Monday, September 14, 2009

I'm a bum

This is my I-should-write-something-but-haven't-the-time-to-be-original post. Like Newton, I'll stand on the shoulders of giants. Or at least other bloggers.

I've mentioned edittorrent before. They had a great post recently on resolving your story, and about how it's so important to tie that resolution to some action that your main character takes. As I work on my revising my own story, I'm trying to shape it with this sort of resolution as my endpoint.

Enjoy!

Ooooh! As an hour or two later add-on, do any of you have insights into crafting good endings? What do you like? Dislike? I'd love to know.

8 comments:

Tess said...

How can giving a good link be being a bum? Not at all!

And, I like endings that offer resoulution. We just read the Hunger Games and Catching Fire in our home and, while the writing was good and the story very compelling (though a bit violent for my senses) I wasn't thrilled with the ending. Too much cliffhanger and too little resolution. Just my tiny humble opinion.

Sarah said...

I like stories with resolution, too, Tess.

I think fairly happy, resolved endings are hard to pull off. It's not easy to tie things together in a realistic, non-cloying- yet satisfying way.

Mrs. Major said...

I like lazy blogs. Makes me feel better for not getting to mine!

I like the ending to be complete. Full, round, fullfilling. Even if the resolution isn't happy. And, i like to hang on for a bit. Especially if the novel is more a character driven story. I want to visit before I have to leave them.

Sarah said...

Visiting them before you leave them, Jennifer, I hadn't thought of that. Very good point.

Rebecca Q said...

While I love being involved in the story and having sequels = I HATE cliff hangers. If I like the characters, trust me, I will pick up the next book you do not need to leave them in mortal danger for me to have to pick up the next one to see what happens next. Just leaves me frustrated till the next book.

Sarah said...

Rebecca, that's the reason I love discovering an author well after they've been published. S/he might have ended 3 books with cliffhangers, but it doesn't matter because the library has the entire series.

I can't stand the strain of discovering an author and waiting two years for the sequel!

Lisa said...

Ooh, how to describe those wonderful satisfying endings that some books have? They have to click. It has to feel right and real, yet something you didn't quite expect. And a good ending should draw your mind back to the beginning of the book. The best books I've read are the ones where I read the last page, close the book for a moment, then want to go back to the beginning and start all over again. I hardly ever do because there are too many books out there, but the point is that I want to.

The change in the main character has to settle in a bit. And the arc for each character, even the minor ones, has to come to some completion, even in books that have sequels.

And I hate cliffhangers as well--they feel so cheap. Unless, of course, they're done well, which they hardly ever are these days.

Endings are tricky, but really, they're so much fun!

Sarah said...

Good point, LIsa!

I love it when an ending pulls together details that were woven throughout the story, and I find myself thinking, "So THAT'S what was going on...."