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Sunday, May 1, 2016

ENDINGS

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To every beginning there is an ending.

But not always ...

In my worldview, the soul has a beginning but no true ending. 


Perhaps it has a final destination, yet no ending but eternity.

What did Woody Allen say?

Eternity is awfully long ... especially towards the end.

But for novels there has to be an ending. But where?

Remember the multiple "endings" to the movie, RETURN OF THE KING


 I was with my date who kept starting to get up scene after scene. Peter Jackson just didn't seem to want to end his epic tale.

Of course those of us who had read the book knew what the true ending would be. 


 But most in the audience hadn't read the book.

And like my date, they were frustrated and a bit miffed at Peter for misleading them scene after scene.

Not unlike an old car that just wouldn't stop after the key is turned off.

Finally, the epic ends with the closing of the door to Sam's home. 


But it was too late. Most felt dissatisfied at the false endings.

Take John Ford's classic Western, THE SEARCHERS.

It, too, ends with the closing of a home's door -- but the perspective is switched. 


The audience sees from the inside out to the figure of John Wayne beyond. 

A cover story in New York magazine called it the most influential movie ending in American history.

 

The opening and closing shots, of Ethan arriving and leaving,

framed in a doorway. The poignancy with which he stands alone at the door,

one hand on the opposite elbow (his arm having been wounded by an arrow earlier in the film),

forgotten for a moment after delivering Debbie home. 


These shots are among the treasures of the cinema.

Ethan (John Wayne) cannot enter the home which represents civilization, home, and forgiveness. 


 He is too wounded (hence the gesture of holding his formerly wounded arm.)

Ethan's story is the tragedy of the loner: 


we see Ethan at the end of the film, as we saw him at its beginning: 

alone, lonely, haunted by the past, and deeply wounded.

John Ford had this ending in mind when he filmed the beginning. 


I believe to have a truly focused novel, we as authors should have the ending in view from the very start of our story. 

Doing so provides that emotional impact of the closing lines which touches the reader's head as well as heart.

Of course, there are different ways to do that:

Snipping all the loose ends neatly.


Bracketing the novel with book-end type scenes as Ford did with THE SEARCHERS.

Or ending with a cliff-hanger, 

drawing the reader into an anxious anticipation for the next chapter in an on-going story -- 

as life is on-going.

How do you decide when to end your novel and why?
***

24 comments:

  1. Hi Roland ... this makes sense and is definitely something to think about. I don't write novels ... but can see where you're coming from.

    Soul does begin .. but where does it end.

    Things we read, or watch or listen - we expect an ending ... I've not seen something that had a choice of endings, but I know of things where we can make our minds up as to what happens ...

    Interesting to say the least - cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary, I'm glad you liked today's post. I just watched a movie last night, starring and directed by Chris Evans which had a choice of endings. I was bummed. I wanted to know one way or the other. But I was denied. :-( It was called BEFORE WE GO and a fine movie.

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  2. Thought provoking as always Roland, and makes me think of an extremely important piece of work, literature and philosophy.

    the reality and practice of life-and-death within no-life-and-death.

    Beginning and ending, ending then beginning? Both entities dependent on each other; and devoid of each other.

    the reality and practice of life-and-death within no-life-and-death.

    http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Genjokoan_Okumara.htm

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    1. I was in a reflective mood when I wrote this, Robert. One doesn't usually think of JOHN FORD as a deep thinker but he was. :-) Have a great Sunday!

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  3. Roland, I am mentioning your very clever blog posts in my post for Best Selling Reads tomorrow. Stop by and have a look!

    @Kathleen01930
    Best Selling Reads
    Meet My Imaginary Friends

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    1. How very nice of you, Kathleen. :-) I am starting jury duty tomorrow, but I promise I will be by tomorrow. How could I not?

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  4. A very well written post, Roland. And it makes me feel good because when I started on the A to Z this year, I knew it would be a journey of both sorry and joy, but I always knew that it would end well, on a happy note.

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    1. You have friends, both near and far. That is always a plus. :-) I am so happy that we are friends, Inger. :-)

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  5. Ah, endings... I think it's best to know how a story is going to end before starting. But that's just me.

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    1. You and me both. It is like telling a joke without knowing the punchline although Mark Twain could pull that one off! :-)

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  6. Hello, Roland!! I definitely agree that the ending should be in view from the beginning. As a reader or watcher, I can always tell when they kind of made up the ending as they went along, as opposed to the other way around.

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    1. I enjoy Dean Koontz's books but he meanders because he doesn't know where the book is going. Long time no see. Glad you visited! :-)

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  7. I can write the last page, it's that first page that stumps me. But the end is decided by the characters. I think staying true to them is the key. I've tried to meander - make the end mine - but they won't allow it. It's their story, not mine.
    Hey, we survived the A to Z!

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    1. Yes, you can have a port in mind but sometimes the characters take hold of the wheel and steer where they would. Trust them. :-) YaY! We did survive A TO Z!!

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  8. I'm not sure I like cliff-hanger endings for movies. To sit through a couple of hours (and at today's prices) and then find out you don't have the whole story? Annoying.

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    1. I rather hated watching THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in the theater for just that reason! :-)

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  9. I haven't seen The Searchers, but this makes me want to. That sounds like quite an ending! For my own books, I usually find myself at the end of the tale with the characters--they're the ones who direct me to what needs to be finished up :)

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    1. If they made a Western like THE SEARCHERS today, it would revive the genre. You write like Dean Koontz -- and see how many times he is on the best seller list!

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  10. I've written the end sometimes and then stepped back, aimed and shot toward it from the beginning.

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    1. That works best for me, and it creates a sense of symmetry. :-) And if I don't, I go back and re-write the first chapter!

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  11. By the time I get to the ending I know just what will happen. It's the opening lines and the heart and soul of the book that take so much work. And then when it's all over I have to dread writing blurb and synopsis--now that's really painful.

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    1. Yes, how to encapsulate an entire book in a sentence or one page? Ouch!!

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  12. I love that movie. As for the writing, I usually don't know what the end will be when I begin. Not in specifics. But once I do know, I go back and realign things to make it as complete as I can. I love the idea of the symmetry you mention in The Searchers, doing with words what Ford did with pictures.

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  13. I love that movie. As for the writing, I usually don't know what the end will be when I begin. Not in specifics. But once I do know, I go back and realign things to make it as complete as I can. I love the idea of the symmetry you mention in The Searchers, doing with words what Ford did with pictures.

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