Untidy Ends

Sorry, everyone. It's my day to post and I forgot. I was up late last night trying alternate endings to the book that I'm working on. I signed up for National Novel Writing Month. I plan to work on my nonfiction book about dress, appearance and crime during the day and the new mystery in the evening. I don't expect to hit 50,000 words by the end of the month. But it will get me started.

I have an outline. I've written a synopsis based on that outline that needs serious cutting before I can send it to my editor. Right now, the synopsis is running around 20 pages because my characters have started talking and I've included snatches of dialogue and details about the action.

I should be pleased at how well this is coming together. I am pleased. But I have a problem. My problem is that I have four characters with good motives to do my victim in. In my outline and synopsis, these characters have taken turns coming to the attention of my protagonist and the village police chief. After much time spent thinking through how these characters would have viewed the victim and whether any one of them might have taken that final step of eliminating him, I finally know who the killer should be. That brings me to the problem that had me up late last night and still preoccupied this morning when I should have been posting -- the all-important conclusion.

Yes, we know who the killer is. My protagonist -- tenacious sleuth that she is -- has solved the crime. But how does she handle the expected climactic encounter with the killer? Where does it happen? What weapon does she use to defend herself? Could she talk the killer into surrendering?

Would my editor let me get away with, "And then she subdued the killer and waited for the police to arrive. More details about this encounter to be provided later" in my synopsis?

I have an idea that I need to get back to -- it might work. If not, I think I'll go to bed early and hope something comes to me in my dreams. Wish me luck!