You might say that writing the beginning of anything is the hardest part of the story. I don’t understand why people say this. Why is it hard to start something? If you already have an idea in your head, just write it out. It’s bound to click what sentence is the best sentence to start with. For me; it’s the ending.
I have written my ending a good 8 different ways now. I have never truly been satisfied with it, if I’m honest. When I first starting writing Fliers, I never thought of it being finished, even more, being more than just one book. The first run through of it, I ended it as a cliff hanger. It was a really stupid, cheesy ending. And from then on, I changed it 7 more times. I’ve come to the conclusion that endings have two possibilities.
- Cliffhangers: Writing a cliff hanger is quite possibly the easiest thing a writer can do. Why? Well, because, you’re never really ending your story. You’re leaving it up to the readers imagination of what may be happening after everything. Don’t get me wrong, there are fantastic books that leave you on cliffhangers, basically teasing you to buy their next book. There is nothing wrong with this. However, it does become wrong if you do this for every single book you’ve ever written. It’s an easy way out to just stop writing the book because you’ve run out of ideas. (let’s face it) The way I wanted mine to end when I first started, was to have an ending of where it could end, if I wanted it too; or it could continue. It could go either way. There are loose ends to tie up, yes. But depending on how you write it, it COULD actually end there. In retrospect, I think THIS is the laziest route. …Oh well.
- Good or Bad: This is an area I struggle with. 6 out of 8 endings I have, have ended badly. And what I mean, is there is something REALLY bad that happens. Basically, helping with the cliff hanger portion. But, bad endings can sometimes be overly dramatic and, like I said earlier, cheesy. I tried my last ending on more of a good note, and pleasant scene to picture. It was also just after a really big battle and thought it would be nice to end something on a somewhat postive note. I had to get rid of my enter last chapter too, because it just seemed boring. Good endings can also be boring too, but only if you do it poorly. Summing up anything, books, papers, or a speech can be daunting, because you want to do it exactly right and leave them with the perfect words. Those will be the last words ever, in that story. It’s challenging. But possible.
Update on what’s going on with me: I almost have my cover done! (yay!) And I think I may have a new editor, who was a beta reader of mine and finished it. She was the most helpful of all of my beta readers (for the second round) and I talk to her periodically on Facebook. She is so great and extremely helpful, she even went as far as suggesting ways to publish my book and telling me how she did hers. Even without getting a first draft of editing, I already have more faith than the last editor I picked out. I’m so excited because I know SHE’S excited and wants it to do really well! The only thing is, with this new editor, I may not have my book ready by March. But we’ll see! Oh, and one more thing. I am thinking of doing a subtitle for my book. If you can help me think of one, let me know. It’s not something I HAVE to have, but thought it would be fun. Especially if I am writing more than one in the series. I am coming up with like, nothing. So, literally, anything you can think of, let me know!! Lol ##
Laura Mae 