A Novel Ending

From time to time I like to feature professionals to share their experience and knowledge with us. Whether we're just beginning with our writing or are published, there is always the world's largest room--room for improvement.

My guest today is Beth Hill. She is a fabulous writer you may recall her Christmas Story, Christmas Cookies and Holiday Joy, December 23, 2009. Beth is also a gifted editor with the knack of working on a manuscript like a sculptor does on a block of fine marble. She takes good material and makes it better. The resulting piece of art is something to behold. We have been known to say, “Beth is a Goddess!” And since she works magic, sees the issues and solutions so clearly, she truly is one.

I invited her to visit with us Over Coffee to share some of her insights and practical wisdom with us. I’ll be running several of her articles in the coming months.

Today, her topic is endings and how to satisfy our readers.


As a writer, what do you owe your reader?

A fast read? A world of escape? Adventure or thrills or beauty he can’t experience at home?

Do you guarantee 300 flawless pages with characters who overcome odds or solve the mystery or promise to love forever?

Maybe your stories teach a lesson, open eyes, spark conversations over late-night coffees or breakfast-table cereal.

No matter where you take the reader, what you drag him through or under or around, you must see that he’s satisfied. Ensure that at the moment he reads the final page, he feels the satisfaction that yes, this story could only end this way.

When the hero limps home with a prize many times more valuable than the one he sought, when the amateur sleuth cracks the case that stumped professionals, when love succeeds where animosity failed, then the reader feels the world is back in balance. The ride is over. And it’s been a rewarding one.

You want him to feel his foray into your fictional world was worth every minute that he spent with your characters. That it was worth passing up every other endeavor he missed or put off in order to read your book.

But a satisfying ending is not easy to write. You must answer major plot questions without rehashing every event. You must remember to pull Aunt Edna off the roof where you stashed her when the terrorists took over her home. You must have given your readers something to love in both hero and heroine so that when you tell them they’ve fallen in love for life, the readers believe, can actually feel the love.

Your mysteries must not have been so simple they could be solved by page twenty. Your leads must face conflict and emerge victorious, even if they’re beat up by the time they reach the end.

Even if your story doesn’t include a happily-ever-after, is the end still inevitable? Did you plan each step so the reader feels that sense of certainty when he reads the final pages?

Authors don’t owe their readers a happy ending (unless it’s an expectation of the genre). They don’t owe annihilation of all evil. They don’t owe restoration for every injustice faced by their characters. But they do owe their readers satisfaction, a completion of the contract entered into when the reader laid out money and/or time to live in the writer’s world for a couple hours. It is justice, of a kind. Fair dealing between writer and reader. And if it’s done well, this completion of the author/reader contract, the writer has reason to hope the reader will both recommend the novel and look for more from the same author.

Authors owe their readers a good read. A satisfying ending is one way to ensure that good read. A reader will forgive; maybe forget, a saggy middle if the end sings. But there’s no remedy for a bad ending. The bad taste remains in the reader’s mouth with nothing good to wash it away, except maybe a different novel with a more satisfying ending. But what writer wants to send his readers from his worlds to those of another writer?

Please your readers. Pay them back for their investment in your book. And invite them into your next story by giving them the expectation that each novel will not only take them on an adventure, but also return them to their world fulfilled and rewarded for having lost themselves in yours.

Checklist for reader satisfaction:

• Is the end inevitable? (Or would
  other endings make more sense?)

• Was the end hard won? (Or did the hero fall
  into his triumphs?)

• Does it make sense by every measure? (Or were
  vital steps glossed over?)

• Is the end long enough—deep enough—for the length
  and breadth of the novel? (Or does a 400-page novel get a two-paragraph resolution?)

• Are major plot points addressed without being
  overemphasized? (Or does the ending drag?)

• Are burning questions answered? (Or
  are they relegated to nothing status by the end?)
  
  

To set up the satisfying ending, be sure:

• The main character is someone the reader identifies
  with.

• Conflict and tension are present and
  dynamic.

• Reader emotions are engaged.

• Pace varies.

• Action is seen, not only talked
  about.

• The story is layered, so the reader must be
  satisfied by several outcomes on several levels.

• The ending grows out of earlier
  events.
  

As a writer, what do you do specifically to insure your readers are satisfied with your stories?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Beth Hill is a freelance fiction editor who loves to bring out the best in every manuscript. At the same time, she’s eager to share tips with writers so their subsequent novels will each be stronger than the last.

