Lost and Winging it

On Nathan's post, he talked about the TV show Lost, and focused on the disappointing conclusion of the show. My comment was that everytime I watched the show, it made me angry and that it was clear to me the writers were just winging it the whole time.

That doesn't work for me. If a writer or show is just winging it, they should keep track of the loose ends and tie them together by the time it's done. It's one of the things that I have talked about recently on my blog, and it's one of the reasons I have been bogged down on my WIP. I am insisting on tying all my loose ends by the conclusion of the story.

ONE EXCEPTION. That would be if there is a sequel planned, in which the writers intend to tie everything together at that point. Like Lord of the Rings. At the end of part one and part two...nothing was resolved, and of course it was OK, because everyone knew that part three would sew it up. There are other examples, too.

Someone mentioned the show TWIN PEAKS, and I will say that it wasn't TWIN PEAKS' fault not everything was resolved because the network cancelled the show before its conclusion.

With Lost, imo, they never intended to explain it all. They banked on the show's popularity, and then when the show outlasted itself, they threw together an ending as if to say, 'Well, that's all folks." But like I said; that doesn't work for me.

I have so many loose ends in my WIP, Killer Eyes, that I am struggling to tie them all together. I got by the road block, by making one of the antagonists return to New York rather than staying in Minnesota. That will force the conclusion to occur in New York. But it will tie up the subplot that involves her and the reader won't be left hanging with the events that involved her.

It made for a great deal more effort from me, and as a writer, I accept that challenge. For the writers in Lost, hey, they already had their paychecks. It wasn't important to them.