Mary Rosenblum’s eighth novel, Horizons, will be released by Tor Books in November of 2006.  She has published more than sixty short stories as well, in Speculative Fiction, Mystery, and Mainstream and teaches writing. 

 

The End; Wrapping It All Up

By Mary Rosenblum

 

            You’ll find it stated over and over in books on writing;  The most important parts of your book are the beginning and the end.   Of course, the beginning is critical since it hooks those readers into your story…or not!  Writers polish and polish that first chapter until it shines, and that’s a very important thing to do.  On the other hand, if your novel fails to satisfy your readers, if they close the book annoyed with you…they may not buy your next book.   It’s easy to get tired of this huge, complex project and rush through that final chapter with that [the end] shining like a beacon in front of you.   Most of the time, the climax has occurred and this final chapter merely wraps up the story, bringing the entire journey to a close.  But this is not the time to be sloppy.  Nor is it the time to bore your readers with a host of ‘housekeeping’ details as you wrap up a dozen plot loose ends in a breathless rush.  Just as first impressions are important, so are final impressions.  If your reader departs with a lingering sense of boredom or frustration because you left plot threads dangling or droned on and on, that memory may surface when your readers spot your next book in the bookstore.  Not good.

 

Leaving Them Hungry

            Many novice writers want to leave the plot ‘open ended’ with the idea that this will encourage the reader to buy the next book.  The villain really isn’t defeated, the main conflict isn’t completely resolved.  Surely those readers will rush to the store to buy the next installment. 

            This is a myth.

            If you create real characters and give your readers a satisfying journey with those characters, they will beat a path to the bookshelves to buy more, don’t worry.  But if you leave the plot unfinished…you have no next book to offer them right now.  Yes, it will be published, perhaps, but that means a lag of at least a year, if you have already turned in that sequel. If you have not yet written the sequel, then you are looking at a 2 to 3 year lag before the ‘next installment’ is on the shelf.  Even a one year wait makes readers testy.  And they may forget critical parts of the story.  What if a new reader picks up Book Two and hasn’t read Book One yet?   That reader will be disappointed and you have lost a potential fan.

            Even if the book is intended to be a series from the beginning, create a conflict that can be resolved in this book as well as an overarching ‘large’ plot that will not be resolved until the final book.  That way readers who find only Book Two or Book Three in the library or bookstore will be satisfied and become your loyal fans. Yes, they will seek out the other books in the series, too.

 

Every Loose End?

            So do you have to tie up every last loose end?  What about interesting subplots that might be useful in a sequel, should your write a sequel?  The answer is no, you really don’t have to tie up every loose end, as long as you resolve the main conflict and resolution solidly.  If your main character doesn’t work out his rocky relationship with his father, or she fails to find the child she put up for adoption as a teen, and these are not critical components of your main conflict and resolution, that’s fine.  Readers will wonder what eventually happens, and yes, a few may be annoyed, but those loose ends will provide a bonus for those loyal readers who buy that sequel and read it.  They’ll bring their expectations that you will resolve that plot issue to the next book.  Do be sure to resolve those loose ends in Book Two!  Those same readers who bring those expectations to Book Two will be highly annoyed if you simply ignore those loose ends.  Remember, you are building a fan base who will continue to buy your books over the life of your career.  You are building a reputation, in other words.  You can build a good reputation or a poor one.  Believe me, readers do not spend hard earned cash on your books if they’re not always happy with what you write, especially if you publish in hardcover. 

 

Main Conflict

            So how do you know what your main conflict is, if your story is complex?  Hopefully, you decided what it is before you started and have focused on that conflict from page one.  But books get written in many ways, and if you find, at the end of your story, that you’re not really sure what your main conflict is among many subplots, don’t despair.  Ask yourself first, who is your most important character?  You may have more than one, although hopefully you have no more than three characters who really stand out as ‘central’ characters.   Now ask yourself, ‘What is this character’s problem?’  What is it that most troubles this character?  Is it the need to exonerate himself or a loved one from a false accusation?  Regain her throne?  Find out who really murdered his good friend?  Find her way to safety after having been stranded in the Alaskan wilderness?  By the end of the book, you need to eliminate this problem.  The character may have resolved the problem successfully – he over threw the evil king, she found her way to a town after harrowing adventures – or that character may fail to succeed.  But in any case, readers need to feel that this problem is finished.  It will not trouble this character any more. 

            Remember, you are enticing your readers into the next book because they like the way you write, not because you have dangled an unresolved problem in front of them like a carrot on a stick!  They are much more likely to pick up your next book if your ending leaves them satisfied and happy that they spent the time reading your book than if you leave them wondering about a character they have come to care about and restlessly wondering when the heck the next book will be out.  Since sequels rarely come out in less than a year, many readers will have lost that edge of curiosity by the time it hits the shelves and may decide to simply ignore your books, since you may disappoint them in this book, too. 

 

Reader Input

            It is a very good idea to give your finished novel draft to another novice writer or a good reader and ask for an opinion.  Ask that reader about the end.  Was it satisfying?  What questions did that reader have?  It is easy to overlook a few small plot threads that might have a greater impact on the readers than you realize.  A good reader can save you a lot of rewriting later on, or an outright rejection.  Remember that every reader opinion is just that – an opinion – and some readers simply won’t read the book you wrote.  But if several readers tell you the same thing, listen to them. 

            Bring your readers in for a solid end, leave them satisfied and happy that they picked up this book, and they’ll flock to your next book.   A good read is worth gold, after all.