You can find Beth at A Novel Edit.

She edits full-length fiction manuscripts and also offers an edit of those important first thirty pages, especially helpful to those submitting to agent or publisher, or entering a contest.

I Am Not A Natural Writer

It is my pleasure to introduce to you, award winning humorist, John Philipp. John writes for several California newspapers and aside from those columns, he also has a thought provoking series called Thought~Bytes.

I asked him if he’d be willing to share some humor writing tips with us Over Coffee. Humor is something used in many genres and takes quite a bit of skill to pull off effectively.

John has graciously agreed to share a series of articles on writing humor. So for the next month, starting Friday, June 19th I will be featuring his articles here on Over Coffee.

John shares some thoughts on writing humor:

I am not a natural writer. I am a natural talker or so I thought until I transcribed a conversation I'd had with someone.

OK, I'm not a natural talker or a natural writer. (I am a natural eater and, while important to waist management, which has little relevance here.) I do consider myself a natural humorist. Taking that as strength, my choices were: do standup or write a humor column. I chose to learn how to write.

I wrote a few columns on topics I thought were funny and discovered I had some faults and was missing some skills. For example, I was not grounded in grammar. I felt one should write a sentence the way it sounds best. Turns out this is not true for a large percentage of readers, especially those in the newspaper business. If I wanted to write my own way I should have opted to do standup, but then there's the queasy stomach thing.

There are two relatively easy fixes to poor grammar — and neither of them is to study a grammar book. Sitting down, reading, and practicing the proper timing and placement of commas in sentences is, I am convinced, one of the top ten punishments in the Lower Kingdom.

I got better at grammar by lurking and reading writing critique websites where people edit and correct each other's writing. That experience also made me a more observant reader, grammarwise.

The second solution to better grammar is a semi-magical person called a copywriter. It is their job to correct your grammar, double check facts, correct proper name spelling and steward the use of capitals. Everything published needs a copy editor, if only because every publisher has a set of standards they follow (such as the AP Stylebook) and I guarantee you that you could spend your whole life studying and still never know when you should use a numeric character versus write out the word.

Spelling was another fault, one that surprised me. Either I've been leading a myopic life or spelling of some common words has changed since I was in grammar school (irony noted). Perhaps changing the spelling of words occurs at the same time when the government takes or gives us hours on the clock. Fortunately, there's an easy, electronic fix for bad spelling.

I found plenty of other faults that with practice and a damn good checklist I have pruned down to an acceptable level of occurrence.

The topic of missing skills was harder to overcome...

June 19th: How to Write a Humor Column.
June 26th: Writing Humor—Random Association Part I
July 3rd: Writing Humor—The Art of Exaggeration Part II
July 10th: Writing Humor—Part III

July 17th: How To sprinkle Your Articles (Writing) With Humor

***

John Philipp is a weekly humor columnist for four Marin County, California newspapers and has won numerous humor and memoir writing awards. His humor columns are posted at http://johnphilipphumor.gather.com/.
His wisdom (with Phil Frank's cartoons) is posted at Thought~Bytes http://thoughtbytes.gather.com/

Figuring Out The Bones of Your Story With Tess Mallory

"I always fall back on the basics--Who, what, where when and why."

My guest today has worn several hats in her career. She is a former journalist and currently she is a full time writer who has written nine books and counting. Tess also teaches Writing Workshops.

Today she shares some great writing tips to help develop the bones of your story and help in organizing yourself when writing.

Hi Sia and Coffee Readers!

It’s great to be here today * Tess takes a sip of her latte* and I’ve been thinking about what I could share Over Coffee, and what came to mind was all the people over the last few years who have written me and said, “I’ve always wanted to write” and “I have an idea for a story”.

A lot of these folks want me to write their idea into a book. But you know, I could never write their book the way they could, and that’s what I tell them! It always makes me a little sad, because I know most of these people will never even try to write their amazing stories, because the thought of it is too overwhelming.

So, while thinking of this, I decided, hey, I could share some of the ways that I get myself started on a new idea, just on the off chance that some aspiring writers are sitting here with me and Sia around the table sipping lattes. (BTW mine is delicious, and will someone please pass the chocolate chip cookies?)

