The End is Near

Happy New Year! In my first post of 2018 I'm writing about endings. Crazy, I know, but what can I do? Endings are important to a writer, and not just to nail the book. It's also thrilling to come to that last scene, in the last chapter and say, Done.

Do we Judge Books by their Endings?

After 400 pages of story, you'd think readers would consider the whole experience, but no. They walk away from the book, TV series, play or movie, thinking of how it ended. They might be left pondering, cheering, crying or disappointed, but The End is what sticks.

For an author, a good ending means readers feel satisfied, even if profoundly sad or disturbed. They talk about the book, passing on its greatness by word of mouth. A bad ending is one where readers feel cheated, let down or worse, unmoved. They don't talk about the book or lend it to a friend. They throw it at the wall, eventually picking it up and putting it in the trash.

What Makes a Good Ending?

Feelings. Emotions. Whether comedic, tragic or fantastic, the ending needs to make readers feel deeply. It can come out of left field at the time, but there has to be, on reflection, a sense of logic, of possibility. Good authors will seed the ending in ways readers won't see it coming but later they find the rationale.

There are many types of endings and some of them are tethered to a genre. Romance novels, paranormal or otherwise, have an HEA (happy ever after). Trillers require an unsettling twist (Gone Girl). Fantasy may end with everyone receives a medal (Star Wars) or with the goal reached, but with varying degrees of fallout (LOTR).

YA Lit is changing but in the past 'happy and optimistic' endings were considered the norm. Yet, the most important ingredient in a good ending is its honesty. It may come as a shock, but it needs to ring true to the story. I remember being disturbed by the ending in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I didn't like it, but it felt right. See below for changing perspectives in children's literature.

The fact that texts for children express hope, and therefore typically have happy endings, raises a question about their accuracy and honesty. - Perry Nodelman and Mavis Reimer‘s The Pleasures of Children’s Literature,

An Eclectic Group of Endings that Work for me

Some endings summerize; others shock. Some come full circle. Some hang us off a cliff until the next in the series; others leave us guessing. Here's a mix of some of my favorites.

"Then she bade the white horse take her through the door, leaving the snow to close in behind them and winter to obliterate any trace of her passing. - The Heir of Night, Helen Lowe

"Later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake." - Dracula, Bram Stoker

"The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well." - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

"He was soon borne away 
by the waves and lost in darkness and distance." - Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

"Are there any questions?" - The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

"She looked down and for an instant it seemed she held a ragged teddy, torn and chewed with one button eye missing, but when she blinked she saw it was only Teg’s fingers laced in her own." - Journey by Night, Kim Falconer

"She opened the door wide and let him into her life again." - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson

She closes her eyes again and I begin to sing softly:
'''V'la l'bon vent, v'la l'joli vent
V'la l'bon vent, ma mie m'appelle.'''
Hoping that this time it will remain a lullaby. That this time the wind will not hear. That this time - please just this once - it will leave without us." - Chocolat, Joanne Harris

"And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever." - Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer

"When they finally did dare it, at first with stolen glances then candid ones, they had to smile. They were uncommonly proud. For the first time they had done something out of Love." - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Süskind

"Hector turns and sees me and the world around us disappears. - The November Girl, Lydia Kang

How about you? I'd love to hear your most liked, or disliked, endings.

xxKim

Kim Falconer's latest release comes out in 2018 The Bone Throwers, book one in the Amassia series, writing as A K Wilder. Find her new page on Facebook - AKWilder Author and on Twitter as AKWilder.

Her latest novel is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel.

Learn more about Kim on Facebook and chat with her on Twitter. Check out her pen name, @a.k.wilder on Instagram, or visitAKWilder on FB and website.

Kim also runs GoodVibeAstrology.com where she teaches the law of attraction and astrology. 

Kim posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month, hosts Save the Day Writer's Community on FB and posts a daily astrology weather report on Facebook. 

