I've been working on a fantasy novel; I'm currently working out the ins and outs of the plot and i've started world building and character building in the meantime. However I'm really struggling with working out the ending. I want to know what exactly I'm working towards so i can think of all the fun challenges and obstacles my hero's will have from beginning to end. I would be extremely appreciative of anyone willing to offer some brainstorming ideas for the ending. That having said, putting this here I'm really wearing my heart of my sleeve. I am way out of my comfort zone, sharing my own vision in public like this. So please be honest but gentle. To give you an idea of the story. Genre; high fantasy Main type of plot: Quest; hero saves the world (or possibly continent in this case). Main characters: hero, heroine, female antagonist Sub plots: Finding a long lost sister. Revenge. Antagonist & hero grow from friends into enemies as the hero starts making better life choices, and the antagonists character arc go's the opposite way. Magic system: water based; powered by the Heart of the continent. allows users to heal, travel across water faster, move water etc. Main plot in short so far: the story plays on continent A. The life force of the continent is powered by it's Heart: a magical object deep in the earth. In the past, magic wielders and non-magic wielders worked together in peace. Several generations ago though, a group of people started to use the Heart's magic to gain advantage over other people. It turned into chaos. A group of powerful magic-wielders then decided that the people on the continent couldn't be trusted with the strength of the hearts magical power and took it away i.e lifted the heart, with a big piece of land around it, straight out of the earth and it now 'floats' high up above the continent. Over time, the negative effects of the Heart being so far away start to show on the continent in disease and natural disasters. Or possible the heart itself starts to function less properly? My heroine discovers the cause of the disasters and the purpose of her and my hero is to solve the problem. And that's where i get stuck. I've got loads of ideas for the parts in the middle, how to make it more difficult for my hero's etc. But the ending leaves me feeling super stuck. Do they find a way to get the Heart back to the ground? Do they copy the Heart so there is another one on the ground? Do they take a piece of it just for on the ground? Do they power it up so it's stronger and now works on the ground as well? Do they cure it? And to do this, what do they need? The heroine is a magic user. So is the antagonist. Is there some kind of magical object they need? why?
Let me make you a suggestion - start writing. Let the plot shape itself with the elements that you've already got. The plot will develop naturally as you write it. You don't need everything in place before you start writing.
I've considered that as well but it worries me. Ive started 2 stories previously in the same way; basically adventure writing. And always got incredibly stuck and found so many crazy holes in my story. I started this one out wanting to do it different; more planning everything and putting the skeleton in place before adding details; the way brandon sanderson does it and explains in his lectures. Im really worried that if i just start writing again, ill end up with a crappy non satisfying ending; or that there wont be enough promist and buildup to the ending throughout the book. I'd just love some structure and direction. How do you do it, yourself? How do you start?
I don't write novels, but for my longer short stories, I start off with at least an idea of how the story ends - sometimes in very specific terms, sometimes only a general idea. I've started stories with the idea of getting to a preconceived one-sentence ending, and worked out how to get there as I write. Sometimes, and I've done this with attempted novels as well, I start by writing the end. Keep in mind - you can rewrite anything at any stage. If you don't like an ending, change it.
@Naomasa is right. Once you start writing the story may well change to some degree. May I commend your approach @Freshpage, outlining is an advanced technique. Planning is important, keep doing this. This is something that works for me: Try writing 500 words per chapter. It is not a bad way of expanding the ideas of your outline. Let them germinate. Probably best to use this technique in blocks - first six chapters - then six to twelve etc.
Thank you. Thats very kind The blocks technique that you mention; would i start at the beginning of the book? Or at the end and work backwords would you say? The 500 words is at first basically a description of what happens in that chapter then? Thanks for taking the time to respond. Very helpful!
