How to end your novel
writerswrite.posterous.comThe Dos and Don’ts By James V. Smith Jr.
Don’ts
- Don’t introduce any new characters or subplots. Any appearances within the last 50 pages should have been foreshadowed earlier, even if mysteriously.
- Don’t describe, muse, explain or philosophize. Keep description to a minimum, but maximize action and conflict. You have placed all your charges. Now, light the fuse and run.
- Don’t change voice, tone or attitude. An ending will feel tacked on if the voice of the narrator suddenly sounds alien to the voice that’s been consistent for the previous 80,000 words.
- Don’t resort to gimmicks. No quirky twists or trick endings. The final impression you want to create is a positive one. Don’t leave your reader feeling tricked or cheated.
Dos
- Do create that sense of Oh, wow! Your best novelties and biggest surprises should go here. Readers love it when some early, trivial detail plays a part in the finale.
- Do enmesh your reader deeply in the outcome. Get her so involved that she cannot put down your novel to go to bed, to work or even to the bathroom until she sees how it turns out.
- Do resolve the central conflict. You don’t have to provide a happily-ever-after ending, but do try to uplift. Readers want to be uplifted, and editors try to give readers what they want.
- Do afford redemption to your heroic character. No matter how many mistakes she has made along the way, allow the reader—and the character—to realize that, in the end, she has done the right thing.
- Do tie up loose ends of significance. Every question you planted in a reader’s mind should be addressed, even if the answer is to say that a character will address that issue later, after the book ends.
- Do mirror your final words to events in your opener. When you reach the ending, go back to ensure some element in each of your complications will point to the beginning. It’s the tie-back tactic. Merely create a feeling that the final words hearken to an earlier moment in the story.
‘Writers Write’ is a great blog (not on tumblr as far as I’m aware) with writing tips, quotes, and more. Definitely worth checking out!
They’re also on facebook, if anyone’s interested.
Don't forget the boring stuff!
People need to eat (unless they’re robot or some sort of super future human being…) It isn’t always interesting to write and I’m not saying you should mention it all the time, but every now and again just to give the story realism.
Even if it’s just describing hunger!
It’s not always day time, the sun goes down occasionally (unless you are at the poles).
People need to sleep (again unless they’re a robot or super human). You can make sleep interesting! You don’t really need to describe it, just say ‘the next day…’ Or something similar. Another idea is to read some of your favourite books, how often do they mention it? How do they? Knowing how others do it helps me, so maybe it can help you.
Temperature changes as does the seasons. UNLESS you are in an area that doesn’t have them, such as rainforests (one season). So research the area you are setting it and what the weather will be like.
People have to go to the toilet! As I’ve been informed! Don’t need to go into too much detail though!
I know these things are boring, but it’s important to mention (at least occasionally). It makes the story believable, the great stories use these to their advantage, think how you can use them? A conversation around the table could give your main character new leads. Or start a romance!
-S
Twenty Basic Plot Ideas
- #1 QUEST: the plot involves the Protagonist's search for a person, place or thing, tangible or intangible (but must be quantifiable, so think of this as a noun; i.e., immortality).
- #2 ADVENTURE: this plot involves the Protagonist going in search of their fortune, and since fortune is never found at home, the Protagonist goes to search for it somewhere over the rainbow.
- #3 PURSUIT: this plot literally involves hide-and-seek, one person chasing another.
- #4 RESCUE: this plot involves the Protagonist searching for someone or something, usually consisting of three main characters - the Protagonist, the Victim & the Antagonist.
- #5 ESCAPE: plot involves a Protagonist confined against their will who wants to escape (does not include some one trying to escape their personal demons).
- #6 REVENGE: retaliation by Protagonist or Antagonist against the other for real or imagined injury.
- #7 THE RIDDLE: plot involves the Protagonist's search for clues to find the hidden meaning of something in question that is deliberately enigmatic or ambiguous.
- #8 RIVALRY: plot involves Protagonist competing for same object or goal as another person (their rival).
- #9 UNDERDOG: plot involves a Protagonist competing for an object or goal that is at a great disadvantage and is faced with overwhelming odds.
- #10 TEMPTATION: plot involves a Protagonist that for one reason or another is induced or persuaded to do something that is unwise, wrong or immoral.
- #11 METAMORPHOSIS: this plot involves the physical characteristics of the Protagonist actually changing from one form to another (reflecting their inner psychological identity).
- #12 TRANSFORMATION: plot involves the process of change in the Protagonist as they journey through a stage of life that moves them from one significant character state to another.
- #13 MATURATION: plot involves the Protagonist facing a problem that is part of growing up, and from dealing with it, emerging into a state of adulthood (going from innocence to experience).
- #14 LOVE: plot involves the Protagonist overcoming the obstacles to love that keeps them from consummating (engaging in) true love.
