Endings: good, bad or sad every book should have one…
I was reading a book and it ended mid-scene. Literally it ended with the guy getting ready to be murdered pinned on the floor and stabbed to death. What the heck?
That is not an ending. Well technically I guess it is a cliff hanger ending. But I hate them. They kill me. Luckily this was an older series I had just discovered so book two was readily available. What if it wasn’t? What it was the apocalypse and I was taking a much deserved break from zombie slaying to read this book? I would get to the ending and would have no way of finding book two. That could destroy my zombie fighting spirit and then how could I save the world? See why those endings are bad?
I think they are a cop-out. Now I hesitate to say that because recently one of my favorite authors had a cliff hanger ending and I wanted to scream- but still love the author. One difference was she finished the storyline of the original book before introducing the new danger.
Now I am not saying everything needs to be tied up in a little bow at the end of the book- heck no. Jim Butcher’s last Dresden Files book, Changes, had an ending a lot of fans weren’t happy about. Without giving away spoilers I can say it was dramatic, unexpected and I may have cried a little- but I’m sure that was just dust in my eye or something. It was a kind of cliff hanger- except it too resolved the main storyline in the book. It took me a few days to deal, but I realized it was a good ending and I can’t wait for the next book.
In my novel, I resolved the main issue, but I did leave the big bad out there so the story could continue. That way if someone read book one and never had the chance to read book two, they didn’t feel cheated. But really, why would anyone not want to read book two?
So though you may want to end mid-conflict, don’t do it. Finish your story and trust it is good enough to have readers wanting to read more. I think cliff hanger endings should be left to the pros who have several books in the series and know the next book will get published.
See, even Dennis DeYoung of Styx agrees with me…
Nice to see you blogging and reading Rissa!
I totally agree – certain types of cliff hangers can be mistaken for lazy writing! Hey, no need to come up with a real ending, just let the reader use their imagination. lol
So great to see you talking about writing!
I agree, some of us don’t have that great of an imagination, so for us it is a bit of a let down. I realize that a cliff hanger has it purposes but, to end mid-sentence that is a bit to much. Thanks for voicing your feelings on it.
I agree. A series is fine, but each should be able to stand alone, for the most part. Characters grow from one book to the next, but each book needs to have it’s own plot, and close it out before starting anew.