Endings

It's going to sound a bit vague, but ... spend as much time as it takes to make the ending satisfying. Your goal is to make the reader not wish the book had ended a chapter earlier, and not wish there was one more chapter to tie everything up. 10% of the book would be around 8,000 words, so I don't think you've got a problem with it being too short.

Cyia said:

and not wish there was one more chapter to tie everything up.

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Not so sure I agree on this. Actually, if you can make them badly wanting more, that's desirable. Not that I'm saying "Haha, leave out the ending ENTIRELY, so they HAVE to read your next book!", but if you think you'll be able to convince a publisher to buy a prospective series, a mini-climax followed by a cliffhanger really ain't a bad way to go.

I think it's really novel to novel based...and is all dependent on the pacing...right?

I mean my "part three" (the book is literally divided into three parts) is about 45k of 118k, but my actual final climax scene(s) is only about 8k.

Perhaps once you finish the draft you should sit down and read the entire piece through (preferably in a sitting or two) if the pacing is off I'm sure it will jump out at you. Betas will also be good for this when you get to that point. Good luck!

It needs to be as long as it needs to be.

As Ciya said, give it as much attention and as many words as you need to make it satisfying.

Writing isn't mathematics. Don't try to work it into an equation or you'll go mad.

I also wouldn't worry about exact wordcounts. I'm easing into my own 'act three' at the moment with no definite how long it's going to be - I'll worry about that afterwards.

Write it first, then change it. Don't change it before you write it unless it makes no sense.

I generally agree with everyone else re: make it how long it needs to be. But if you're that concerned, picked up books that you think yours is similar to and see how the length of that "Third Act compares" page wise.

Salis said:

a mini-climax followed by a cliffhanger really ain't a bad way to go.

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In my personal experience, in writing at least, true cliffhanger endings are really frowned upon.

Libbie said:

It needs to be as long as it needs to be.

As Ciya said, give it as much attention and as many words as you need to make it satisfying.

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Addendum: Don't spend too much on the end. Every one of the three acts is as important as the other, and if the first two suffer from the third it'll be less effective.

myrmidon said:

Perhaps once you finish the draft you should sit down and read the entire piece through (preferably in a sitting or two) if the pacing is off I'm sure it will jump out at you. Betas will also be good for this when you get to that point. Good luck!

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This is what I'd do.

Prozyan said:

In my personal experience, in writing at least, true cliffhanger endings are really frowned upon.

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I think it depends. If you are writing with the understanding that it is part of a series, it seems A-OK to me, and even preferable, to end with some loose strings still dangling...

If you're never, ever going to write anything in the vein again, though, yeah, I'd say it's pretty cruel.

Prozyan said:

In my personal experience, in writing at least, true cliffhanger endings are really frowned upon.

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I don't know if they're frowned upon, but I know I'm sick to death of them. It seems like every single television series ends in a cliffhanger anymore as a way to generate interest for the following season. I used to like cliffhangers, but after a while it's overkill - if you're writing something really great, people are going to come back even without the big "hanging-over-a-cliff, five-different-men-could-be-the-father" ending. I personally think television is killing the cliffhanger as a storytelling device.

That said, I remain a sucker for the small loose ends. The fifth Harry Potter remains a great example of that (and I also think it was the high point of that series) - the plot was mostly settled, but the outstanding emotional issues made me impatient for Book Six. I cared about Harry as a character, and I wanted to know how he was going to go on.

Make people care about your characters, and they'll want to come back.

Salis said:

I think it depends. If you are writing with the understanding that it is part of a series, it seems A-OK to me, and even preferable, to end with some loose strings still dangling...

If you're never, ever going to write anything in the vein again, though, yeah, I'd say it's pretty cruel.

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Every book you write should be a stand alone. Finish the story.

I read six novels penned by the same author.

I bought the seventh, and it had a cliffhanger, buy my next book, come back to the theatre and see what happens to rin-tin--tin next week, ending. Never bought another one of his books. I believe he's written several more in the series.

You'll lose a reader in me if you drag me through the mud for a 100,000 words and don't wash my cloths after.

Prozyan said:

In my personal experience, in writing at least, true cliffhanger endings are really frowned upon.

