Hope or Despair?

[Afterwords]

Hello Julie, I am currently writing an MA on British post-apocalyptic fiction for YAs from 1970s-present day, looking at 'Exodus' as a contemporary example (I looked at socio-economic crisis from the 1970s and post-nuclear fiction from the 1980s). One of the aspects of my study is looking at how authors present such disturbing material to a young audience - I notice that on an earlier thread you state that you don't write with an intended audience in mind, but are you conscious of a need to balance the despair with an element of hope? If so, does this cause you problems with providing a resolution that offers realism as well as optimism? I would be interested in hearing your views (and those of other forum members!). Thanks!

[Julie Bertagna]

I think it's a basic human need to want to balance hope and despair. How do we live and survive and imagine a future without hope? I work towards the blend of light and darkness and all the shades in between that make the story work best, that grips me and feels most powerful.

(I was thinking about this while watching the latest Dr Who: it could all have slid into a schmaltzy Hollywood ending but was saved from that by the wrench that the main characters each had to suffer to get their 'happy endings' - and by the image of the Doctor, utterly alone, at the end.)

Finding the end point in a story feels like an act of faith. The characters lead me there. It's instinctive, an organic process, rather than logical and planned. As I write the book, all the interweaving strands of the plot seem to gather together into a strong sense of where it must all end up. And once I've finally found that image, it seems there was never any other option. I can't write neat and tidy happy-ever-after endings as it wouldn't feel authentic to me - it would feel weak and false. But I do want to feel as if something essential is resolved.

There is a kind of magic in the process though. Often, inspiration seems to channel through you, as if from above. (That usually only happens after a prolonged period of hard graft, however!) Digging your way through a jungle with a teaspoon is Joyce Carol Oates' recent description of writing a novel. Wrestling with an octopus, I'd say.