Writer's Blog: Push the Button for a Character Arc (Patreon)

I’m currently finishing up March’s Saucy Side and UCRT fairy tale, having given up on perfecting Chapter Five this morning. Despite being less active online this month, March has actually been one of my most productive months yet in regards to wordcount (since March 1st, I’ve added around 80,000 words to the story and this doesn’t include code). The finale has diverged even more than I anticipated, but I’m extremely happy with the routes I have written. May will mark Mind Blind’s two-year anniversary (!!!), and my new (actually realistic) goal is to have all the endings written by then. Perhaps not completely coded, since editing has gone slower than I anticipated, but written.

Then it’s onto the publication process, but that’s an issue for Future Jo to think about. (Also on that list: finish learning Twine for Delivery for the Damned.)

Now that three of Mind Blind’s endings are written, I finally feel as if I have a comprehensive picture of Button’s character arc.

I knew going into Mind Blind that I wanted to focus on the MC's struggles with mental health and disability; the adage is “write what you know,” after all. But I didn’t just want to write a story that acknowledges “wow, this person’s circumstances suck.” I wanted to write a story that argued “wow, this person’s circumstances suck but their life can still be awesome and amazing.”

Mind Blind is a story about triumphing and thriving despite the odds, which is why stats won’t be deciding whether you “beat” the game (just flavor text and smaller outcomes). One way or another, Button always wins. Some endings are inarguably bittersweet, and others leave unanswered questions. In half the branches, Shard’s identity is never even revealed. But whereas the main plot sees Button as being powerless—controlled by Ments, by their family, by Operation Hemera, by their own self-doubt—the ending is all about seizing agency and making decisions that impact Mind Blind's entire world.

Now, this doesn’t mean that the ROs will love Button no matter what (they have preferences!), or that Button can randomly decide in Chapter 18 to side with Reese after allying with Unity every other option (Reese won’t believe you). It does mean that by the end of the book, no matter which ending you pursue, you’ll feel like a badass. While remaining vague: nothing about Button changes, and they may still struggle with things like depression or misplaced guilt. But their internal dialogue no longer describes themself as “broken." 

While it is possible for your MC to end up in a darker place than they started by games’ end—I won’t spoiler the Vengeance ending, but it is wicked—all Buttons become better equipped to deal with both internal and external conflict. They gain hope (even if for some that requires cutting contact with Hope). If they break with their family, they’re finally free. If they reconcile with estranged parents, they’re loved. It’s a coming-of-age tale, and there are no bad endings.

Just a few evil-ish ones.