Okay, so I've got, like, three or four different endings to my current WIP. The problem is, I don't know which one to use. Yeah, I already know that I'm supposed to write out each ending and see which one I like best, but a couple of the endings require a lot of setup that'll change details throughout the rest of the story; so I'm a bit apprehensive to go through all of that. So, I thought that I would briefly describe each ending and see what you guys think. Ending 1: Team Effort In this one, the team of MCs face down the Big Bad and his army of clones. They destroy the army and find out that, despite being able to create incredibly powerful clones (depending on how much time he spends on them), the Big Bad is actually pretty weak on his own. They then mock him by telling him how little they actually fear him, and kill him. This is basically the "The Heroes are so awesomely powerful when they fight together" ending. Ending 2: Shounen Knockoff In this one, the team, minus the Big One/Heart, destroy the Big Bad's army, but they're too tired to do anything. But no fear, because this was a part of the plan! With the Big Bad sufficiently weakened, the Big One/Heart ambushes him, but he teleports them both away (In this one, the Big Bad has the ability to copy other peoples abilities, instead of just making clones). The Big One/Heart then uses the fact that she's basically a shounen protagonist (That wasn't actually intentional, it just sort of happened as I was writing the character) to beat the Big Bad single-handed. This one is just like the sub-title, it's a shounen anime finale (Again, also unintentional), where the MC beats the Big Bad (He's a lot stronger in this one than in the first one). Ending 3: A Bit Too Much Shounen This one is just like the second, but the Big Guy/Heart's powers (Which hurt her as she gets stronger) go out of control after the fight is over, as she dies. It makes sense for the character; she would do anything to kill the Big Bad, who killed her best friend/brother figure. I'm a bit iffy on this one, it feels like it's just a bit too much sad, y'know? Like I'm trying too hard to be edgy with the whole: "Oh, the main character beat the Big Bad, but she doesn't get to enjoy her victory. No! She gets to die a painful death!" Ending 4: The Not-Ending In this ending, the Big Bad is a bit different, he's actually insane. The insanity is caused by the original Big Bad's ability, which is basically a curse of insanity. Whoever kills the current Big Bad adopts this curse, goes insane, and becomes the new big bad. The Big One/Heart would adopt this curse, the Lancer and the Smart One would die and have to be replaced, and the Leader would carry the responsibility of killing the Big Guy/Heart, because the Leader has the tools necessary to end the curse forever. Again, I'm a bit iffy on this one. I love the idea of making the main bad guy insane, and then having that transfer over to another main character so that they go insane, but I think it might just be a bit forced, like: "Oh, the main character beat the Big Bad, but no one gets to enjoy the victory. The main character will now go insane and become the new Big Bad and the Leader has to kill her!" Y'know? This ending would actually lead into at least two more books where the Big One/Heart is the main villain. So, yeah. I've got four different endings, and I'm not sure which one to pick. Can you guys throw in your opinions and help me out here?
Ending 1 sounds standard and predictable. Nothing wrong with that. Could be perfectly satisfying. Ending 2 doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever. Why on earth are you calling your MC "Big One/Heart"? Use names, or just say "MC/Protag". Ending 3 sounds quite anime-esque. Endings 2 and 3 might both suffer in narrative - what works on screen in a very specific genre (anime) may not translate into written English narrative. Ending 4 intrigues me the most. I like the whole carrying over of the curse. If you foreshadow this properly, it won't come across as if you just pulled some trick out of your sleeve.
I'm actually not sure why I didn't just use names. Oh, and "Big One" and "Heart" are both roles in the "Five Man Band", and that character fills both of those roles.
I didn't read anything, I'm not going to make that decision for you. I just came say go with the ending that feels the most natural for you.
I would like to see the MC wounded and reduced in strength, which would present itself as 'no hope' when he goes after the antag.
@Thundair Yeah, I can see where you're coming from, but I'm afraid it just doesn't work with any of these endings. In the first, it's a thematic clash. The ending isn't supposed to be stressful at all, as the actual climactic confrontation has already happened. I mean, I suppose it could work, but then there're just the other main characters to pick up the slack, so it wouldn't really add in any tension. In the other three, it just can't work, as the only person to have an injury that would have any significance would be the Big One/Heart, as she's the one who directly fights the Big Bad in these endings. You see, even at full power, she actually isn't strong enough to defeat the Big Bad. She has to win by betraying his expectations and pulling a move that emulates something the Lancer would do; this throws him off and she's able to win. But, if she has any sort of injury that would make her weaker, she simply cannot beat the Big Bad, he's just too strong. It also doesn't make sense with regards to the characters. They all listen to the Leader's decisions, (almost) no questions asked (This is important because no one would go running off to fight the Big Bad and force the rest of the MCs into the battle when they're unprepared). But the Leader would never go into that fight if everyone weren't in peak fighting condition, so it wouldn't really work. So, thanks for the input, but I'm afraid it would not work in this story. @John-Wayne For me, these all feel completely natural. Any one of these would work within the story and that's the problem. This post was made to get arguments for or against certain types of endings; specifically, the pros and cons that would naturally come with them.
I recommend reading these two links about endings and Lisa Cron's stuff about story: How to Write Successful Endings How to Structure a Killer Novel Ending Lisa Cron Wired for Story From your post, you are talking about mechanics and not really looking at the story you are writing. There's a war, A kills B, or not, survives or not, there's no story there, or at least the story isn't evident from your question.
@GingerCoffee Thanks, those were actually pretty helpful in a couple of ways. But, yeah, I guess including the story would help, huh? I'll edit it into the original post. Edit: Okay, I was actually going include the story for context, but it would be way too long then. I guess, yeah, I'm kind of making it hard for people to respond, but I feel like the links you already posted are fairly adequate for what I need right now, thank you.
How a story ends is not often amenable to a popularity poll. You need to know what your story is. Are you just writing some formulaic stuff? Or are you invested in a story you want to tell? Not everyone agrees, some people market formulaic stories very successfully. You can't argue with success. But I don't see how any memorable literature results from a formulaic plan. What kind of writer do you want to be? Nothing wrong with either choice. I mean that.
First off, the poll was just curiosity. And second. I do know where my story is, I just wanted to hear people weigh in on the pros and cons of certain endings, a point which I clarified in this response to John-Wayne. The problem isn't that I don't know my story, it's that each of these endings work, but I'm having trouble pinning down which one I should use. So I turned to here. Of course not everyone's going to agree, I was planning on listening to a bunch of people's opinions and arguments, and then deciding. I'm invested in the story, that's why I came here for advice on how to properly end it, which you helped provide, so thanks again for that.
Sorry, did that come across as rude? I'm really not trying to be, I didn't take it personal, but I guess that came across as negative. I was just trying to answer all of your points in a quick manner. I'm grateful for everyone's help.