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I don't know if I frown. I throw the book across the room and yell through gritted teeth, "You bastard!"

There are good and bad ways to do just about anything. I think super long endings are okay, as long as they have substance/heart, and don't just crash cymbals and blow the trumpets of self-importance the whole time... or drag on endlessly, without a sense of purpose (assuming the plot-driver was accomplished/killed/defeated at some point, and everything after that is just going on and on).

Dario D. said:

There are good and bad ways to do just about anything. I think super long endings are okay, as long as they have substance/heart, and don't just crash cymbals and blow the trumpets of self-importance the whole time... or drag on endlessly, without a sense of purpose (assuming the plot-driver was accomplished/killed/defeated at some point, and everything after that is just going on and on).

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I've read sci-fi books in particular that do this. One (I can't remember the title or author) has an ending that goes on...and on...and on...and the whole thing is just one massive explosion and firefight after another. What made it worse is that there were no major character deaths or anything else that I could actually care about - it was just a lot of bluster and noise.

I've read sci-fi books in particular that do this. One (I can't remember the title or author) has an ending that goes on...and on...and on...and the whole thing is just one massive explosion and firefight after another. What made it worse is that there were no major character deaths or anything else that I could actually care about - it was just a lot of bluster and noise.

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Transformers 2 novelization?

Sorry, couldn't resist

Exir said:

Transformers 2 novelization?

Sorry, couldn't resist

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Heh, no, although that would probably be pretty similar! I actually think it was a Neal Asher book (one of his more recent ones).

I believe that the standard is that the build up to the climax, the climax itself and the resolution wrap up should comprise approximately 1/4 of the total length of the manuscript.

To get back to the OP, the length of your climax depends on how complex it is. How many characters are involved? Are you wrapping up, tying in any sub-plots? What about the background scenery? Are you aboard an aircraft carrier? Or are you in an apartment? Two people involved, or twenty-two?
All of these factors, and more, will control the length of your climax.

The one thing I would avoid is a too-short climax, which sometimes amounts to a skipped climax. A novel that's all build-up, little or no pay-off, really pisses me off. A certain serial killer novel got the "hero" and his nemesis in the same room, over a beloved victim-to-be, then faded to black before the big fight. Afterwards the "hero" tells us more or less what happened. ACK!!! And to think the TV series adapted from this and subsequent novels in the series is SO FREAKING GOOD. Of course, the series totally changes the end of the novel, and many other details along the way. Thank you, Jesus.

I hear tell of a certain novel where the vampire war promised for scores of pages ends up in a major diplomatic anticlimax. But I haven't read that one myself.

IMHO (it seems as if I've been using IMHO a lot lately. LOL)

Climaxes can last as long as you want, as long as it fits the story and justifies its length. You can have a prolonged battle field climax, for example, that is the be all and end all ending of everything. Obviously, you can't do that justice by just a few pages or even a chapter or two. To me, the bigger the build up, the longer your climax should be.

Denouement, however (or the post-climax wrap up -- the snuggle and smoke a cigarette moment, if you will), should be relatively short. In novels, I would suggest letting it run no more than a chapter, especially if you have an epilogue.

The "climax" of my WIP (yes, I've already written it even though the rest of the book isn't done yet) is about 15,000 words long. Which is probably about 10% of the book when all is said and done, which doesn't really sound that long. What is more important, to me, is that it is the RIGHT ending and the right amount of details and attention I give to it. Everything comes down to these last few chapters -- that's what the WHOLE story is about, and I'll be darned if I don't give it enough room to breathe.


p.s. I don't mind ambivalent endings that don't necessarily tie up all loose ends as long as they are satisfying and answer all the main questions and resolve all the major conflicts of the story. But cliffhanger endings? Unless you have a sequel coming out really quickly after this one (aka Empires Strikes Back -> Return of the Jedi), I'd suggest against it. It's generally very frustrating. The analogy would be coitus interruptus... just as we're about to have the final release, the author says, "wait. you'll have to wait until next Tuesday."

People have murdered for less.

Just speaking from a reader's POV, I really like endings that don't give everything away. I think there should be enough room at the end for people to make up their minds about certain things. But that's just me.