Big Bang or Multiple...

Well, if my memory serves me (and I haven't seen 'Alien' for a looong freaking time) I'd personally call that more of a 'false ending'. As far as your question, it all depends on the needs of the story. If you have a group of characters and multiple story-threads to tie up along with the main story arc then yes, you're probably going to need more than one ending scenario in order to conclude the different threads in a believable way.

If your focus is either narrower in scope (as the short story tends to be) or involving fewer characters with fewer story-threads, then the 'bang' ending is fine.

As far as what I like...do either well enough and I'll like both just fine. The following may come off as condescending so please don't take it that way but in my opinion instead of asking what we like better, ask yourself what you prefer to read in a story. The chances are good that if you have a strong preference, then you should go with that in the stories you, yourself write because you'll be better at writing that type of ending.

Kind Regards,
BS

Hi, Michael.

Firstly, BuffStuff is right about the Alien ending.

Secondly, I think most endings -- except when done for specific effect -- work better when you have the climax, and then the aftermath scenes. The big battle is made more effective if, afterward, you walk among the dead for example.

You get the feeling, when it just ends, that it's just........ended. You're given something to feel about, and then the movie drops you. unless it's done consciously and purposefully (and, rarer still, it WORKS), the abrupt ending is just not for me.

Endings have to give you a sense of closure. A great example would be Bioshock's ending...or at least the Good One. The Good One makes you go, "Awww...so I guess it's going to be aaaaaalll right now." And then the credits roll and you can enjoy the happy fuzzy feeling.

A good ending should give you that kind of "click, okay, it's over...we can relax now." sorta thing. I suppose a good example would be...hmmm...Alien and Aliens endings. Cause, after all the horror and scares you go through, the endings finally let you relax when the credits roll.

Does that make sense?

Not the big bang

Those events in LOTR, I prefer to think of as denouncements rather than subsequent climaxes. They're announcing that these things are endings, handing to the reader/movie watcher that this is the end of these events.

Don't forget in the LOTR books, there's something that comes between the crowning of the king and Frodo going off with the elves--the scourging of the Shire. The scourging is also a denouncement, wrapping up a significant story thread, but it's also a mini story in of itself that has a beginning, middle, and end.

If that's the end of the story, like Tolkein was trying to make clear in LOTR, then by all means, have those events at the end. I personally like that much better than having the story go BANG and then fade to nothing in a hurry. Been disgusted many a time by the quick shooters.

Good luck!

I'll chime in an add that I like closure at the end. Generally, I like more closure than books usually give me. I'm frequently left wanting more. I'm big on character-driven stories, so I want to hang around afterward and see what happens to the characters, what they decide to do with their lives as a result of the big climax.

I am not a fan of the abrupt endings, but sometimes they work. It really depends on the story, but most of the time I prefer some "clean up" at the end of a story.

The LOTR was a bit too much, but I never cried about it.

Honestly, I think you're doing yourself a disservice having betas read it chap by chap. They're unedited and what happens if you come across a new direction you want to take that requires you changing some other major things earlier in the book?

Don't be impatient. Finish the whole damn thing. Then revise the whole damn thing ad nauseum. Then send out the whole damn thing to betas. They'll appreciate it more. That's when you can legitmately question your climax.

Gimme a big cymbal-clash ending, and then a quiet reflective post-script...anytime.

I like to have that white-knuckle ride towards a conclusion, but...then having something to take away and think about after I've snapped the cover shut.

I usually have several characters so I go for the layered ending although it's important to have a definitive climax.

gp101 said:

Honestly, I think you're doing yourself a disservice having betas read it chap by chap. They're unedited and what happens if you come across a new direction you want to take that requires you changing some other major things earlier in the book?

Don't be impatient. Finish the whole damn thing. Then revise the whole damn thing ad nauseum. Then send out the whole damn thing to betas. They'll appreciate it more. That's when you can legitmately question your climax.

Click to expand...

