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Sunday, November 24, 2013

HOW TO WRITE A KILLER ENDING

 
Ever been enjoying a great movie mystery?  You're on the edge of your seat. 

Then -- The mystery is solved!

And ...

You go: that's it?

John Steinbeck in his travels across the U.S. with his giant blue poodle, Charlie, forever got lost.

As he stared forlornly at maps, he learned a valuable lesson that applies to novel-writing:

To find where you are going, you must first know where you are.

HOW TO TRIANGULATE YOUR ENDING -

I. Your hero is the catalyst -

    His nature stirs the pot.  He does not sit and whine and narrate others helping him out.  He steps up to the base and swings. 

    If God walks in, rolls up His sleeves, and says, "Looks like you could use some help"  --

    It is your ending that needs the help!

II. Lessons learned come into play:

    Your hero's lifelong problem/inner demon makes a last ditch effort to derail your hero's life.

    But your hero has grown and side-steps his inner demon, using the strength he has acquired along the way.

III. The hero is new-born, forged in the crucible of the prior pages.

    The hero should demonstrate courage, creativity,
out-of-the-box thinking,

    even brilliance in setting the cogs in motion that
will resolve the story.

   This is where the protagonist earns the right to be called a hero.

LAST THOUGHTS:

Here’s the real magic of THE ENDING:

If you’ve done your job well in the first three quarters of your story,

if you’ve plotted with powerful milestones that are in context to a compelling and empathetic hero’s quest and evolving arc,

chances are you’ll intuitively know how your story needs to end when you get there.

Or, if not intuitively, then after some serious introspection and long walks in the woods with a digital recorder!

THE ONE RULE THAT MUST NEVER BE BROKEN!

No new expositional information may enter the story once it has been triggered.

If something appears in the final act,
it must have been foreshadowed, referenced or already in play.

This includes characters.

LAST TIP:

You should strategize and plot all your main story points beforehand—

even if you aren’t yet sure of your ending—

and in the process of developing the first three parts

you’ll find that the final act begins to crystallize as part of the process.

I hope this helps in some small way.


9 comments:

  1. Everything has to be referenced somewhere else in the book.
    I like using that second one. Helps to have a main character with a lot of baggage.

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  2. Alex:
    And the postage always come due for that baggage, too!

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  3. Knowing when to say, 'that's a wrap' on a novel is a a very subjective decision. That's a good reason to have critique partners, in case the ending seems abrupt.

    Interesting points on endings. Enjoy that day off.

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  4. D.G,:
    Knowing when to say "When" is hard. But if you have been working up to that closing scene for the whole novel, you will know when it feels right I think. :-)

    I will probably sleep most of the day. LOL.

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  5. Good advice, Roland.
    Foreshadowing needs skill to stay subtle. :-)

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  6. Vesper:
    Thanks. Subtle is hard. We Texicans don't do subtle well. :-) Have a great Thanksgiving!

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  7. I try to work out the ending first or at least some idea of where I'm headed. New, better versions are always welcome, but I need the security of knowing I've got something to aim for.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  8. Mooderino:
    Like you, I need a horizon to shoot for -- like you again, if a new, better horizon occurs to me, all the better. :-)

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  9. What a great post, Roland. A lot of folks harp on the deus ex machina, the out of nowhere savior who swoops in to save the day at the last moment. But no one ever talks about the diabolus ex machina - the antagonist who swoops in [without foreshadowing] during the last chapter and reveals him/herself to be responsible for the previous 300 pages of chaos. Makes me crazy!

    VR Barkowski

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