It is just me or is it a normal problem?

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glassquill

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Now halfway through my WIP, I've come to realise I have a problem. I wouldn't mind it so much if it was a 'once in a blue moon' thing, but it looks as though it's something that has been following me around all these years.

The problem, in a nutshell, is that I can't write endings. The reason is not because I write really bad endings (I'd be happy if I could manage even that much). Even when I was in school, I never finished any of my essays.

I might take some time to get started, but once I've got the first sentence down, I don't have a problem with the flow but when it approaches the end, I start beating around the bushes and doing anything except writing 'The End' on the essay or story.

I often have a clear idea of how I want the story to end, but it's getting there that's proving to be a real problem. I've tried outlining, but no joy there.

I'd really appreciate any comments or suggestions that could help me before I run into a Writer's Wall (again).
 

veinglory

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Hmm. I normally plot the whole story from the ending back. My wall, well, hurdle, tends to happen somewhere in the middle.
 

PeeDee

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Normally, I have an ending in mind when I start. I don't demand that I actually reach that ending, just so long as it comes out. All stories come out somewhere.

I COULD continue my story too. I don't. You can't either. Pick a nice and shiny point when enough matters seem to be resolved to make it comfortable, and then say "This is The End."

Sometimes, it's nothing more graceful than that, I'm afraid.
 

Gray

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So, disturb people or just yourself. Write the wrong end first, the one that won't let you rest. Maybe then an ending that doesn't seem too neat or solvent to be real or disturbing that it's wrong, will find it's way out. Anyway just my two cents and it's probably worth less than that.
 

JennaGlatzer

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Hi glassquill! I wonder if it's just a fear of finishing that has you knotted up. Like, that you're thinking this is IT, this is the "final ending."

My suggestion: Commit to write more than one ending. Commit to write at least 2, possibly 3 endings, so you can choose which one you like best. Make it a game for yourself. That can take the pressure off trying to tie it up perfectly on the first go. And keep reminding yourself that "the end" isn't really "the end"-- you can always go back and edit later if it turns out to be not quite the perfect ending you had envisioned.
 

PeeDee

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If all else fails, write And then he woke up, and it had all been a dream.
 

Julie Worth

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The reason you have a problem is that the story has not ended. The "clear idea" is the conceit of your conscious mind, but the story comes from your subconscious. You can't force a conclusion on a story before its time. You may be tired, bleary eyed, but the logic of the story is in control.

I have no problem with endings. Because when all of the loose threads converge, I know that is the climax, and the end immediately follows.
 
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glassquill

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Oh wow. Thanks a lot for the feedback everyone. It's a pleasant surprise to have some response in such a short time.

Veinglory, I usually glide through the middle. It might not be readable amidst the mess, but the bones are in there somewhere. Maybe I have a problem with resolution.

Jadezuki, great to hear that your ending was well-received. I'm sure you've worked hard to get it there. I must make a point to drop by and check it out.

PeeDee, good one about the 'dream' ending. Maybe I should give it a go. :tongue I shall have to try and curb my ramblings in the bottom half of my work. Right now, it's looking like flourishing kudzu.

Gray, I think the going rate for good comments these days are about a dollar per piece so it might be worth a bit more than you thought.:) And the problem is not so much the last few sentences as much as it is the chapters leading to it where the disintegration starts.

Hi, Jenna. I've never thought about it from that angle. Maybe it's the subconcious fear of ending the story. I know I'm not fixated on perfecting the ending. Not when what comes before it has enough mistakes to drain a couple of red pens per chapter. :D

Birol, it's not so much the ending itself as the chapters leading up to the ending. See the above kudzu comment. :)
 

PeeDee

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Julie Worth said:
You have publicly ignored me, and now i hate you!

There there. It's okay. They can be so mean, these writers. It's all right.
 

Birol

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glassquill said:
Birol, it's not so much the ending itself as the chapters leading up to the ending. See the above kudzu comment. :)

Right, and that's part of the middle. Perhaps you could try this when you hit this problem again -- write the ending before those problem chapters, then you can go back and sorta fill in those sections.
 

Kate Thornton

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I found - after four novels - that I couldn't get the endings right either. So I started to write short stories, where the ending is critical. Now that's what I write. No more trouble with endings as I have a *very* limited space in which to tell the story.
 

rugcat

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One of the problems with endings (and this is no help) is that they're intrinsically difficult. It’s not just about having a finish, it’s about tying everything together that came before in a way that makes sense - fresh and surprising while at the same time, satisfying and inevitable. When you’re in the middle of a book, esp for those of us who don’t outline, the possibilities are infinite. The closer you get to the end, the more constricted you become.

Fragments with great potential are easy. Finished products are hard. Think of how many books and movies start out great, then falter at the end with unsatisfactory conclusions. It’s not because the writer didn’t care; it’s because the hardest part of any creative work is completing it and coming out with an organic whole.
 

Celia Cyanide

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I once had a teacher. He was a published novelist. He said that the ending should be the last image you want your reader to have when they finish. I've always found that helpful. It sounds like common sense, but it puts in into perspective.
 

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In the "Snoopy on Writing" book I have, one famous author talks about how hard it is for him to write endings.

Essentially the two times he's written great endings it only happened after he did something so stressful it made him vomit with nausea. LOL.
 

TwentyFour

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Right now I am working on the ending to my novel and found it easier if I make seperate files to seperate things. I have two deaths, a funeral, and a break up, not to mention one is being carted off to jail...so I have some lose ends to tie. I am making them all seperate, naming each something different...going to put them in order once I get everything I need. It makes it easier now that I can put them all in place.
 

farfromfearless

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It sounds as if it's not a writing issue, nor procrastination. I'm not a psychologist (Gods forbid I psychoanalyze anyone), but it sounds as if you are either afraid of finishing for one reason or another, or you are not committed to finishing. It sounds as if you have a history of this, and that is what makes me think it is not a writing issue at all.
 

BottomlessCup

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It is right and good to have trouble with an ending.

Endings are the one part of a work that must be satisfying. The rest of it can delay satisfaction to build anticipation and interest. But the ending has to deliver the goods. All of them. Of course it's tough!

When I'm writing, I like to write myself into a corner. It's a goal. If it takes me two months to figure out what happens next, the audience surely won't see it coming.
 

Freckles

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Endings are deceivingly hard. For me, it helps if I write everything but the end, let it sit for a few days or a week, and then go back to it with a fresh set of eyes...
 
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