And then came Sunday, November 4th, 2001, the Sunday 54 days after September 11th. I hate that my beloved adopted city has been so brutally violated, and that Americans, the default benevolence and optimism I so admired, have been so brutally disappointed. rice field. The first few weeks were stunned and miserable.
Then my storytelling brain kicked in and I found myself writing the ending. What are the important first steps into the future?
Well, the Yankees were in the postseason. It was clear to me what should happen. And if all of New York’s novelists and screenwriters got together for a citywide story conference, I guarantee you’d all agree on the same basic arc. Leading up to the World Series, I was terrified, numb, nervous, confused as we all were.
It happened.
Then go into the detailed storyboard. Clearly, the series has to be epic. It needs a bad start — our advocate quickly falls into a hole — and a solid one-game comeback, and some truly sensational go-ahead action… last-out in the bottom of the ninth, last- Strike Homer…the exact same thing continued the next night! can we get away with it? We had to — we needed mystique, supernatural hues, and boiling emotions to propel us forward.
It happened.
Obviously, it had to be a seven-game series, so we ended up losing the sixth game to set the inevitable ending. The final game was close, but we took the lead until the bottom of the ninth inning and closed it out to win. Joy and relief know no bounds. The next morning, Monday, the New Yorker stood up straight, his head up, his shoulders back, his eyes shining, encouraging, empowering, energizing.
it didn’t happen.
A bloop single meant the Arizona Diamondbacks won instead. I was surprised. The ancient story arc disappointed me. It wasn’t real. It affected me deeply. For a while, I thought the story was silly and pointless. I didn’t write a single word for two months. That year’s book was the only one I delivered late. I didn’t blame the Yankees or the Diamondbacks. I blamed myself I misunderstood. Now I’ve learned that stories, while often satisfying, are only compensation for an often unsatisfying reality. Admittedly, I liked my Game 7 better than the real thing.
Episodes are weekly columns that explore moments in the writer’s life. Lee Child is the author of the novels, stories and novellas for the Jack Reacher series and executive producer of his streaming series ‘Reacher’. Reacher’s next book, co-written with Andrew Child, is due out next month.