endings

[jerrymouse]

i read an opinion somewhere that writers fall into 3 categories; those who hate beginnings, those who hate middles and those who hate endings. i must be the latter.

how do you guys deal with endings? do you have yuor ending before you write the begining or do you "discover" it along the way?

[travelgal]

Uncle JIm said the beginning is where the door hits the MC on the backside and he can't turn back, but beginnings are a headache.

So I have to know what the ending will be before starting. The setting, the mood, what the MC is doing. I have to know what the middle bits are before I start. Not too much detail; just enough so I won't get lost in the Big Middle-slump Swamp. Then I work out how he gets into the middle-bit-of-the-book situation/s. Once done, I start typing the story, although I start the story too early, and end up cutting out a chapter or two.

I don't outline, do character profiles, etc. I let the story stew in my head for a few months before typing.

What about you?

[glassquill]

Endings? Can't say that I've ever got that far as yet in all my years of writing. :tongue But I'm hoping to break that record with my current WIP.

Actually, I have a vague idea of how it should end. The beginning is already taken care of, more or less. It's the middle that's the headache for me. For me, endings don't bother me all that much. I have a destination in mind. Getting there is a different kettle of fish.

[jerrymouse]

after writing organicaly for a few attempt i am now trying the planned to death method. i have become lost in the middle too many times. now i want the ending before i start.
my curent project is at the stage of a well developed plan. i have detailed chr profiles, interviews and monologues and a scene by scene plot. all i need to do before i start writing the story is to decide on an ending.


http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/column/kress/success_endings.asp

this was interesting.

[Stijn Hommes]

I usually know the beginning and the ending up front. It's the middle that trips me up. Though, the ending often takes a stab at annoying me too.

[Garpy]

Normally the beginning and ending are nailed for me before I start. The middle is always a swamp, and somewhere in the middle of it I always end up questioning whether I'm in the right job.

The book I'm writing right now is a big ol' swamp once more. A lot of issues, a lot of characters, a concept that's a little weird and hard to pitch, and to make matters worse, I'm not sure this time round what my ending's going to be.

[glendalough]

i read an opinion somewhere that writers fall into 3 categories; those who hate beginnings, those who hate middles and those who hate endings. i must be the latter.

how do you guys deal with endings? do you have yuor ending before you write the begining or do you "discover" it along the way?
I guess I hate endings. I need to add that it's due to rewrites after a final word count. My current book ended probably several thousand short, but it was DONE in every way. So I went back and added things and just like with previous books, added to the ending.

Now my ending is not nearly as perfect as it was and I think I hate it.

[Jamesaritchie]

I like endings. If the beginning is properly written, the ending takes care of itself.

[johnzakour]

For the me the middle is the slow going....

[ccarver30]

I hate endings. :)

[Namatu]

I don't mind endings. It's the middles that threaten to drown me.

[Death Wizard]

Writing the ending is by far my favorite part of the process. It's what makes all the time and effort worthwhile to me. Also, I know in advance how it's going to end, plotwise, but not the specific wording.

[cleverpancake]

I had such a fantastic ending for this WIP, planned and beautiful, but then I had a better one which was discovered, and then I had an epiphany including the Best Ending Ever (tm). It's the next 10,000 words (getting to it) that will threaten my sanity.

But I did meet a really cool dog on the way.

[JamieFord]

My ending is my motivation to finish. I have to have it worked out in my mind because it becomes my motivation to write. Everything else is just about finding ways to trip up and torment my protagonist along the way.

[Penguin Queen]

Normally the beginning and ending are nailed for me before I start. The middle is always a swamp, and somewhere in the middle of it I always end up questioning whether I'm in the right job.

Exactly like that. Beginnings are exciting, when you get towards the end it is exciting. The middle is a swamp, and I have to push myself through it.
If I dont know what the ending is towards which I am writing, I dont think I oculd finish anything. Quite often the end is the first thing I get for a new story, and then I start plotting the story backwards.


I love reading about how everybody does it differently, though. :)

[Shady Lane]

Normally the beginning and ending are nailed for me before I start. The middle is always a swamp, and somewhere in the middle of it I always end up questioning whether I'm in the right job.


