Martha Alderson, aka, The Plot Whisper says, the beginning hooks the reader but the ending makes them fans. (She's done a series of videos on plot that are worth watching if you haven't already, plus I hear she scored an agent --Jill Corcoran--and has a book coming out.)
I totally agree. I can't tell you how many books I've read this year where I finished the book with a WTH?
This just happened a few days ago.
If you follow my blog you might remember I won an Amazon card and I asked for help in what book to buy. I listed all the books that were recommended and went to Amazon to read the first page of all the books. Only one book hooked me on page one: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin.
Other books may have turned out to be better, but none of them hooked me on the first page.
And I really enjoyed The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. It was different. I was never sure what was going on, lots of twists and turns and mystery. Plus sizzling hot guy. I was ready to declare love.
Until the end. The author lost my fanship in the last chapter. So sad. Not only was it kind of confusing, I found it hard to track what was going on, but the chapter ended with a sort of cliff hanger with the words, End of Volume One. Agh.
I understand the series craze. For publishers of all sorts it spells money. But just because a book is a series doesn't mean the ending has to suck.
One example of an anticipated series with a complete first book is Veronica Roth's Divergent. It the first book in a series with a SATISFYING ENDING. Book one wraps up nicely, with room for the continuation of the story.
Is it just me? Or are we suffering from a shortage of satisfying endings?
About Me
- Elle Strauss
- I write Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction. I'm a married mom of four, and live in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, famous for beaches and vineyards. I'm fond of Lindt's sea salt dark chocolate and hiking in good weather. My Young Adult rom/com time-travel CLOCKWISE and contemporary/otherworldly Middle Grade IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE are now available on Amazon.
Oh, I completely agree. And in one way, I can understand. Endings are HARD to do satisfactorily. On the other hand, that's not really a good excuse - if it's hard to write an ending, you just need to work more at it!
ReplyDeleteAnd books in series that end as cliffhangers - I am so utterly frustrated with those. The only way a series is going to work is if each book in it is complete in itself. I wish publishers would learn that!
I wish publishers would learn that too :)
DeleteThe Hex Hall series has great endings but still lead to the next book. So doesn't Addison Moore. The story finishes and then she introduces the next big surprise.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a couple books like the one you describe where sadly I won't be reading book 2. The endings are soooo important. And yet, I know how hard they are to do too!
I liked how the first Hex Hall book ended, but interestingly, I haven't been dying to read the next books. Though I didn't like how Myra Dyer ended, because it was so well written up to that point, I will probably give the second book a go, just to see what she does with it.
DeleteEndings can be tricky especially when it is a series. Cornelia Funke's Reckless did a good job on the ending. The story wrapped up nicely but with the last line was ready to set off on a new adventure. It left the reader satisfied and that is what I think you need to do.
ReplyDeleteVera
I agree that endings can be tricky. All the reason why authors need to spend as much time on them as on the hooky first chapter.
DeleteGreat discussion topic! I certainly don't think only series books can be plagued with weak endings. I can't tell you how many times I've felt an ending was rushed and full of poorly thought-through contrivances that lack emotional payoff of what went before. And subplots are abruptly dropped with no resolution. Has all the industry emphasis on the first chapter come at the cost of growing weakness at satisfying endings? It's something I wonder.
ReplyDeleteI think it's true. There's so much emphasis on the beginning because it's what hooks the agent and editor to read the whole ms. But the ending is just as important, and actually maybe more important. The beginning and the end need to be equally good.
DeleteHah! That's why I always read the ending of a book first. If I don't like it, I won't bother with the rest.
ReplyDeletelol. When you do that, you've ruined the ending either way....
DeleteI agree that you can have closure and an ending that's satisfying even while leaving a cliffhanger that makes me want to read the next book. Some of my favorite books have been series that have done this.
ReplyDeleteWhich is probably why they are your favorite :)
DeleteIf there is too much of a cliffhanger, it makes me angry. I feel like my time has been wasted and I often won't continue with the next book. But if the ending wraps up some threads, but leaves me wanting more of the characters, then I will read.
DeletePersonally, I feel more bummed when I don't realize I just read pass the climax. I personally think that the climax should be easily identifiable, to indicate "this is the place where our protagonist confronts the main antagonist and resolve the main conflict", or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI prefer series where its the same characters, but the author is telling a different story. Although there is some minor background re-hashing, each book can basically stand on its own. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. Instead of one long stretched out story, separate stories with the same characters, and some threads that tie them together.
DeleteHmmm I wrote a post about this same thing a while back (funnily enough, it has the most views out of all my posts). Cliffhanger endings just really grind my gears. I really have to be in love with the writer and their work (Marlina Marchetta - Froi of the Exiles) for me to fogive and forget and still want to read the next one. If I don't have that connection then I'm probably going to be more likely to throw the book across the room and write a grumpy blog post about cliffhanger endings (Cassandra Clare - City of Fallen Angels).
ReplyDeleteCliff hanger endings should be outlawed :)
DeleteI think there's a big problem with all these series books out there. Not only do you usually have to read the others in the series, but the cliffhanger ending just leaves the reader frustrated, I feel. I'd like to see more single titles or stand-alone's in a series.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Somewhere along the line publishers have gotten misguided about what readers want, especially when it comes to cliffhangers.
DeleteHi Elle !
ReplyDeleteThere are no more good endings left...
... all the good ones are written already... :)
Oh, I hope that's not true! :)
Deleteahh, this is a great rule of thumb. The MS I just sent back to agent Kate has an ending I love, although as I wrote it, I worried it might feel too tidy. The MS she couldn't sell did not have a tidy ending, and I thought it was perfect. Unfortunately half the editors disagreed--LOL! Now I'm all a'wonder. :D <3
ReplyDeleteAnd this is where I think some editors are getting it wrong--they think a cliff hanger can substitute for a satisfying ending. The real skill is accomplishing both at the same time.
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