That's what I was going to say. They're reading everything out of context, so there is no possible way they can give you a real feel of how the whole piece is working. Individual bits may work, but when strung together, they may not.

gp101 said:

Honestly, I think you're doing yourself a disservice having betas read it chap by chap. They're unedited and what happens if you come across a new direction you want to take that requires you changing some other major things earlier in the book?

Don't be impatient. Finish the whole damn thing. Then revise the whole damn thing ad nauseum. Then send out the whole damn thing to betas. They'll appreciate it more. That's when you can legitmately question your climax.

Click to expand...

Carrie in PA said:

That's what I was going to say. They're reading everything out of context, so there is no possible way they can give you a real feel of how the whole piece is working. Individual bits may work, but when strung together, they may not.

Click to expand...

Mmmmm....I don't know, I disagree here. But this is a personal preference, so I'm not suggesting any changes on anyone's parts. I like the idea of sending the story chapter by chapter. But my fondness for both short stories and serial stories is already known, and I know that this comes directly out of that.

Usually, when I've written it, I don't change it. If I come up with a new idea, it meshes with what's previously written well enough (or can be made to) or else it warrents a whole new draft, as is sometime the case.

So while I disagree, it's quiet and it's just for myself.

A story always needs to end on a satisfactory high note. This doesn't necessarily have to be a happy ending, but the best endings are ones that both leave you wishing for more, but also have wrapped up all the major themes and plotlines so that if you were to go on further, it would really be to either tell a different story, or to tie all loose ends into perfect little bows.

And you should never do that, by the way. Tying up all the loose threads basically makes your book say "My character's lives begin and end within the confines of this book."

An epic journey gets a little bit of leeway since you've been through so much, and gone so far with them, that even after the Dark Lord is slain it still feels good to see what happens to the characters afterwards.

I'm not advocating that the instant Frodo dumped the ring into the volcano it should've been the end of the book, by the way. There are many ways to end on a high note. However, once the big climax happens, you really need to wrap up the friggin' book, and fast.

Some readers can tollerate 50 more pages of you wrapping up various plot lines once the danger is basically over. Most won't. The worst thing you could do is tell a kickass from beginning to end, and then have a long-ass Epilogue that bores your readers to tears. Because that'll taint the book.

Also, I too would advocate against showing your book to readers after every chapter. If you do that, then you're essentially writing your book according to their wishes and views, and nothing could be worse.

JoNightshade said:

I'll chime in an add that I like closure at the end. Generally, I like more closure than books usually give me. I'm frequently left wanting more. I'm big on character-driven stories, so I want to hang around afterward and see what happens to the characters, what they decide to do with their lives as a result of the big climax.

Click to expand...

I like a satisfying climax and then closure. For example, I really enjoy the epilogues on Carl Hiaasen's novels, where you learn something about the rest of the character's lives.

However, IMHO the endings of the two works you cited, LOTR and Alien, were not satisfying closures. In my mind, even at the time, they were rather transparent set-ups for sequels. I do not find that satisfying.

For The Lord of the Rings book, or the movie? Because of course the movies were setups for sequels...and originally, LotR was a single story, split into three books. So it's natural that they flowed together without the cleanest of breaks.

The example I WANT to use for a good ending was the ending to Harry Potter, book 7. But I know SOMEbody probably hasn't read it and I'd get lynched. Those of you that have read it...it was a good ending.

agreed about showing it chapter by chapter. that's just me, though: i'd finish it and do at least one round of revisions.

i think the story dictates the ending. personally, after a long trilogy, an epilogue is in order. some stories set-up the aftermath's results at some point (character A pining about someday reclaiming his family's castle in scotland, then after all the aliens dressed as elvis are pulverized, character B gets plane tickets to scotland in the mail). sometimes they sit around at the end, watching the sunrise from the beach.

of course the major plot elements need to be shorn up. so, too, does there need to be character resolution. returning to the gutter from when ye came after the atomic bomb goes off, and, boom, story over, that ain't doing much for me. partially the genre dictates the kind of ending, partially the story. assuming it's written for publication, you do have to meet reader expectations. and it's a bad idea to equate movie endings to book endings.

for example, if you're writing a romance, a very typical will be like this, from a nora roberts book called 'a little fate,' (the story is called 'a world apart') which just happens to be next to the computer:

He swung her into his arms, crushed his lips to hers. When the portal opened, and the light washed in, they leaped into it together.