- #15 FORBIDDEN LOVE: plot involves Protagonist(s) overcoming obstacles created by social mores and taboos to consummate their relationship (and sometimes finding it at too high a price to live with).
- #16 SACRIFICE: plot involves the Protagonist taking action(s) that is motivated by a higher purpose (concept) such as love, honor, charity or for the sake of humanity.
- #17 DISCOVERY: plot that is the most character-centered of all, involves the Protagonist having to overcome an upheavel(s) in their life, and thereby discovering something important (and buried) within them a better understanding of life (i.e., better appreciation of their life, a clearer purpose in their life, etc.)
- #18 WRETCHED EXCESS: plot involves a Protagonist who, either by choice or by accident, pushes the limits of acceptable behavior to the extreme and is forced to deal with the consequences (generally deals with the psychological decline of the character).
- #19 ASCENSION: rags-to-riches plot deals with the rise (success) of Protagonist due to a dominating character trait that helps them to succeed.
- #20 DECISION: riches-to-rags plot deals with the fall (destruction) of Protagonist due to dominating character trait that eventually destroys their success.
Resources for Fiction Writing: Ideas, Inspiration
Solve Your Problems Simply by Saying Them Out Loud
Writing Inspiration, or Sex on a Bicycle
Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips to Engineer a Productive Flow
The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes
Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits
Resources for Fiction Writing: Setting, World Building
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You Bring Your Settings to Life
Creating the Perfect Setting – Part I
An Impatient Writer’s Approach to Worldbuilding
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions
Character and Setting Interactions
Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds
Maps Workshop — Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping
Day 42, 41, 40 and now 39...
I spent the weekend in Kingston, ON. Believe it or not, Kingston was on my bucket list of places I wanted to see. Since Kingston was at one point Canada’s capital, I thought it would have been interesting to check it out. So I did and now I’ve crossed that off my bucket list! Hurrah!
Being in Kingston for the weekend left me no time to write. It was all play and no work, which I’m okay with because we all need a break at some point. After finishing so many assignments, working and simultaneously finding every spare minute I had to contribute to this book - my life had become pretty dull. So I am completely happy that I had time to have some fun in Kingston. I even bought really cute wool mittens!
This places me at three days behind schedule. I don’t think this is a bad thing. School is finished for the holidays on Dec. 6, which will give me more than enough time to write! I don’t have to focus on any assignments! Yay, I’m excited. December should be an extremely progessive month for me.
Today, I am heading to a coffee shop to write some more. I am entering the CBC Canada writes creative non-fiction contest. I’ve finished a short story this weekend, I just have to re-read it and polish it and I can start on another. I’ve brainstormed about three so far that I can start writing and add to my short story collection. I am super excited about these!
Cheers to day 39!
The Best 100 Opening Lines From Books
stylist.co.ukAnother writing gem found through StumbleUpon, I found a great web page created by Stylist magazine from the UK.
This link will take you to a page listing some of the one hundred best opening lines from a wide variety of books.
The first line of any story is the most important. This is the line that will initially hook your reader and reels them into reading the rest written after that. Unfortunately, the pressure to create that eye-catching opening line often causes many writer a lot of trouble. If you’re having trouble coming up with a first line, keep these tidbits of advice in mind:
- Keep it simple. First lines don’t have to be complicated, 50+ word long declarations. Sometimes, the best first lines are short, snappy, and to the point, but still leaves the reader asking questions about the rest of the story. Here are a few examples all under ten words long.
Example 1: “You better not never tell nobody but God.” The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Example 2: “All this happened, more or less.” Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
Example 3: “What’s it going to be then, eh?” A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess - Introduce a Character: What better way to start off a story than to introduce one of your main characters? It could be a hero, a villain, or someone integral to the plot. Whoever it might be, let your reader connect with them right off the bat.
Example 1: “Call me Ishmael.” Moby Dick, Herman Melville
Example 2: “Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.” Back When We Were Grownups, Anne Tyler
Example 3: “Marley was dead, to begin with.” A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens - Be Shocking: Depending on your story, you might not want to just lure them in. Instead, take your opening line and smack them right between the eyes when they aren’t expecting it. Surprising your reader with something unexpected may be just the ticket to get them to read more.
Example 1: “Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.” The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood
Example 2: “ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE is scrawled in blood red lettering on the side of the Chemical Bank near the corner of Eleventh and First…” American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
Example 3: “A screaming comes across the sky.” Gravity’s Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon - Set the Tone: Finally, the last bit of advice I can offer is to set the tone. Start your story off by setting the tone of the tale. Is your story humorous? Romantic? Scary? Serious? Reveal that at the outset to your reader.
Example 1: “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.” A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler
Example 2: “It was about eleven o’clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills.” The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler
Example 3: “True! - nervous - very, very nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allen Poe
If you liked these examples of some great opening lines, then please click on the link above and check out Stylist’s Best 100 Opening Lines for yourself.
Just published a short excerpt from my novel!
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