Matt Dinniman Reveals The Most Difficult Dungeon Crawl Carl Problem To Date

Ending a long-running fantasy series is a challenge for every author that finds themselves in the position to do so, including Matt Dinniman with the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, which he's admitted to struggling with closing out as he works through the final novels. With fantasy series often overstaying their welcome, figuring out when to close out the story of the main character can be difficult. While many fantasy novel series come with a specific endpoint that the author is working to reach, getting there succinctly can be tough, and sticking a landing that readers have been waiting for feels nearly impossible.

Dinniman, the author of the wildly successful LitRPG series Dungeon Crawler Carl, is in that exact boat as he's working to put the finishing touches on the ninth and tenth books of the series. Throughout the novels thus far, readers have had the chance to move through a new world with Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, but knowing that there's an ending looming around the corner has many concerned about how things will close out. Dinniman's eighth installment of the series, A Parade of Horribles, pushed the narrative toward its end, but carrying it home is all the more intense.

While Dinniman has the opportunity to do something exciting as he moves into the final stretch of an incredible project, getting things "right" won't feel right to every reader. In sharing the end of the story, Dinniman has revealed what the toughest part of the project of finishing a massive series has been so far.

Matt Dinniman Is Struggling To End Dungeon Crawler Carl As Planned

Dinniman has been upfront about the fact that his biggest challenge thus far within the Dungeon Crawler Carl series has been getting to the end point. While there are tons of plotlines that Dinniman has had to juggle as he's moved through the LitRPG series, coming to a conclusion seems all the more difficult for the author, who spoke to Collider about the process. In his interview, Dinniman shared that the final chapter of Dungeon Crawler Carl is the most complex undertaking he's confronted within the series, especially because of the way he writes.

Sharing that he's someone who "kicks the can" around, Dinniman shared that he has "lots of little storylines that I'm kind of like, 'I'll deal with that in the next book,' and I can't do that anymore." The way Dinniman has approached the final stretch of the series, which will be split into two novels that share the same overarching end story, will allow him to bring Carl's story to an end, but doesn't leave space for additional story. Unfortunately, Dinniman's nature seems to be that of someone who wants to continue building, rather than bringing the story to a closing point the way he needs to.

Dungeon Crawler Carl's Biggest Strength Makes Its Ending Even Tougher

While the difficulty that Dinniman is facing with the ending of Dungeon Crawler Carl isn't a joke, it highlights the strongest part of the series as a whole. With the books consistently following Carl and Princess Donut through their adventures, there are specific check points throughout each novel, but Dinniman has also had a sense of free rein to create more within his universe as he moves. The structure of each novel has provided him space to branch out and be creative, even without the tangents he goes on or threads he chooses to pull having an impact on the larger story.

The challenge of Dungeon Crawler Carl's ending is fitting the final touches of the story into a pre-determined sized box has been massive according to Dinniman, mostly because of the way he typically writes. While the conclusion should be a time to give readers the conclusions they've been waiting for, it should also be the time for the author to pour everything they have into the story. Dinniman, even through his difficulties in crafting the end of Dungeon Crawler Carl, will surely use the final moments of the series to send his love to readers and finish the tale.