Comments | tracy_d74: Preventing a Kick in The Rear

tracy_d74

Preventing a Kick in The Rear

Nov 01, 2010 00:00

Writers and readers talk about opening lines. No, not pick up lines. Although, my personal favorite is: “Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven?” I mean, how can you not stare in disgust…um, awe…at the person who uses that line? But I digress. My point was to make sure you’re thinking about first lines of a story. We all have favorites: “ ( Read more... )

pimpage, question, writing

Comments 21

anabelgonzalez November 1 2010, 05:41:08 UTC

For me Torment by Lauren Kate had a great rear end for a sequel. It didn´t answer all of my questions but I felt that the chapter was closed and a new story was coming were maybe I can get more answers. It had a cliffhanger but it closed.I hate when a book in a sequel don´t closes, I know that you can´t have all the answers in a book of a series but at least I expect that this book story closes maybe giving me a hint of what is coming.

tracy_d74 November 1 2010, 17:32:34 UTC

Torment's ending was okay. I think most of the book was a bit tiresome. I wanted a few more answers. I kinda felt like it was filler. Crescendo had a better ending to me. It gave answers and at the end introduced a new one to carry into the next book.

anabelgonzalez November 1 2010, 20:48:41 UTC

Well i liked the last words the ones" would he find ner? without question, etc..." I loved those lines. But you are true that the book was some times tiresome I even skipped full paragraphs.
Crescendo was a great book but the ending got me angry. I never read a book that leaved you in the middle of a scene, but it is a great cliffhanger!

tracy_d74 November 1 2010, 20:52:02 UTC

That WAS a great last line. VERY definitive. True. Good call! I also LOVED the dinner scene. Too funny.

Thread 5

peadarog November 1 2010, 08:03:35 UTC

A wedding. All endings have to have one...

tracy_d74 November 1 2010, 17:24:09 UTC

No wedding...what's the point? Unless...you're gonna have a REALLY BIG explosion.

mtlawson November 1 2010, 11:43:56 UTC

Oh, I could be so obnoxious right now, but I won't. :-D

The "let's go home" type of ending works, as does the ending from The Searchers*. Another ending that resonates with me is the end of High Noon, where Gary Cooper's character throws his Sheriff's badge in the dirt and rides off. Weddings, or the promise of one, often work; they allow for all sorts of hidden things to come forth, opening avenues for sequels.

The escape of the antagonist (or a subordinate) is often thrown in at the endings to leave open the possibility of a sequel as well. That often seems very contrived to me; I feel a better solution is to simply tie up all the remaining threads.

*At the end of the movie, John Wayne's character brings the girl back to her kin, and everyone goes inside the house. Except for Wayne, who when everyone is distracted, steps outside. The door closes behind him. For me, that's symbolic of Wayne's acknowledgment that he no longer has a place in society; his quest for revenge has separated himself from everyone.

tracy_d74 November 1 2010, 17:29:58 UTC

Nice! symbolic endings are great. I don't have to have all threads tied, but the major ones need to be wrapped up. What I liked about the book, If I Stay is it ending with the major question answered: Does the character choose to live or die, but lets the reader decide what her decision means for her and her family.

I only like weddings if it makes sense...does it fit the story. I don't think all endings have to be happy. In fact, happy endings can have a contrived feelings.

(You could have been obnoxious...I'm used to you. :o))

a_r_williams November 1 2010, 12:29:47 UTC

There was one quote I had read (can't remember who made it) that goes something like "beginnings get people to buy the novel and endings get them to buy the next one."

I think it's pretty true. Endings need to deliver because if they're disappointing it drops everything that came before. Good post.

tracy_d74 November 1 2010, 17:20:17 UTC

I TOTALLY agree! That is a GREAT quote. Thanks!!

bondo_ba November 1 2010, 13:27:20 UTC

I was trying to come up with something, but my sick brain kept putting very inappropriate comments in there, so I'll talk about the ending of Ender's Game, which I was caught out by, but which had all the elements you mention.

tracy_d74 November 1 2010, 17:14:25 UTC

:) Well, it's not like my post didn't pull for inappropriate comments. :) I have never read Ender's Game. I know. I know. A deficit I am going to address soon.