Jane Friedman says all writers are preoccupied with something and I think I thought I’d identified my preoccupation as “GenX.” Except yesterday on the radio show Write On SC, we discussed character motivation and “forgiveness” as such and I realized I may be a little preoccupied with that.
Brian’s journey in After December is about whether he can forgive himself for ignoring Tony, get his parents to forgive him for being a lying shit, get Kacie to forgive him for cheating, get Meli to forgive him for cheating, and get The Crew to forgive him for letting them down. That’s a lot of forgiveness for five days.
When we see him at the end, in Pittsburgh, it seems as though he may have pulled it off. But by that chapter, it’s been three long years since Tony’s death.
So — SURPRISE — Before Pittsburgh is also about forgiveness. It’s three years of Brian seeking, earning, losing, then regaining absolution, forgiveness, and redemption.
Just like the radio show said. Did ya miss it? Here are the show notes. The podcast will be up soon.
In the mean time, here’s a special UnapologeticallyX – only sneak peek behind the scenes at Write On SC. We do this for our patrons. You can get them every week if you’ll become a patron at Patreon.com/WriteOnSC
Cheers and see ya soon. Also Happy Valentine’s Day!
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