I've been watching 11.22.63, and spoiler alert for the first half hour, there's a portal. Not anywhere that would make any sense, it just is. And I'm only a few episodes in, but it’s not explained how it got there. In true Stephen King fashion, I suppose. Sometimes, weird things just are. I mean, in From a Buick 8, there's a portal to a hell dimension or whatever inside a car (I think, it's been a while since I read it). He can get away with it. But can I?
To be honest, The Long Road is really shaping up to be some kind of homage to Stephen King. The weird town with the sheriff is very Desperation, whether I meant it to be that way or not.
And that's where we run into trouble. There's a fine line between "inspired by" and "a rip-off of." You don't want to be on the wrong side. Especially if you hope to eventually publish something, which I do.
So on the one hand, I might be able to get away with giving no reason for the portals and reality jumping. On the other though, I kind of want to have one. It's seems kind of cheap to just say, "It's happening, just because."
What do you think? Would you want a reason to eventually be revealed, or can you accept a mystery with no answer?
Today's post is a little short, because I don't have much time. I'll see you Saturday.
I think the question about WHY can hang around during the whole story and never be answered properly. Just because it's a weird thing to happen is fine. The only reason to find the why for it would be if it was part of the story. Your story is about what happens. I think the Why it happens can be a mystery. It's happening. It's weird. I can accept that it's just a weird phenomenon. Will they get to their destination? Will the be in the right world when they do? Those are the questions I'd be asking.
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