- This topic has 65 replies, 18 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 6 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
@kate-flournoy Chocolate chip.
Oooh, that thing about what the character wants. You said it already, but it’s just so good I have to say it too. It really isn’t about the world, it’s about what’s the world to your character.
Yeeeessss! I love that quote by Lewis. So true.
So true in fact I need to eat a cookie.
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
Well, I have arrived *eats cookie then steals another* @daeus your virtual desserts are the best, you’ll have to give me a recipe 😉 Honestly, I don’t have much to say (although I had been reading through the entire post since the beginning) and I agree with what you are all saying. But I will say that the worst endings are the ones where pretty much everyone dies. (Yeah I’m looking at you BBC my heart will never be mended after what you did to me with Merlin and Robin Hood) Anyway, that’s all I have to say.
Theater kid. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals.
Hmm, are those cookies I smell? Don’t mind me. *casually takes two or three*
Endings. A tricky subject, I feel. Most endings, for me at least, are pretty unsatisfying. Like Captain America: Civil War. I just saw it yesterday, so I’m full of references and thoughts about it. It wasn’t the worst end, it just didn’t feel quite right for me.
Anyways, I have to go, but I’ll be back to muse over this some more. Let me just take another cookie and I’ll be gone… Thanks for those, @daeus!
Eh, what’s that? *yawns and stares sleepily at the topic* *sees cookies and perks up*
@Daeus You have cookies? Can I… *inches closer to cookies* *snatches one and gulps it down*
Okay, all silliness aside, this is a great topic @kate-flournoy @Daeus @ingridrd. Great thoughts, everyone! Daeus, great point about the ending having to relate to the theme, and I do agree with you that the ending for LOTR was a bit unsatisfying.
An ending, obviously, has to resolve the conflict in the novel, unless you’re leaving a bit of a cliffhanger for the next book in the series. 😉 *tries to think of something new to add to the topic* A particularly unsatisfying ending for me as a reader was the ending to Mockingjay, as Ingrid said. It resolved the conflict, yes, but whereas some endings are bittersweet, Mockingjay’s ending was just plain depressing. Readers want the heroes to end up, usually, happy and finish their battles strongly. Katniss doesn’t finish strong.
Anyway, rant over. 🙂Chocolate chip.
@Daeus WHAT?! No m&ms?! *throws cookie in trash can* you can have the rest of mine.*throws cookie in trash can*
@kate-flournoy I very well might just spam that post.🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1486
You guys have such great points! By the time I get around to writing my ending, I’ll be like, I got this! (hehe not really, but its a nice thought). I really liked what @kate-flournoy said about themes and originality. That was helpful. Oh, and someone mentioned cliffhangers! Cliffhangers are great,(they also make me mad, but that’s not the point), though I’ve read once that you can’t skip the climax when adding a cliff hanger. I didn’t recognize it then, but a book I read in the past did this. Then I read the The Third Target, by Joel C.Rosenberg, and he not only added an intense climax, but also pulled off a cliff hanger, and I was like Yes! (but also mad, cause he left me hanging). Also, it bothers me when a book’s resolution is to long.
I like chocolate chips better than M&Ms. Sorry @kate-flournoy ;).*Takes cookie and munches on it miserably* I’ve a cold in my head and can’t think straight. Besides, everyone here has good points and I don’t know if I’ve anything to add.
Except…let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
Don’t make an ending too quick. You don’t want it to drag out, but the reader wants to see how the characters have changed and (hopefully) see them happy. *tries to think of book with said fault and fails due to aforementioned cold. Stares at second cookie* Anyone have raspberry yogurt?
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1486
@hope I agree. I like the books that have a balanced ending that’s not too long and not too short. Sorry, no raspberry yogurt here. I um, may have eaten it all.
I very well might just spam that post.
@Daeus *sniff* what ever happened to freedom of speech? It is my Constitutional right to throw away as many cookies as I please.Good point @Hope— and I struggle with that. 😛
Okay, so here’s a good place for a question about endings. My WIP is a complete story in itself— but it sets up for the rest of the series, and ends on a… philosophical? cliff-hanger. Basically, the MC’s journey was complete, but the entire book was one giant question about whether or not man is bound to follow any path but that of his own choosing, and if not, who chooses the one right path when there are so many different paths?
