Theme Week: An Ending Is Just A New Beginning

I've thought about this in real life before, but it's never really translated to reading or writing. But the whole mantra of when one thing ends, another begins is really true in storytelling.

I'm a firm believer that stories don't need to be completely closed to be satisfying. Yes, I need the drama to be wrapped up and the conflict resolved, but I don't need to know what happens five years after the book ends or anything like that. (Jeff touched on this earlier this week. I loved THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE for exactly this reason. I could imagine what else happened based on the superb storytelling Jeff had already done.)

I adored everything about Harry Potter except the fact that we know exactly what happens 19 years later. I wanted to imagine what I wanted for Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione and their kids/lives.

I think the best storytellers weave the elements of the story so tightly with the elements of character that the reader can formulate that perfect ending in their head after the main conflict is resolved.

Those are the kind of endings that create new beginnings for me. Those are the kind of endings I enjoy reading. Those are the kind of endings I try to write.

What do you think? Do you like the author to tell you exactly what happens, or would you rather construct that for yourself?

Chapter Endings

After my local SCBWI crit group meeting this past weekend, I found myself thinking about endings. Chapter endings, that is.

Many chapters cease and desist at the natural ending of a scene, but more often than not, a chapter can end right in the middle of the action—or even in the middle of a conversation.  Just like there's no rule for chapter length, there's not a rule for where to end one.

So what do you do?

Here's my take. End on strong note that you’ve been building up to for the whole chapter.  That note could be a realization or revelation. It could be ending one plot point and signaling another.  It could be a cliffhanger. It could be a quiet moment or a call to action. 

And that note has to propel the reader into the next chapter. 

For instance, here’s a chapter ending from Scott Westerfeld’s Behemoth:

“Look smart, gentleman,” Dr. Barlow said. “We have an elephant to catch.” (102)

This one just sounds great—and you’re looking forward to what happens next. Here’s another:

Alek looked up and saw it…

A gyrothopter hovering directly overhead. (348)

Both chapters break in the middle of the action, but the end signals a change in direction. For instance, in the last example, Alek and the others have been trying to sneak around Istanbul, but now they’ve been discovered.  Then next chapter will be about engaging the enemy instead escaping.

In Levianthan and Behemoth, Westerfeld keeps the story going at a very brisk pace, but chapter endings don't need to be so  plot-oriented. The end note of a chapter can be thought-provoking and quiet, or whatever you need it to be. It just has to keep the overall tension of the story moving forward.  The reader must want to turn the page to find out what happens next.

My last bit of advice. Don't bury your end note with a lot of stage direction. You can save the "and then they caught the train to Barcelona" stuff for the beginning of the next chapter--or let it fall between the chapter cracks. End on a strong note and get the hell out.

What makes a chapter satisfying for you?

The End

Okay, so I've been thinking about endings a lot recently. Maybe because Mockingjay signaled the end of that story. Or maybe because I've been struggling with how to end my latest novel. Or something.

But endings have been on my mind. So, since I write and read a lot of dystopian, I've also been contemplating the end of the world. So many dystopian novels have that apocalyptic event, you know? There's everything from plague-ish diseases to war, and micro-organisms in oil to a technology revolution.

Then my mind drifted to the dystopian novels I've read. It seems like most of them don't end with shiny rainbows and golden sunshine. They resolve. They end. Just not happily. Which made me wonder why, if they're not ending all fairy tale-esque, why are they so popular? Do people really want to read this depressing stuff about war and oppression and then discuss it with each other?

Don't get me wrong, I love (like, LOVE) books that don't end happily. I think they reflect real life. Think about it. Not every situation in your life ties itself up with a neat little bow and sails into the sunset. It simply resolves. Then you get up and go to work the next day.

Are dystopian endings mirroring real life? What do you think? Have you read a dystopian novel that did end in glorious harmony?