What's the theme of your novel? And how does the ending resolve the main conflict as well as communicate, expand, or resolve the theme? In what way does the ending show us your hero has learnt his lesson and grown as a character? I will always use Lawrence Block's novel as an example. It's a crime novel where the main plot was obviously about a crime, but the running theme was the detective's alcoholism. The final line of the entire book was the MC saying, in a self-help group, "My name is Matthew Scudder and I'm an alcoholic." I burst into tears. I read that line and could not stop crying. And I hadn't even realise I'd been waiting for this moment - this moment of the character finally seeking help and seeking change. A satisfying ending doesn't have to end in a bang. It doesn't have to be epic. Or think Lion King - the ending is really the moment when Simba stepped up on Pride Rock and roared, laying claim once and for all on the throne that belonged to him all along. What was satisfying wasn't Scar's death, and the truth is that fight between Simba and Scar wasn't even very good. What made it satisfying was seeing Simba complete his journey - resolving his guilt, taking responsibility, stepping into his rightful role as king that signified him overcoming all that had gone on before. There's nothing particularly epic about him roaring. Or Mulan. The satisfying moment wasn't when the Hun was killed by a rocket. The moment was when all of China bowed before Mulan, plainly as a woman. The final closing wasn't Zhang coming to express his feelings - the final closing the audience had been waiting for was the moment when her father discarded all the gifts from the emperor and embraced Mulan, saying how proud of her he was that she was his daughter. The gender specificity here is immensely important - that not only was he proud of her, but he was proud of the fact that she was female. Precisely because the theme had always been about what a woman was and wasn't allowed to do, what a woman was and was not supposed to be, and the shame she felt in not fitting in to what was expected of her as a woman. That was the theme. The war was just the facilitator of the theme. So, what's your theme? And how does the ending reflect and resolve it? What's your hero's inner journey, his character arc?
It might come down to why the spell was placed on the heart If it needs to be reversed. Placed In the sky because people are not worthy. you could have a 'sword in the stone' moment of the continent proving it's worth in some way with your MC's Yet If it has been up in the sky for generations, I would worry about any towns living under it. Still sounds exciting, and just starting is the best advice asides from working out the themes. Endings need to bring an end to the arch, be it internal or external. Hope this helps
Hello again, Just to add a little more meat to the bone so to speak. You can use the 500 words (or a greater or lesser number if you wish) for character development. Most importantly it can work independently of backstory. For example. I have non-identical twin sisters in my WIP. The one we shall call R is charming, witty, intelligent. Good with people etc. She was and yet may still be the main protagonist. Her twin was initially set up as the wallflower. Nothing flash a real blank canvas. Her main purpose was to emphasise how amazing R was. Whilst R is everything I intentionally designed, her twin has turned out to be a real surprise to me and I am the author. This is what happens when you let the characters develop. Put them on a page, in a scene, it might be hanging by their fingertips on the edge of a cliff or chatting to an old woman at a bus stop. How do they cope? Who comes out on top. How do they work together? Who is best equipped and deserving of your final scene? Does the old woman turn out to be a kick-ass mentor! These scenes needn't be in your final story. R was supposed to be the one that beats the dragon whilst the wallflower twin stood aside and looked after the handbags. It turns out that wallflower is far better equipped to deal with the dragon and R is suited to a supporting role. In fact, R is a little afraid of her own shadow and if she were to slay the dragon it would only be to save her twin. This isn't what happens in my story by the way but I know all my characters and how they will interact and respond to circumstances. I don't use the 500 words to write my actual story, it is more to find out how I can get closer to the story or often a chapter. Be that by character development, plot development etc. It is just a way of expanding on your outline and it gives you more purchase when tackling the first draft. Hope I didn't rattle on too long or bore you! This is just what works for me.
Oh, right i think i understand a little bit better. I initially thought that the 500 words a more a sort of general idea for what you want with parts of the chapter. But from what you've written now, i understand that you actually used the +500 words to actually describe a scene to see how your characters respond and learn from, am i correct?
Oh man, that totally helped me out of my blues a little bit. The theme; in the process of trying to build my world and trying to get a satisfying ending to my plot i had totally lost track of the theme of the book and the character arc of my actual main character. Thank you so much! The examples you offer are super clarifying; it's so true that the big moments of those stories aren't actually the big moments of the plot, but more of the character arc or the theme. I hadn't realised that but i see it now. Thank you! I can definitely work with this.
You know what I totally get this. I had mine set to have a tragic event mid bnovel that would really set the pace off, I presumed I ould organically get to the end but I am stuck. So you are definitely not along. I would always say to write in order though. I tried the otheer way, writing the dramatioc moments first and working around them. BIG BIG FAIL!!!! Mind you that is me, some other it might work for
Thanks! Yes that is exactly what im worried about! By now ive managed to write a rough outline for my prologue and first teo chapters which helps me along. And thanks to the feedback feom various posts here ive also managed to discover that my story wont be told in just 1 book. The big dramatic plot ending wont come until in a next book. And te first books story ive now focused more on the theme of the story and the main characters arc. So im happy. Still struggling, but definitely progressing a little now. All the feedback here has been great