Writing on the computer can be daunting, even to seasoned writers, so a great idea when getting started is to buy a notebook. Not just any notebook, but a special notebook. I credit my friend the amazing Luann Long with reminding me about this great motivating idea. She buys a special journal or notebook for each book she works on, and uses it to make notes and keep track of the story she’s developing.

I just bought a new notebook, and soon I will start the process! First, I’ll just think about my idea or story for a while, and then I’ll make some decisions. As a former journalist, I always fall back on the basics--Who, what, where when and why. Broken down, that translates into these questions, among others: Who are my characters? What kind of story is this? Where does the story take place? When does the story take place? And most important, Why oh why should my reader care about any of it?

I generally start by writing out an overview of the kind of book or story this is going to be, and what I want to see happen from start to finish. Nothing too detailed. Later I can write a detailed synopsis, or outline, but right now, I get to just ramble on as much as I’d like. It helps to jumpstart my excitement about the story!

Next I think about the characters. I jot down ideas in my handy dandy notebook about them. Who are they? What do they look like? What are their names? Where do they live? When are they alive? Why are they interesting? How do they know each other? When do they meet up? What do they have in common and what do they NOT have in common? What are potential conflicts between them?

I daydream about the setting—where does this story take place? Why is this the best place? I write down possible places, then go on the Internet and look at maps, pictures, place names, countries, etc. Man, has the Internet changed everything about research! I’ve never been to Scotland, but I’ve written six books set there! . (Be aware that in romance, publishers are very fixated on certain countries, and very against others! Go figure.)

If you decide to try this idea, take your notebook with you wherever you go. You never know when inspiration is going to strike!! I get ideas everywhere I go. Maybe I’ll see someone who looks just like I picture my heroine looking! Maybe I hear a voice that sends a chill down my spine. Inspiration is truly everywhere!

Once I’ve gotten some of the “bones” of my story figured out, it’s time to start writing. For aspiring writers, set aside a certain time of day, every day, even if it’s just an hour, or even just thirty minutes. Overwhelmed at the thought? Here are a few more tips:

• It isn’t necessary to start at the beginning of your book. What is the part of your special story that always comes into your mind? Do you see the guy and girl walking by the ocean? Sitting and having coffee? *Tess remembers her latte and takes another drink. * (Yum!) Whatever that scene is, start there. Write what you “see”.






• Still having trouble getting started? Start with some dialogue between two of your characters. Some people have an easier time with dialogue than description. Let your characters “talk” to each other for a while. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn about them!






• Is description your strength? Start with the setting. Describe where some part of the story takes place. The most important thing is to get started!
  
  

One big mistake beginning writers make is assuming that the first thing they put down on paper has to be perfect. I promise you, nothing I ever write the first time is perfect! I rewrite much more than I write. Give yourself the freedom to just write and learn as you go, because something really amazing happens during the writing of a first novel.

By the time the end of the book is reached, you have learned so much about what to do or not to do. Enjoy your story, and have fun with it, and it will turn out so much more than you ever believed that it could!

Writing a story or a book is like building a fence, or so Western writer Elmer Kelton once told my father. You dig the holes. You plant the fence posts. You string one wire at a time. Then you test the strength of your work. Sometimes you may have to tear down a few wires and put them up again. Maybe you’ll have to go back and dig out a rotten post. But in the end, ya’ll will have a mighty fine fence, podnur!

Gee, I suddenly morphed into a cowpoke. * smile * What I mean is, eventually the book of your dreams will start piling up, page after page, on your desk beside you, and one day you’ll write those awesome words “The End” and know you’ve done a great job!

* Tess looks down into her coffee cup and sees that her latte is gone *

Okay, it’s time for me to go and jot some things down in my own bright lime green notebook about some unruly characters that need to tell me more about who they are.

Have a great day and no matter what – Keep Reading! Keep Writing! Love is Timeless!

***
Tess Mallory is the published author of nine novels, the most recent, Highland Rebel, released March 2009 from Penguin-Putnam. Tess lives in the Texas Hill Country, where she writes full-time, teaches writing workshops, and takes care of assorted pets and children. Tess has written several plays, two musicals, and also many stories for children, published by Highlights for Children magazine. She is a singer/songwriter and wants to be a starship captain when she grows up. Visit her websites at www.sff.net/people/tessmallory and www.TessMalloryBooks.com, which both need work, or at www.myspace.com/tessmallory where you can become her MySpace friend. Check her out on facebook, and follow her on twitter!