Plot Monkeys

Oh, the stories I could tell you about Kathy Carmichael, today’s guest blogger…there was that time we drove to Atlanta for Celebrate Romance and it took us about thirteen hours to make a seven hour drive because we kept stopping to shop! There’s the one and only time I ever lost my daughter in a shopping mall and Kathy was there to help me search even though we’d been CONVINCED we were sitting in front of the only exit to the playground. (We were…my daughter was channeling Houdini that day.) And there was the time…wait, maybe she doesn’t want that one published publically. Well, suffice it to say, Kathy and I have been friends for a grand long time and we’ve had our share of adventures. In fact, next week, we’re breaking down and going to the beach to check out hotels for our local chapter’s guest speakers. And restaurants. It’s a dirty job, but hey, someone’s got to do it.

But in the meantime, I’ve got her here today to talk about endings. Thank you so much for stopping by, Kathy, and with such a fabulous topic, too!

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HOW TO GIVE YOUR READERS THAT AH! ENDING

Your job as a creator — of books, stories, confessions, or movies is to evoke an emotional response in the reader or viewer. That’s our job. Everything we write, regardless of genre, is about simply that. Emotion.

If you fail to give your readers an emotional experience, then they will not be fully satisfied with your creation.

Aristotle said: “The end must be bothe inevitable and unexpected.”

We’ve all heard it said that the ending sells the next book. Why is that a truism and how can you make sure the reader feels satisfied?

Have you ever read a book where you got to the last page and, while all the loose ends had pretty much been tied up, you still looked for more because the ending was too abrupt?

Have you ever read a book where outside forces intervened to solve the protagonist’s problems? That’s not nearly as satisfying as a story in which the hero must figure it out himself.

Have you ever read a romance novel where you felt the hero and heroine had Divorce Court in their near future?

These reactions usually are the result of less than satisfactory endings.

ENDING DO’s

1. RESOLVABLE CONFLICT. Remember to set up your character’s conflict so that it is something that can be resolved without seeming impossible. The firefighter/arsonist analogy sounds intriguing on the outside — but if the character truly is an arsonist with the full set of psychological problems that accompany this illness, then the romance with the firefighter is going to fall flat.

2. KEEP THE FOCUS ON THE MAIN PLOT. If you are writing a mystery novel, then the mystery must be the primary focus of the novel. The same holds true if you are writing a romance novel. The romance is always the focus or main plot. An important point to keep in mind is that if you’re writing a romance, then everything in the book is tied to that focus. This means that the external plotline (and in a romance this is more like a subplot) must be resolved before the romance is resolved. This puts the emphasis where it belongs, on the developing romance between your hero and heroine.

3. MAKE USE OF THEME AND SYMBOLISM. Books in which the ending of the book relates to the book’s theme resonate with readers. Your ending should sum up the changes the character has gone through as well as tie in the book’s theme. Symbolism can be a particularly powerful devise to illustrate how a character has come full circle. Even if the reader isn’t consciously aware, symbolism can pay off well in terms of reader satisfaction.

4. DEMONSTRATE THE CHARACTER’S CHANGES. A suggestion author and editor Alicia Rasley makes is to look for a concrete event or action a character can take to show the set of changes he’s been through.

5. FORESHADOW YOUR ENDING. What you want to strive for in your ending is a sense of the inevitable. That somehow, based on who your characters are at the beginning, this ending and only this ending is what had to occur. Foreshadowing is an excellent tool for creating the sense of inevitability.

6. REWARD THE READER. Once you’ve resolved the plot complications, and your reader has followed you to the end of the trials and tribulations that kept your protagonist from achieving his goal, the readers deserve a reward. Your readers deserve to know that whatever future problems he encounters, he’s now better able to deal with them. They want to see the payoff.

In Classical Greek Structure, they refer to this as the ‘after’ world. You want to allow your readers at least a page or two to explore their new world.

Common Mistakes Made by New Authors

1. THE ARTIFICIAL PLOT CONTRIVANCE. An artificial plot contrivance near the end, so that the hero must rescue the heroine thereby learning that he loves her (or that she’s ill, dying, etc) can be less than satisfying. Remember, any plot complication should arise from earlier plot events. If they don’t directly relate, they don’t belong in the story.

2. RECAP OF THE PLOT KIND OF ENDINGS. Sometimes authors find there are story events occurring outside the viewpoint characters’ experience that must be recapped so the reader will know what happened. You may want to avoid having your detective sit down and explain what all the clues mean. If at all possible, find a way to trickle the information into the story as it progresses rather than having the end of the book plot recap.

3. DEUS EX MACHINA. The reader wants to see the characters overcome obstacles themselves. Outside agencies (God, Fate, Fairy Godmothers) shouldn’t swoop in to solve your characters’ problems.

4. LOOSE ENDS. Tie up all the dangling loose ends. Unless you are writing a serial type of story, the reader expects that all of the loose plot threads will be resolved by the end of the book.

Give your readers the emotional punch they are seeking. By making sure your ending delivers what was promised early in your story, you’ll find your readers eager to come back for more!
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Julie here again…writers, do yourselves a favor and head over to Kathy’s website to for great writing advice. Wasn’t today’s workshop fabulous?