  Action/Adventure
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In the begining there was The Story, and it went on and on forever until The End. |
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Greetings all,
I hope you’re enjoying the change of the season. This is the time of year where all things are reborn: the beginning of spring.
But I’m not here to talk about beginnings. This month I want to talk about endings.
There's a lot more to an ending than just simply sticking on those two famous last words:
THE END
Endings are no more important than the beginning or middle, but it is usually the part your reader will most likely remember. Don't ever forget that! And it’s also important for you to remember that your story has to have the 'right' ending, because there’s no going back once you’ve written it.
You know how important it is to have that great opening line that pulls your reader in and makes them keep on reading. Well, you should put as much thought, if not more, into your ending line.
Now I know, sometimes endings can be like helium balloons: even as we attempt to write them, they rise just beyond our reach.
So how does a writer know when and where to end a story?
Answer: Instinct.
I believe it’s all pure instinct, and sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it don't.
There are as many ways to end a story as there are to start one, and if you want to learn how, the best thing to do is to read and study examples offered up by other authors.
There are at least three basic problems that you'll want to avoid:
First, never end a story by letting the reader see what happens through someone else’s eyes. This is a pet peeve of mine. I hate it when I follow the misadventures of a fabulously written character, only to have someone else (a minor character) explain what happens right at the end. This is a BIG no-no!
Secondly, never just stop.
Now you don't want the ending of your story to send your readers away scratching their heads and wondering where the rest of the story went, do ya? Of course not! Usually, when a story seems to just stop rather than end, it's because the story lacks a sense of resolution—a wholeness. Your reader doesn’t feel like they’ve gotten anywhere. They wonder what the whole point was. So it's useful to think of your story as making a set of promises to the reader. Have you raised any questions or issues that you've failed to answer? A good ending does not trick or tease. A great ending keeps its promises.
Which brings up another point: Know when to quit! Once you've done what you need to do, don't linger. Get out of the story. Still, sometimes we don't seem to know when enough is enough. Maybe we become attached to the worlds of our stories and don't want to leave. Maybe we're worried the reader hasn't gotten the point. Or maybe we're just putting off the daunting task of starting a new story. Whatever the reason, after the climax has happened, it’s time to wrap it up.
Thirdly, there is no part of a story which invites melodrama so much as the climax. Now you want this moment to have the maximum possible impact on your reader, right? But remember, the line between maximum impact and fatal impact is sometimes hard to judge. An ending that's too light (one that doesn't capitalize on the story's dramatic potential) can leave a reader disappointed, not quite satisfied. But an ending that's too hard (melodramatic, over the top) can do even more damage, leaving a reader in disbelief, turned off, disgusted. Show restraint. Don't treat your ending like it's your last chance to drive home the point of the story. If the rest of your story has been doing its fair share of the work, the ending needn't detonate a bomb in order to succeed. It should flow naturally, instinctively. You’re the writer. Only you can do this.
Just remember, it would be a shame to put so much into your story, only to have an ending that reads like you stuck it on as an afterthought. To me, endings are the most important part, the hardest to write, and the most satisfying, for you, and your reader.
Until next time,
billwilcox
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Is a person crazy if the things that only they can see are real? Book in progress.
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Fast & Furious Feedback
*This feedback is about my last newsletter, Writing Sequels*
diana writes:
Thank you for the wonderful post on sequels. I almost despise them, not for the lack of action or adventure, but growth and change in the character is always lacking. I think this is why the Harry Potter series has caught the worlds attention. JK Rowling is the perfect example of how sequels should be written when you have complicated characters involved.
A thinker never sleeps adds:
Thanks for the advice. I would have never thought of pretending I hadn't wrote the first one.
Breezy-E ~ In College remarks:
I've got an entire series planned out (and never finished book one yet ). You could say that the stories are sequels and prequels of each other, but most use a completely different cast of characters. There's no previous development to rely on!
Breezy-E
nomlet  comments:
Sequels. Ugh. My biggest problem with "sequels" is the run-on series of books that masquerade as a collection of completed stories. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I like the idea of one book containing one completed story. Once a story comes to a satisfactory conclusion, there may or may not be room for a sequel.
I think the presence of established characters and/or setting can be a boon for the aspiring sequel writer. But having these elements in hand only serves to highlight everything else that goes into writing a good story.
schipperke agrees:
I usually hate sequels for movies, but don't mind them for books, and I don't know why. I want to second the opinion about the larger text: I enjoyed it, and my eyesight is fine.
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Action/Adventure: April 04, 2007 Issue [#1634]
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