IMO, the ending is no more or less important than the beginning or the middle. I think the reason people say the ending is the most important is because it is the last thing they read and are thus more likely to remember it than other parts of the book.
I believe READERS think of the ending as the most important. But most writers seem to put the most work into working and reworking the beginning. The opening sentences and paragraphs are what either hook the reader, or fail to do so. This often takes place in the bookstore or library, so if the reader isn't sold, neither is the book. First impressions are that important, even for books. That does not mean you can neglect the rest of the book, either. I;m often reading nore than one novel at a time, and if one of the books I'm reading turns to goo in the middle, it may well get set aside indefinitely. If the ending falls flat, chances are that author won't be my first pick for another novel. But the beginning requires the most care and grooming.
i don't know why you'd think that, cog... as an avid and constant reader of some 65 years' standing [having been a writer for only half of that time], i can unequivocably state that i've never once thought the ending was the most important part of anything i've read... in fact, i'm often sorry to see a good story/book end and wish it hadn't!
Cognito is right, as usual, about the beginning, and their importance in terms of selling a book and drawing the reader in, in the bookstore or the library. In a way, though, I think it's kind of silly to debate the question. I think it's valuable to discuss the importance of endings (or beginnings) but to compare them and say this one is "more" or "less" important, is like asking what part of your body is most important -- your brain, your heart, your bones or your blood. Without any one of them, you will die! So, too, with a book. I think it's correct to say that the ending is the most important part. The other most important parts are the beginning and the middle. They're all the most important part. If I might add, the most important parts (we're all so focussed on "beginning," "middle," "end") are the characters, the plot, the theme... the most important parts are the descriptions and the dialogue... every element is important. Am I contradicting the concept of "most important" by saying that every part and every element is #1? You bet I am, but contradictions may be true! Perhaps we need to refine the definition of "most important." The beginning is "most important"... for drawing the reader in, for making the sale in the bookstore or library... and, to the story itself, for setting the stage, setting the tone, introducing the characters and the foundations of the story. The ending is the "most important"... for leaving the reader satisfied, for bringing the story to a conclusion, for tying up the loose ends, for an exiting climax followed by a feeling of resolution. The middle is also most important, for various reasons I've lost patience to list, and the other parts are most important for reasons I omitted. Each carries its own importance, and is "most" important to that element it carries. It's like the blind men with the elephant, saying, "THIS is what makes an elephant an elephant, THIS is the most important part." Or considering a car, saying, "The engine is the most important, because without it the car wouldn't run." "No, the tires are most important, because without it, the car wouldn't run." All of which is true, because without any integral part, the thing falls apart. Of course, not every supporting character, transitional scene or subplot is as important, and not every noun, verb, and subordinate clause is important, as you can always change the air freshener in the car, and you may even be able to drive with a squeaky windshield wiper. But making every part the best you can is a good policy. Sure, the beginning sells the book just as a shiny sporty auto-body with a nice color sells a car... but if it falls apart on driving it off the dealer lot, low customer satisfaction will drive other buyers away! Don't be the G.M. of authors, the government won't bail you out! In fact, trying to think as a writer, or at least the writer I hope to be, I think the most important part is the part you're writing right now!
Damn, there goes my ace in the hole. Seriously though... of course I endeavor to make every aspect of my books as perfect as possible. They're my babies. I just wouldn't sit around pondering how to write the ideal ending at the expense of the overall story, which seems to be more or less what you're saying. /signed.
For me, the most important parts are all of it... Writers, write the whole thing well, PLEASE. A shabby ending ruins the book for me. But I suppose if I had to choose, an unimpressive opening is the ultimate disincentive. If the opening is bad, how can I even make it to the shabby ending...?
Oh, I forgot to mention. The most important part is the paper. Just think, if you print black ink on black paper, it won't matter how good your beginnings, middles or ends are.
I read a lot of people saying "Oh if the beginning sucks then I won't read it." Which I can understand. However, there are people out there who will start reading a book and for some reason they have to finish every book. My sister does it. She does it because she wants to see how it turns out. In fact she has said she was glad she did on multiple occasions. So I think if you can really pull it out in the end then that person, who sat through that garbage beginning, will tell someone else - "Don't worry, it gets better."
"It gets better" isn't very encouraging. I don't know how many times I've been told "This book is so good!" or something like that, only to end up hating it. If I don't like the beginning of a book, I'm not going to read the rest of it, even if ten people swear that it gets better. I just have no reason to believe that I'll think the same, and I have other things to do.
As I said, every part is the most important. I'll tell you why, as a reader, I'd rather a bad beginning than a bad ending. If the beginning is bad, I know right from the outset not to read it. There's no disappointment in the bad beginning. Heck, with a bad beginning, unless you have a name like "Stephen King" or "Dean Koontz" chances are, the publisher will put it in his circular file for the nice trash man to take away. That's GREAT in my view, because I don't want to read the book! If the ending is bad, there's disappointment. Now, I have to go through the work of reading some 300 - 400 pages or more, to find out the book isn't good. Suppose you're eating a piece of fruit. Wouldn't you rather see that disgusting mold right up front, so you can throw the fruit away, rather than find out after you've already eaten half the thing? So if you're going to write a bad book, make it bad right up front, so that there's no suspense in finding out how horrible it is. Don't wait until the end to make the book terrible. Or, on the other hand, you could just write a really, really good book from beginning to end. I have faith in you, that you can do that. Here's another analogy for you: You're getting onto a plane. What's the most important part? The take-off? The landing? Mid-course? Answer: If my plane crashes, I'm dead. It doesn't matter when it crashes. (LOL... applying the "it gets better" principle to my last analogy: One corpse said to the other corpse, "This pilot is terrible at takeoffs, he always tends to crash then, but he's much better later in the flight. Don't worry, it gets better.") I hope a third analogy isn't "ad nauseum"... What's the most important point in heart surgery? I think you can figure out where I'm going with that one... Now, I don't want anyone to misinterpret this: The beginning is the most important part. The other most important parts are the middle and the ending. Remember, the ending is the most important part, and the middle is the most important part. In my next post, I will tell you why the sequel is the most important part.
