Message Board Topic 10/13

[Comsie]

There's a time, in every story's life, no matter how enjoyable it may be, when it must ultimately come to an end. The final curtain has to close, the characters have to take their final bow, roll credits, fade to black, whatever...hehehe! And when that time comes, every author hopes that they have told a complete and compelling story that will live with the reader for a long time to come.

 

But, there is also a lot weighing on the ending of any story This is this big show. This is the climax that is going to make your audience appreciate every last bit of writing it took them to reach this point. It's supposed to sum up the entire book, and bring us safely to the end of our journey. An if an author doesn't do it just right...if there's a slip up, or a loose end left to dangle...or if it's just plain 'anti-climactic' when compared to what the readers were expecting, all of that hard work can go right down the drain! The ending IS, after all, the last lingering thoughts that a reader has of the entire piece of work. And even if they enjoyed everything else up until then...a poorly written ending can leave a bad taste in the mouths of even the biggest fans.

 

This week, the question is...what is the appropriate way to end a story or series? What should authors look for in case of possible mistakes or open ended questions? Have you ever had any experiences with endings that just seemed to take away from the rest of the story you just read? And to you authors...have you ever just been completely 'stuck' for an ending? Not knowing how to approach it no matter how hard you try?

 

Let us know!

[Graeme]

There are two print novels (both trilogies, by coincidence) where I was disappointed with the ending.

 

In the first, the last novel went off in a tangent, bring in things that weren't even hinted at (at least not as far as I could see) in the first two novels. It ruined the ending for me, because it wasn't consistent with the previous parts of the story. It was almost as if the author had written themselves into a hole and needed a deux ex machina to get them out of it.

 

In the second, the last novel didn't really resolve much. Yes, it was an ending. The story, as written, was complete. But it wasn't a case of a few loose endings -- it was a case of practically none of the endings were tied up!

 

These are extreme examples, but they show that you need to be both consistent, and not bring in the "identical twin brother who has been missing for the last ten years, and that means that the love triangle gets resolved satisfactory" type solution. You also need to have some resolution. You can leave loose endings -- real life has them all the time -- but whatever has been the main conflict has to be resolved, and preferable by the protagonist(s).