I had a flash of
inspiration about my new book, and I have American musician William Beckett to
thank for it!
I went to see him at
the Immortal Bar in Bangkok last Wednesday. My daughter is a huge fan so I was
on chauffeur/bodyguard duty. Like
all good dads I kept out of the way and stood at the back while she hugged the
stage.
The show was awesome.
He’s one hell of a performer and I can see why my daughter is a fan. He’s got a website
HERE. He’s got that magical way of
connecting with an audience, plus he’s a terrific musician. Reminded me a bit of David Byrne of
Talking Heads, but that’s me showing my age!
I had a great time and the
audience loved him. Anyway,
about midway through the show he decided to explain how the last chord can
change a sad song into a happy song.
I’m no musician, but I
got what he was saying. And he showed how by playing one sort of chord you felt
happy, and another sort of chord and you felt sad - no matter what the words of
the song were. Again I’m no
musician but it sounded as if the happy chord was going up and the sad chord
was going down. He did both versions and I got it right away.
That got me thinking that the same sort of thing applies to books. (And I guess
movies). You can have the saddest
story imaginable but if you can end it on a happy note than the reader comes
away with a good feeling. And the
thing is, I really need that for the book that I’m just about to start writing. It’s the fourth in the Jack Nightingale
supernatural detective story and it’s going to be dark. Really dark. So dark that I worry that the reader
might come away so down that it’ll spoil the book for them.
But Bill’s technique
solves my problem – if I can have an uplifting final few words, it can reverse
the whole feel of the book. So for the first time in my writing life I’ve
written the ending first! And if I’m
right, it’s pretty much how it will appear, word for word, in the book when it’s
published in February next year.
Anyway, here’s the
ending of my next book. All I have to do now is to write the first 100,000
words!
‘I’m not sure that I
can live with what I’ve done, Mrs Steadman.’
‘You did the right
thing, Mr Nightingale.’
‘Even so.’ Nightingale shrugged.
‘I might be able to
help.’
‘Help?’
‘I could make you
forget. It would be as if it never happened.’
‘But it did happen.’
Mrs Steadman nodded.
‘Yes, it did. And because it happened the world is a better place. But I can
take away the memory.’
Nightingale forced a
smile. ‘You can do that?’
‘I can do pretty much
anything I want,’ she said. ‘Providing my motives are pure.’
‘Then I think I’d like
you to do it,’ he said.
She tilted her head on
one side. ‘It’s done,’ she said.
‘You’re an angel, Mrs
Steadman.’
‘So they say, Mr
Nightingale. So they say.’
And here's my daughter with the man himself!