Great Dialog

Hello everyone! I’m Stina Leicht, and welcome to my very first blog post at Supernatural Underground. I’d like to thank Helen for inviting me. It’s an honor. Hopefully, she won’t live to regret extending that invitation. :)

In case you missed Helen’s lovely introduction, I’ve a new novel, Cold Iron, published by Simon and Schuster’s Saga Press. It’s an Epic Flintlock Fantasy that uses elements from American history. Why did I decide to write about that? Because I like Epic Fantasy, and I also like military fiction. I enjoy quite a few genres that tend to be male-dominated. Sadly, most of the time when I read them I feel unwelcome at best, and at worst, it feels like I’ve immersed myself in openly hostile waters. I’ve long suspected I wasn’t the only one. Therefore, I decided to do something about it. If you’d like to read more, check out this review on Barnes and Noble’s site.

Today, I’d like to talk about one of my favorite things—great dialog.

Harvey (1950)

I’ve a confession to make. I’m hooked on old black and white films. I like to think of the ‘40s and early ‘50s as the golden age of dialog. Old comedies are my favorite, but I adore pirate movies, noir, and action films too. It started with the movie, Harvey, which I happened to catch one Saturday afternoon and continued with Arsenic and Old Lace, and Adam’s Rib. Years (and years) later, I discovered Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and the novels of Terry Pratchett. I like thoughtful stories with funny people in them. They make the deep, dark stuff so much more meaningful and human. Mind you, not every character should have a sense of humor. That gets old fast. Dialog should have texture. Some characters should be more serious. Others should speak in clipped tones. That’s more like real life, after all. Everyone has their way of speaking, and characters should too. Ultimately, dialog should say a great deal about the character, the world they’re from, the relationship they have with those with whom they’re speaking as well as the plot.

I’ll start with dialog as world-building. Everyone is familiar with the concept. We all know about accents, but geography and culture have a deeper, more subtle affect on speech. I learned that when I wrote Of Blood and Honey which is set in Northern Ireland. Unlike in American films, in reality an Irish accent isn’t the same all across the country even though its a small island. In fact, in the Irish language there are four distinct dialects. (There are others, but they aren’t officially recognized by the government.) And that’s when the Irish speak Irish. When they speak English, it’s possible for them to tell where someone is from within a few miles. It’s possible to tell a great deal about someone based on how they pronounce the letter “H.” It’s that nuanced. I’ll give you an American example. In Texas, an East Texas accent isn’t the same as a Central Texas accent. People who’ve spent all their lives in East Texas tend to, well… mumble. (And if you want a good example of East Texas dialog, read Joe R. Lansdale.) Central Texas accents are clearer and faster. People from other parts of Texas speak slower and more drawn out. It’s possible to convey these differences without writing in dialect. Listen closely. Ask any poet, language has rhythm. So do accents.

Once I get something down, I read it out loud. I ask myself if the words sound like something someone would actually say. If it doesn’t roll smoothly off the tongue, I fix it. Then I think about the environment the character came from. Are they upper class or lower class? How well educated are they? In addition, the analogies and slang they use should illustrate something about their background. The word choices can hint about about their age too. I once had a discussion with a new writer about whether a teenager would use the word “bosom.” Here’s a hint: they wouldn’t—that is, unless they’ve spent their entire lives around older southern (American) women and were home schooled.

I also like to consider who my characters are speaking to. Are they with someone they respect or love or hate? Do they need to be charming? Do they do anything or say anything different when they lie? And that leads me to how characters handle stress. In Of Blood and Honey, Liam runs his hand through his hair when he’s nervous. In Cold Iron, Nels deals with stress by whistling past the graveyard as it were. The more serious and dangerous the situation, the more he’ll cut up with his friend Viktor. When things get especially intense—particularly when he’s in a helpless position Nels’s speech becomes more formal because court speech is often laced with powerful command magic. Suvi, on the other hand, doesn’t do any of that at all. Her position in authority has never suddenly changed for the worse. She has more control over her emotions than Nels does. She’s also spent more time having to cover her intent. She’s the better liar. In the next novel in the series, one of the characters (Blackthorne) spends a great deal of time as sort of an undercover agent. Whenever he’s extremely angry or emotional he tends to slip into his actual voice. It’s like he forgets the role he’s playing for a moment.

You get the idea. Dialog is more than one character talking to another one. Dialog has a big job and a complicated one.

Opening Spells

Lost in her Thoughts - Samy Charnine

Every story begins with a spell, invoked through the opening line.

Why? According the the Harry Potter universe, an opening spell facilitates the passage between two zones, creating an accessible connection. In the case of fiction, the connection is between the reader and writer, a conduit that transports both to a “secondary world” where the story takes place.

