In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* The Novel Wrapped
* Chapter 9, Part 1: Writing the Ending
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
The Novel Wrapped
Blackwell Ops 20: Soleada Garcia: Into the Future wrapped (see Numbers below).
As soon as the first reader returns his input to me, I will send it to all those who took advantage of the sale.
I also probably will set aside writing fiction for a short while in order to finish Writing Character-Driven Fiction. I want to get it finished and out.
Again, I will continue the sale on the Soleada Garcia subseries through Wednesday. If you would like the entire subseries, you can still get it for only $18 or less.
The sale includes Blackwell Ops 14 through 20. That’s more than half-off the cover price. (Individually, they would cost $5.99 each, so a little under $42.)
If you bought BO-18 during the flash sale, or any of the other books in the subseries, deduct $3 for each of them from the $18.
For monthly donors at any level, the entire subseries is FREE. (Gary V, this includes you.)
If you want the books, click Donate Here and send the appropriate amount. I’ll send your books right out. And thank you.
Chapter 9: Writing the Ending, Part 1
The Climax
Many writers believe the ending of the story is the big, massive climax:
- The former Texas Ranger transports the body of his friend and colleague from Wyoming back to the southern tip of Texas because he gave his word, and his word actually means something (the Lonesome Dove saga).
- A magic ring is returned inadvertently to its rightful owner, who had agonized for years over its loss, as both he and the ring plunge into the fires of Mordor, effectively ending a war (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).
- The Death Star explodes because someone forgot to install a screen over what amounts to a vent that just happens to run directly to the reactor core. Or something (an installment of Star Wars).
Those are all big climaxes. But none of those is the ending of the story.
The ending comes after the climax. It’s what many call the resolution or the validation.
The Resolution
- It’s the former Texas Ranger dismissing a reporter because there’s no possible way the reporter could ever understand.
- It’s the Ring Bearer accompanying others as they board boats to pass from Middle Earth forever because their time is now past.
- It’s a walking shag rug and others, amidst much cheering, being rewarded medals and money during a grand celebration, the whole of which takes place on the steps out front. Because seriously, who wants a walking shag rug inside the palace?
The ending of a film is a satisfactory conclusion. It gives the viewers a warm fuzzy feeling and tells them the story is over. That it’s all right to get out of their seats and go home. Or these days, to get out of their recliner or off the couch and head for the refrigerator.
The ending in a novel or short story is a satisfactory conclusion as well, one that subliminally signals to the reader the story has ended.
In both cases, the keyword is “satisfactory.”
Just as the climax should cause the reader to slap himself on the forehead and say, “Of course!” so should the ending (resolution, validation) make the reader feel satisfied.
And a satisfactory ending isn’t important just to keep the reader from throwing your book across the room.
Remember, the hook and opening sell the reader on the current book.
But the ending of the current book sells the reader on the next book. That’s how important it is.
Tricks for Endings
One common technique is to jump ahead to a new scene after the climax.
The Lonesome Dove series resolution obviously took place at least a few days later when Captain Call had time to rest and clean up and heal from his injuries and exhaustion.
Notice that we feel a certain kinship with him (despite his flaws) when he dismisses the reporter.
The Lord of the Rings wrap-up likewise took place a few days or perhaps even weeks later. It’s difficult to tell, and it doesn’t really matter.
What matters is that we feel the passing of the age as strongly as the characters do.
And in the Star Wars resolution, again it might be a week later or longer. We assume they needed time to bury their dead (the ones who weren’t vaporized) and maybe to clear the chunks of debris from destroyed buildings out of the streets.
But whatever the reason for the jump, it’s all right. It works. We don’t wonder what happened during the missing time. We simply skip over it and go on.
So you don’t have to provide a reason for the gap when you jump ahead.
But if you jump ahead, I do recommend—in lieu of a written transition—that you insert some sort of “spacer” between the climax scene and the resolution. I use a single, centered asterisk.
For the resolution itself, again, just write a quick scene to tie up any final loose ends and close things out.
If you do feel a need to provide an explanation for the gap, do so at the beginning of the resolution with a very brief narrative or a brief bit of dialogue between or among characters.
Sometimes writers will maintain a single POV character throughout the story. If you do that, be sure to use the same POV character in the resolution.
In other words, don’t switch POV after the jump ahead unless it’s a multiple POV story.
Only five posts to go in this series! Next up, Chapter 9, Part 2.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
Fiction Branding… Part 2 Read This!
The Numbers
The Journal……………………………… 960
Writing of Blackwell Ops 20: Soleada Garcia: Into the Future
Day 1…… 3681 words. To date…… 3681
Day 2…… 3044 words. To date…… 6725
Day 3…… 3375 words. To date…… 10100
Day 4…… 3349 words. To date…… 13449
Day 5…… 4262 words. To date…… 17711
Day 6…… 3153 words. To date…… 20864
Day 7…… 3152 words. To date…… 24016
Day 8…… 2192 words. To date…… 26208
Day 9…… 2493 words. To date…… 28701
Day 10…. 2578 words. To date…… 31279
Day 11…. 3330 words. To date…… 34609
Day 12…. 1904 words. To date…… 36513 (done)
Fiction for February……………………. 40199
Fiction for 2024…………………………. 157803
Fiction since October 1……………… 460858
Nonfiction for February……………… 26840
Nonfiction for 2024…………………… 58800
2024 consumable words…………… 216603
2024 Novels to Date……………………… 4
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 1
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………… 86
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)…… 239
Short story collections…………………… 31
Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Unreasoning fear and the myths of writing will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.
If you find this Journal of value and want to make a one time or recurring donation, please Donate Here. If you can’t donate monetarily or don’t want to, that’s fine, but please consider donating by sharing this post with friends.