Endings are Hard

After I published my last novel, I received one (yep, only one) FB message asking if I'd forgotten to include all of the pages in the Kindle edition. 

What!?

I'd given away 11,000 copies of the book. Were they all defective? Were readers left wondering what happened to the hero? This could explain the poor sales.

I investigated. The ending was there as written, but it evidently wasn't strong enough for this reader. Also, I suspect that her eReaders caught her unaware. Perhaps the ending was perfectly fine, but without the physicality of the book and its diminishing pages to clue her in, the ending fell into her lap. (This has happened to me.)

To determine if I'd written a strong enough ending, I revisited my hero's desires and needs. Did she satisfy her desire, a goal she can achieve within the scope of the story? Yes, her family is intact. As to her needs, does she resolve the thing that is hampering her from leading a good life? Yes, she is able to forgive herself and trust others. 

So far, so good.

Does the ending evoke an emotional response in the reader?

I thought so.

The hero not only has her family, but she reconnects with a love interest. She has a future, not explicitly spelled out but definitely pointing in the right direction. She turns her pain around to accept and love the imperfect. She's taking a huge risk, for crying out loud! 

It's the kind of ending I like. The important points are resolved, and the hero is set in motion toward a promising future with the requisite challenges. There are minor things left unresolved for the reader to play with. 

But some readers aren't as comfortable with ambiguity. They would have us sit our characters around a table to report their plans for the future.

Boring!

Actually, I'm struggling with the ending--the denouement--of my WIP. Technically, this is where things get resolved. But structurally I'm wondering if this isn't where the character arc for our hero reaches the pot of gold. This is where we show his or her growth. 

Right?

Books on writing are strangely silent on endings. They use vague words like "satisfying," if they say anything at all. 

Can we discuss this?

Wait, I'm supposed to finish my post...

Wrestling the Octopus

If you haven't read Blue Hole Back Home by Joy Jordan-Lake, Novel Matters wants to give you that opportunity--free! Comment on today's post to be eligible for the drawing. You will simply fall in love with Joy's beautiful story.


Months and months of showing up at my computer are paying off. The end is in sight! I’ve followed the outline for my WIP—more or less—throughout the first draft. Still, and this happens every single time, getting to the end is like wrestling an octopus into a mayonnaise jar.

I’m so immersed in the story that I’ve lost sight of the big picture. Where is this story headed? There are loose ends whipping around in my head, dropped story-lines littering the plot, and characters who have gone AWOL. Will the story ever end?

It must.

I have a deadline, for goodness' sake.

A FIRM deadline.

No time to panic. Take a step back— think and pray.

To regain my equilibrium with the story, I must remember where I’ve traveled in my story world. I’m a visual thinker. And so, I need to see the story. To do this, I go back through the manuscript, scene by scene to take notes on what happens. It’s laborious, arguably anal, but I create a new outline with color-coded scenes for the POV character and each character in the scene description is highlighted with their own color. It’s very pretty, very map-like.


Now, to get that octopus into the mayonnaise jar…I print out my colorful chart. I can see where one character is too dominant or where another has been forgotten. I note storylines I’ve left dangling. Weak motivations become obvious. Pretty scenes that don’t move the story along stick out like, well, a sore tentacle.

It’s tempting to charge ahead, but this is a time of serious prayer for me. Where my characters end up reflects my view of who God is and how he loves and interacts with his creation. I want to get this right. Once I’ve prayed and bounced ideas around with people I trust—poor hubby; he’s so handy—I build a new ending (and shore up mid-story issues), making sure there is resolution and a few questions left for the reader to wrestle. After all, I wouldn’t want to deny them the challenge of swimming with an octopus.

How do you keep track of the big picture of your novel? Do you find resolving all of the plot lines messy? Do you know the ending of your novel before you begin?

Loose Ends Require Good Listening Skills

Debbie and Bonnie have done an amazing job talking about those pesky loose threads at the end of a story. Writers are admonished to write tantalizing openings to their stories, but a strong beginning only sells the first book. A satisfying ending builds reader loyalty.

Endings are extremely important.

Objective readers can help you develop your writing rhythm, knowing when to quick step past a dangling thread or to pause to tie a lovely bow, but only if you listen.

Here's a tip:

Mothers are not objective readers.

Start with the members of your critique group, and if you don't have a critique group, fast and pray until God sends incredibly gifted and fussy writers your way! My critique group is commited to my success, so they happily bracket wordy passages to delete and laugh heartily at my confusing descriptions. And, of course, they let me know if an ending leaves them feeling empty. This makes a critique group worth their weight in chocolate. Endulge them.

And listen to your editor. They are not three-eyed ogres out to ruin your art. Your success is their resume. You've already won them over by your voice and craft. Now, let them use their broad exposure to literature to advise you in writing a satisfying ending. There's always room for discussion and disagreement, but you won't know if you don't listen.

I know this to be true. I added 50 pages to the end of my first book at my editor's suggestion. She was so right.

And just a thought: The most satisfying endings offer hope of a continuing story. At the end of Gap Creek, Julie and Hank walk toward home under a burgeoning sky and a baby on the way. In

Levi's Will, Dale Cramer manages to bring hope out of a funeral when a shunned son reconnects with his high God and the coming of a buried spring. And Sara Gruen sets an old man free to join the circus in Water for Elephants.

I'm hungry to read more of each of these writers . . . thanks to their endings.