And went home.

and their lives go on in an open-ended fashion. it sounds like your story is very LOTR-esque, indeed probably needing multiple endings. that's not quite right, either, though: what you had was multiple conflict resolutions, but it's only when the main characters are brought together is there a satisfying conclusion to their lives. when you stop to consider it, LOTR is character-driven, and as such makes the man v. man conflict resolutions really rather pedestrian when compared to where the real impact lies, the resolution of man v. self. so, the kind of conflict you have also determines the kind of ending. if it's an action story, you're more apt to end with a bang because there's less to evolve into. it's most young fantasy writers' failings, imo, to write one bloodletting after another. that's not what LOTR was about at all.

individual books should, imo, leave something for the sequel. not sure what you'd call it (though there's probably a name for it), so i'm going to call it the 'clinging leprechaun ending,' where as the MC is walking away hand in hand with the sexy reporter so they can start their lives together, leaving the ruins of the government installation smoldering behing them, a baby alien parasite is attached to his shoe. or, as jack burton is driving his rig away from chinatown, one of the creatures they failed to kill (probably wounded and slinking away into the darkness during the battle) is hanging onto the outside of the cab. in a sense, 'alien' falls into this category because you know there's yet an entire field of aliens out there to be born.

your fantasy trilogy often has a cast of characters performing separate duties, each with their own conflict resolution. usually the side characters are involved in a battle whilst the main character is fighting the Big Ugly. they win, naturally, some select members are killed off. afterwards, some of the character go their own way, but the main core regroups for a final, shared ending.

for me, the ending has to either be implied for the boom-ending to work, or the aftermath shown (no 50 page epilogues, as mentioned). it's really worth considering, too, because the ending is what people remember of your book. a great book with a bad ending is ultimately forgetable, and so goes the author. the beginning is what sells the book, the ending is what makes the reader remember your name. your genre has time-tested, proven endings that work because they satisfy the audience ~ it might all seem oh-so-cliche, but deviating from the reader expectations will make you either a hero or fool.

i don't think it's as tricky as it seems. as storytellers, we've grown up basically knowing what endings work. it's when you start thinking about it is when it becomes confusing, lol. given the fact you mentioned LOTR and your screenname is brokensword, i think it's pretty clear what you're setting out to write. if you've got a character-driven story, the ending, imo, needs to show how the experience has changed him and life around him, and the right ending depends on the scope of the story, i.e. the 'innocent farm boy' ala the heroes journey will be profoundly changed, but you don't need twenty pages of discovery for a 300 page book. conversely, after a 1200 page trilogy, two paragraphs is hardly in order, either. the 'epilogue,' for lack of a better term, needs to have the right ratio consistent with the story.

once again, don't confuse cinematic devices with fiction devices. sometimes they mesh well, sometimes they don't.

here's a perfect example of movie-endings: the best ending ever was in 'raiders of the lost ark.' you had an action movie above all else, you had that ending. indy already slept with marion, so that's out of the way, and there's no need for her to be in his arms. in 'the temple of doom,' you had a much different ending, not because it was a darker film (by accident, they say), but because a greater part of the movie revolved around a romantic angle, and since they didn't get nekkid with one another, it ends with her in his arms. 'the last crusade' set up the major conflict being between the relationship of father and son, that's resolved in the climax, and there's nothing left to do but ride into the sunset.

LOTR wasn't satisfying how? you know exactly how all the main character's lives will turn out. they even showed us how aragon's life will go. sam's life goes on as all hobbits do, etc.. what loose ends were there for a sequel? it was a perfect ending for the story. transparent? what else was left?

how else could 'alien' have ended? with ripley having been picked up?