Think of the opening spell as the magic that draws the reader in, convincing them to sets aside their ‘real’ world responsibilities and immerse in the pages. Like any good spell, there are a variety of ways to go about it, but realize this inaugural line is rarely written first. Often the first line, paragraph and chapter are edited and revised for days, weeks and months after the story is completed.

To make this opening spell powerful, you have to be willing to give it your all. It might help to identify your approach. Here are four to consider:

• The plunge
• The mood
• The compel
• The back story

Ingredients required for each will vary. I’ll break it down but note all will require a measure of time, imagination, paper and pen or word processor, and of course, solitude.

However you create the opening line, it must always whisper: Listen to me . . . Stay with me . . .

1) The Plunge

The Plunge

This opening spell is usually dynamic, dangerous and always in medias res. In other words, it starts in the middle of the action, where disaster doesn’t have long to wait.

“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.” Maggie Stiefvater, The Scorpio Races

“Sammy’s voice was low, his fingers warmly persuasive. Terri Garey, A match Made in Hell

“I didn’t realize he was a werewolf at first.” Pamela Briggs, Moon Called - Mercy Thompson

‘Where’s papa going with that axe?’ E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

“Mother, I’m in love with a robot.” Tanith Lee, The Silver Metal Lover

“Screaming, I slashed and kicked wildly.” Jocelynn Drake, Nightwalker

2) The Mood

The Lost Correspondent -
Jason deCaires Taylor.

These opening spells tend to be more world building. They rely on voice, and the promise of what is to come.

"Prince Raoden of Arelon awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been damned for all eternity.” Brandon Sanderson - Elantris

“Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister premonitions about the day.” Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke and Bone

“By the time the first AIVAS had finished its recital of the first nine years of the colonization of Pern, the sun, Rukbat, has set with an unusually fine display. Anne McCaffrey - All the Werys of Pern

“‘Ark-aawl’ —a hundred voices calling their territory from the treetops. Ly de Angeles - The Quickening

“There was a momentary feeling of pressure against her mind, then the stone door shimmered and disappeared.” Nicole Murphy - Secret Ones, Dream of Asarlai

“In the days following the holocaust, which came to be known as the Great White, there was death and madness.” Isobelle Carmody - Obernewtyn

“It is said, in Imardin, that the wind has a soul, and that it wails through the narrow city streets because it is grieved by what it finds there." Trudi Canavan - The Magicians’ Guild

3) The Compel

Falling by
Igor Grushko Vayne

This opening spell is often a cross between the Plunge and the Mood. It has elements of both.

“What I have chosen to do is shocking.” Traci Harding - AWOL

"Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree.” Terry Pratchett - Hogfather

"The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault.” Jim Butcher - Blood Rites: the Dresden Files

"The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-racked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards.” Ursula K. Le Guin - A Wizard of Earthsea

“The wind blew out of the northwest in dry, fierce gusts, sweeping across the face of the Gray Lands.” Helen Low - The Wall of Night

4) The Back Story

In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit.

Back story as an opening spell is tricky. Readers want to be in the here and now, diving into what is, not what was. But with the right tone and pace, it can work.

Back story first lines deal with the past in a way that draws the reader in. We must be compelled to ask, “And then what?”

“Eight Months ago, I was attacked in the back alley of my home town and rescued by an uber-hot guy named Chaz.” Amanda Arista - Nine Lives of an Urban Panther

“I came to London to write and found myself practicing magic instead.” Kim Wilkins - Angel of Ruin/Fallen Angel.

“I never believed in ghost.” Merrie Destefano - Fathom

“In the early 1800’s a man named Amadeo Avogadro hypothesized a number—a baker’s dozen for chemists, but in his equation hid a paradox, one that could alter reality with a single thought." Kim Falconer - Path of the Stray

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” JRR Tolkien - The Hobbit

Whether the opening begins with fear, shock, surprise, a problem, a question, a character or history, if you keep reading, it has done it’s job.

What are your favorite opening lines? The Plunge? The Mood? Back story? I’d love to hear them in the comments!

Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author writing paranormal romance, urban fantasy, YA and epic science fantasy novels.

You can find out more about Kim at the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month.

Her latest release is "Blood and Water" in Supernatural Underground: Vampires Gone Wild.