciting as pulling a man from a burning car or winning the lottery but it’s definitely toward the top of our list!  We hope you and your little ones will enjoy the journey that Joey, Danny and Jacqui take through the book as much as we’ve enjoyed bringing it to you!

Until next time… stay cool!

Martha