The MC’s journey was realizing that man cannot be trusted to feel his own way— which sets up the second question, if man cannot be trusted, who can? So the first question is solved— and then the second question is left hanging, to be resolved in the rest of the series. If that wasn’t just a completely muddled mess, how do you guys think that would work? What are some possible pitfalls I should be on the lookout for?*takes a cookie*
I love endings. And I hate them. Because endings mean its the end, which stinks when you’re reading someone else’s book and is an amazing mixture of hysterical excitement and depression when you’re writing your own. 🙂
I don’t like tying up my endings with a pretty bow, at least not all the time. Think about The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I loved that ending… the uncertainty, the “I’m going to let you decide how it ends.” It was unsatisfying, yet very satisfactory just the same, if that makes sense. Remember, you don’t always want to satisfy your readers. Sometimes, giving your book an unhappy, unusual, or unsatisfying ending allows them to walk away thinking. Those kind of endings are tricky. They must be done well. I’ve never done one of them, but I would like to, because they’re very thought-provoking.
*takes another cookie*
On the other hand, I do enjoy nice endings that are happy, and that make you walk away feeling good. Those are the kind that tend to deliver a feeling of “Good always triumphs over evil.” Not that evil really triumphs in the unsatisfying endings, just that a nicely wrapped-up story makes you more triumphant.
Most of my stories end with the feeling that there could be a sequel. That may have something to do with the fact that there usually is a sequel. (Imagine that! 🙂 )
You’ve probably all heard the “plot rollercoaster” illustration– Your climax is the top of the hill, and it slows down near the end. Some books come from the top of the hill to the end in about a chapter, or even a page (The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare, which you should ALL read because it’s so fantastic), while others take several chapters. I kind of dislike the endings that happen in a page, because it can feel like getting whiplash, to continue the rollercoaster illustration– you’re moving, moving, moving, and then you STOP. But that’s just me. Everyone’s different, and I think there are probably a lot of people who really like that kind of book.
Question regarding endings: How much intensity is too much? Should there be one climax that is resolved, only to discover another problem, which is resolved, etc. etc. etc., so you think, “Whew, they’ve figured it out and everybody’s safe and– Wait! They’re not safe!”, or is that too distressing? I tend to have that happen toward the end of stories, because I always think, “Oo! What if this person who appears to be a good guy is actually an evil genius who’s trying to overthrow the galaxy?” (Okay, I don’t always think that in particular, but something along those lines.) But is that frustrating? What are your thoughts?
*glances around to see if anyone is watching… sneaks another cookie*YA Fantasy Writer
Obsessive Character Namer
Find me at hisinstrumentblog.wordpress.com@kate-flournoy The idea sounds sound. I would just say that the second question requires more room. It sounds like you might already be planning this, but it could be a good idea to spread the answer to this question over two or three books instead of one. Also, as a philosophical question by itself, that question isn’t much of a cliffhanger for most people other than me. It would be a good idea to hint at (but don’t make it too blatant) that much depends on the answer to that question in the lives of the characters.
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
@kate-flournoy, that sounds like a great way to end a book, and a great way to set up another. Answering big questions is a great way to write a story.
One tip I would give is, try not to tell your readers the answer to the big question, “Who can we trust?” Show them. Show them what you think the answer is by giving examples, then let them decide. Give the evidence but not the verdict. I can’t think of any pitfalls at the moment– sounds like a great series!YA Fantasy Writer
Obsessive Character Namer
Find me at hisinstrumentblog.wordpress.com*Brings in more cookies*
@his-instrument I don’t think there’a max amount of intensity you can have and a lot is better than a little. There are two rules though. While readers shouldn’t actually guess the last minute plot twists, it should be something they could have guessed. If that isn’t the case, the reader will feel cheated. The other rule is that it must be important to the theme. If it isn’t important to the theme it will be like lighting off fireworks on easter.🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.