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Endings



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Mon Sep 25, 2017 9:11 pm
Tenyo says...



G'dafternoon wonderful YWSers.

I need some help with endings. I just can't do them >.< I think the problem I have is I get too enthusiastic about *everything* so when I reach the climax of a story and get it on paper I suddenly think of another great idea to do with that random loose thread, and hey look, half an hour later I've plotted out another seven chapters and the beginnings of a sequel.

Any tips on a) structuring the ending so that it actually comes to an end within a reasonable time frame, and b) tying up the loose ends before they develop plot-lines of their own?

Thanks!
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Tue Sep 26, 2017 1:16 am
Virgil says...



Hi there Tenyo, my fellow Resources crew buddy! I thought I'd drop by since I seen this dropped in and wanted to come in and give my thoughts on how to write endings.

I want to see the change throughout the course of a novel with an ending, for better or for worse for the characters. What is the outcome for the main character(s)? Maybe one ends up happy and reaches their goal or resolves their conflict. Maybe another ends up bitter and only ends up having more conflict in the future--basically what I'm trying to say is, I want to know and see that the characters changed. How and why those characters changed and what the characters changed.

Loose threads need addressed, yes, and that is quite important in making a story end nicely but--not all loose threads need seven chapters of page time to do so. I like to think of my priorities and what's most important for the reader to know at the end and the rest can fall in order from there because surely there's a main theme or idea or main part to the ending and ideally, that gets the most attention.

Think about if you'd rather make an ending have loose ends for the reader to interpret or if you'd rather tie those loose ends closed and give the reader closure to the story.

In short, I'd say to think about what changes and to think about when and if the journey (this can be a metaphorical journey too, of course) ends.

I hope this helps! Those are my thoughts on the matter.

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Thu Sep 28, 2017 5:53 pm
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BluesClues says...



Mmm well, can I ask, since you say you get so enthusiastic about everything, do you have a climax and resolution thought out at all before you get there, and then you realize you have all these loose ends because the story changes etc? Or do you entirely neglect that part until you get that far?
  





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Thu Sep 28, 2017 6:04 pm
ajruby12 says...



Writing the conclusion to a story or any literary work, really, is one of the hardest parts. I get pretty attached to my stories and butchering the ending is one of the worst things.

One of the methods that I use is to take each individual character and figure out where they are/were (I often do this before the climax even) and then figure out where they need to be at the end of the story. So what is point A, what is point B, and then figure out how to get from A to B.

Another great thing to do is to work on tying up some minor loose ends during the final chapters or sections before the ending. Say, for example, your main character has a conflict with a team member and while the team is traveling to go defeat the villain, your MC converses with the team member and fixes the issue. Not in a "Hey, isn't everything great now??" type of thing, which many endings tend to end up as, but "In order to defeat this bad guy, we need to work as a team." That may be an irrelevant example for your story, but I find it helpful to consider that as you approach the ending. If you end up resolving all the subplots along with the main plot, your MC just spends the last chapter trying to untangle a mess of yarn and it becomes super complicated.

Another great thing to consider is also to just not have that many loose ends in the first place. A whole bunch of underlying drama detracts from the main drive of the story. Should you have subplots and conflict? Of course. But if your main character has to resolve an issue with his girlfriend who lives 500 miles away and has nothing to do with the story, the readers will get bored.

Hope this helps! I'm by no means an expert, and I struggle with the same problems.
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Thu Sep 28, 2017 6:20 pm
Rosendorn says...



I'm just going to reiterate Kays' point: not all loose ends have to be tied up.

In Fullmetal Alchemist, we're introduced to a character known as Scar. That wasn't his given name, but a name he called himself after some very catastrophic events in the past. His original name was never given.

I'd suggest to look at endings in relation to the core character(s) and plot line, and the core characters/plot line only. This creates your priorities list. If it doesn't relate directly to the main actors of the story (aka, the antagonist and one or two protagonists), then it doesn't need to be tied up.

I'd also take a look at how many plot threads you even have. It is very possible to have too many plot threads. If you have plot threads that are so big that they require their own resolution, you might need to reconsider what it is you're including.

Now, it is massively fun to have a million and one threads and keep the story going forever... but those are special pet projects that you're not really trying to shop out. If you're wanting to practice for publishing or working your way towards there, be lean.

Pick a plot thread from start to finish, where you start when the character's life gets thrown into chaos and end where their life stabilizes again because they've resolved the chaotic force. That's my general definition of "a story": chaos, change, stability. Your definition might be different, but thinking of it in this sort of way can help.
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