Yep.

The middle's where I get down to about 300/400 words a day, dredging them all out of my head, questioning the comparisons and character development and theme....telling myself "It's just the first draft."

[Melanie Nilles]

My ending is my motivation to finish. I have to have it worked out in my mind because it becomes my motivation to write.

You said it exactly how I feel! I know the beginning and the end. And getting to the ending that I desire is what helps me fill in the middle, but those middles can still slow me down. And the endings can change, depending on what actually happens with everything else, but I generally end up getting to what I expected. Figuring out how to get there is the hardest for me.

Melanie

[ChaosTitan]

I love the ending, because it's always a crapshoot for me. Even though I have an idea of the end when I start a new project, the middle of the book is fluid. It changes, and the original end rarely works like I thought.

Even so, I try to keep that ending in my head as I write. It's my motiviation to burn through the middle. I want to finally write that exciting ending.

[janetbellinger]

It's the middle I have problems with

[Prawn]

Oh! The squishy endless middle!

[NeuroFizz]

i read an opinion somewhere that writers fall into 3 categories; those who hate beginnings, those who hate middles and those who hate endings.
Somehow, I think there is a fourth category.

[BardSkye]

If I dont know what the ending is towards which I am writing, I dont think I oculd finish anything.

I couldn't do that. The same quirk that kept me from running laps in high school ("I've already passed the finish line!") keeps me from doing the ending first. If I've told myself how it ends there's no interest in how it began.

People are weird and wonderful creatures, aren't they?

[ClaudiaGray]

Endings are my absolute favorite. I know something about my ending before I know that I even have an idea worth writing about, and I generally know the end in some detail before I begin work. That's my carrot on the end of the stick that keeps me going.

There are things about the middle that I love, and things I have, but I genuinely believe that's the toughest section to write well.

[Fiendish Writer]

The beginning is the hardest part for me.

Sure, I might slog through the middle, cursing and weeping all the way, but usually I know what is *supposed* to happen. And the ending might shift around from outline to final draft. But except for rare exceptions, it's those first few pages that give me the biggest headaches.

[alaskamatt17]

The endings kill every piece of fiction I try to write (well, I slipped two past, but don't let them know). I don't know why, but none of my endings ever seem even logical, let alone good, when I go back to read the manuscript after shelving it for a while.

I think I'm a middleman.

[Legionsynch]

I have to leave the ending /for/ the end, otherwise I lose all interest in the middle. Plus, I find that if I let the ending surprise me, it turns out even better than I could have guessed in the beginning.

[KingRat]

I had a general idea how my most recent novel would end but nothing nailed down. When it ended, I literally stepped back and said, "Wow, I didn't know it was going to end that way."

So, whether it be a novel or a short story or a poem, I'm usually as surprised by the ending as I hope my readers will be.

[Stew21]

I like endings. If the beginning is properly written, the ending takes care of itself.
I find this is definitely true for me. The right beginning makes the ending a cinch. For me it is some of the most natural of the writing. getting there is another story.
For the me the middle is the slow going.... And this is where i bog down. Beginning, just discovering the story and characters is great for me. I typically can see how it would wrap up. Its the middle journey I am challenged by most.

[III]

I do a thorough outline of the entire story before I start writing, so I know exactly what the ending will be. But figuring out how to begin each section is murder. It takes me as long to write the first two paragraphs as it does the rest of the chapter.

[mscelina]

For me it's definitely the beginning-for a very specific reason. When I start to write, I begin at the beginning for ME. That's not necessarily the beginning for the reader. I literally have to write out all of my infodumpy backstory just in order to get to the point...ANY point where a reader would want to start.

In my new release for example,that point was (and this is no lie) 240 pages beyond my original page one.

On the plus side, however, the mushy middle isn't really mushy for me and the ending is always very decisive. Maybe because it's by that point, I'm so impressed with the half a ream of backstory molering on my shelves that I don't dare wander off of my plotline. :D

[Williebee]

I usually know the ending by the time I sit down to write. That doesn't mean I was right about the ending. It has sometimes changed on me by the time I get there. But hey, that's where the fun is.