Bringing it all to an end.

[pmmg]

Thought I would just throw this out there and see what people have to say.

I am writing the opening passages of my current Book 5, but book 5 is not like any other book in the series. It is the last book, the one that ends the tale. Nothing will follow. There will not be a book 6, and there will not be another series that spins out of it.

So many of us write multiple books, but does any one actually write the end of their series? Does anyone have experience wrapping it all up? Is ending the series that same as ending the other books? What are some things you would find dissatisfying in a series wrap up, as opposed to an ending of a book in the series? What do you most want from a last book, would you find it difficult to achieve?

I can say for myself, already I am approaching it differently. All the loose ends have to wrap up, and the opening scenes are not trying to start new loose ends, but rather, trying to pull the loose ends in. My brain is already on the areas of the story where the story might expand, and wondering at the amount of space that may take up. I am also thinking of the big confrontations. At this point, the heroes are ready, and any direct conflict with the villain adds complication. How much can they defeat the villain and have the villain still seem formidable, and how much can the villain defeat the hero and have the hero still seem ready. I think most tales would answer this with the villain having the upper-hand until suddenly he does not, but I am not sure that will fly in my book. The hero is pretty much ready for the confrontations that must come.

So...just asking the community, how would you handle the end book of your series differently than just the end of a book you are writing?

 

[Mad Swede]

(I know I've said that I didn't set out to write a series and that the stories are meant to stand alone, but so many readers think my stories form a series that I've come to accept that maybe that's what I'm writing.)

To answer your question, yes I have written the final scenes for the stories I am most known for. Yes, those scenes will wrap up the whole series and no, there won't be more stories after that. That doesn't mean I've finished writing all the stories though, there's still a few more to be told before I get to those final scenes...

So why did I write those scenes if I'm nowhere close to using them? I've said before that I always write the opening a closing scenes first, then the rest of the story. The beginning and the end form a sort of matched pair, holding the story together on an emotional level. Writing those final scenes for the series was in some ways a logical extension of the way I write stories, in that they link back to opening scenes in the very first story, wrapping up the whole story collection.

I've also said that I started writing for intensely personal reasons. My writing was/is in part about closure, about getting over a tragedy which has left a huge hole in my life. Writing those final scenes was immensely cathartic on a personal level, a way of starting to accept what had happened and taking the first few steps on in the rest of my life.

I don't intend that the end of the series will wrap up all the loose ends. I've always rather enjoyed those stories which leave just a few things open or unsaid at the end, so I'd like to leave my readers with their own imagination and ideas about how things went after those final scenes. All the big plot points in that final story will be resolved, mostly because my stories are meant to be standalone so I can't leave them open. As far as I can see at this point that last book will probably also wrap up the major overarching story arcs which have developed over the years. But there will still be a few little points which don't get an answer...

 

[pmmg]

I will add to this...I do have the great end in mind. So the big conflict is known to me, just not how every place I am at now will seamlessly roll into the whole.

But, getting diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer did make me go and write the epilogue, and some bullet points on how it ends. I believe I have a permanent editor now. If I do, I will share it with him, and carry on. But, I do think cancer got its but kicked over the last 8 weeks, so... We'll just have to see on that.

The story needs to end, and all the back stories that matter need to wrap up as well. I know I am up to it, but still, it already feels so different. A lot of characters can get their final scenes, and many have to discover the things they believe that are untrue and reckon with them. While, at the same time, of course, I have to tell the actual tale.

I dont know, it just feels different. Like all the safety belts and plot armor has been removed, and all the characters are about to find out how rough the tale can really be. It feels like I am writing a book that is completely unlike any of those I have written already. I get to let go, and let theses people plunge into dreams and desires, and the violence and comeuppance that is due to them. Some of them have no idea what is coming. Others know it will be bad, but they have been preparing for over four books. They either prevail, or the bad guys win.

To be honest, I am not sure how many active members have actually completed a series. But...I respect our opinions anyway.

 

[ThinkerX]

The way I look at it is:

Life is messy. Stories are about life and change, so they are messy as well.

My 'Empire' series continues with 'Exiles.' The characters have offspring and age. Then, the offspring have adventures of their own. Minor characters in 'Exiles' are central in other stories.

Likewise, there are secondary characters in 'Empire' who play secondary roles in 'Labyrinth' and 'Southern Heat.'

Today's adventurers are tomorrow's legends. The tale mutates and continues.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I think all character arcs need to be wrapped up and all big questions you posed need to have gotten some kind of answer.

That doesn't mean that everything needs to be neatly tied up. Giving the reader a sense that the world will continue and that the (surviving) characters will move on with their lives can keep the reader lingering in your story as they wonder what happens next. Even if that next is just They lived happily ever after.

Nothing will follow. There will not be a book 6, and there will not be another series that spins out of it.

You say that now. But after you've sold your rights to Disney, and the first series has become a succes, they'll still find a way to launch a sequel series (and a prequel and a few stand-alone in between shows...).

 

[Penpilot]

I've only written stand-alones, but I have sketched out a 3 book series that will be one of my next two projects once I've finished the final pass to my current project. I'm also in the process of revisiting the world of the very first book I wrote well over a decade ago, and writing a kind of stand-alone sequel and maybe a third book to wrap things up for those characters and that world.

When I contemplate endings to books in general and for the potential series I'm laying out, I focus on the final feelings I want to leave the reader with. And though things are at an end, I want to leave hints at what comes next. That the story does continue in some way, even if its just the characters living happily ever after and living a boring life.

I love epilogues and extended denouements. I dislike when things just end right after the climax. It's one of my pet peeves. It comes from watching movies when I was a kid in the 80's. There was a philosophy from a lot of moves from that time where credits would roll as soon as the climax was over. You leave the audience at a high point, and it left me unsatisfied and empty every time. I wanted at least a hint of what came next. And don't get me started on cancelled TV shows.

I know a lot of people give the LOTR movies flak for the extended and multiple endings, but there were so many little plot threads that needed to be wrapped up. It would have felt lacking if they didn't do it IMHO. I've spent so much time with these characters, I want and slow good-bye. I want to bask in it. I want time to accept that this is the end. I want to watch them slowly walk towards the sunset and disappear over the horizon. I don't want a quick handshake, a good-bye, and the door slamming shut.

I can tell that I really like a book when I get to the end and I'm sad. It's like when a friend moves away. I want that final good-bye to stretch out, because even thought life will go on for each of us, the relationship as it was is over. Yes, we can maybe visit, but it will never be the same.

 

[Incanus]

Mostly, I just want to congratulate you on getting this far. That is quite an accomplishment. As I'm still struggling with book 1 of my project (and will be for some time), I don't have much in the way of insights regarding where you are at.

I hope you can bring your series to a conclusion you are satisfied with. Best of luck with that. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this as you progress.

 

[pmmg]

Mostly, I just want to congratulate you on getting this far. That is quite an accomplishment. As I'm still struggling with book 1 of my project (and will be for some time), I don't have much in the way of insights regarding where you are at.

I hope you can bring your series to a conclusion you are satisfied with. Best of luck with that. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this as you progress.

Best is seeing the positive reviews come in. I am not sure I believe them all, but some of them...I can tell I picked up a fan. It means more to me than I thought it would. Given the number of 4 and 5 stars, I have a lot to live up to. Book 2 is close to being out. I think book two will be the one that sets the series on fire. If it hits as hard as book 1, and gets though kinds of reviews, the series should take off...least that's my plan.