How Many Answers Do You Need in Book 1?

[AliceBaine]

Hey everyone,

I'm working with an editor on my first book right now. A critique I received was that she didn't like where my book ended. To be brief, the story mostly revolves around the MC searching for a man he knows by Sog (I'm calling him Sog for clarity's sake). All he has is a name to go off of. Nobody knows anything about him.

She wants me to get to a point where the reader knows who Sog is and what his motivations are. My problem with this is those answers are essentially the crux of the series' entire finale. If you've seen the show, doing what she wants would be the equivalent of cramming season 2, 3, & 4 of Attack on Titan into the ending of season 1. The suspense of my story is finding out who this Sog is and how things were never as they seemed.

My book is about 215,000 words. I'm estimating it'll be about 100,000 more before we get to meet Sog. I'm confident enough the story won't suffer from keeping Sog hidden, so I don't want to rush to his portion of the story. I'm leaning more towards cutting my first book in half (100k-130k, roughly) and finding a good ending there. So my big question is, to any writers who've had to chop their book in half (or close to that), how do you find a good ending in what was once the middle of the book?


PS. I forgot to change the title of this thread. It's not exactly the real question I'm asking, so apologies for that.

 

[Queshire]

Sounds like you need a more immediate plot to focus on. To use a different anime as an example finding the One Piece is the series goal of One Piece, but that hangs out in the background while each island has its own plot that takes the forefront and can be wrapped up neatly.

 

[ThinkerX]

Give Sog a flunky - a credible flunky with motives of his own who could be mistaken for Sog.

Also, have Sog wander into the picture a few times under an alias.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Here's a question that's always an important one to ask an editor and it can save many a headache.

Does your editor read and enjoy your genre?

 

[pmmg]

Well....generally, we are hiring an editor because they have a professional opinion, and we are trusting them to know something we dont. So if an editor I paid for is saying something like that, as the author, I am going to think something is wrong.

The editor should know the stroy is bigger than the first book and if the goal is to keep it a secret, has this been communicated to them, and what did they say about it?

From the outside looking in, I am not sure I can know what your story needs. But...if applying the editors comments so dramatically changes the vision for the story, I think I would not be able to go with that, and I would look for what else could be done. I would go with the assumption that something is off. Maybe it can be adjusted in another way.

 

[Mad Swede]

You haven't really explained enough about your plot, so these next bits are something of a guess on my part.

I think your editor wants more in the way of a reason for the search. Why is the MC searching, what is it about Sog that makes him so vital? Those reasons don't need to be correct, in fact from what you've written they shouldn't be as that would be why Sog's identity and motivations come as the big reveal at the end. If you want an example of this, try reading Mike Resnick's book Santiago.

As for dividing a story into volumes, I don't do that. My books, whilst they do form a sort of series, can all be read as standalone books. If you're going to divide the story up then you need to let each volume end with some of the various sub-plots cleared up. That means you need sub-plots which contribute to the overall story arc but which in themselves form complete story arcs within each volume. The Lord of the Rings has this sort of structure, but an even clearer example can be found in David Eddings Belgariad. From what you wrote some of those sub-plots could be various reveals about what other characters think Sog is and/or what they think Sog is really up to. Those characters might be using these as the reasons for their own actions, and dealing with these various actions and their consequences could form sub-plots and linked story arcs which all contribute to the overall story arc.

 

[Finchbearer]

I agree with Queshire in that there probably needs to be a more immediate plot that you can give a satisfying conclusion to at the end of the first book, because you still want this mysterious character to be the slow burn then you need something else for the reader to bite onto. This is how series hook the reader in, they are an investment in time and emotions and energy, and we don’t want to be sold short waiting for just one thing to happen or not happen.

In Deathnote, it took ages to reveal the character L, but again, it’s how it’s done, so like madswede said about us both knowing the plot in its entirety, it’s difficult to know what to suggest otherwise.

Your editor wouldn’t have given that critique without good reason.

 

[AliceBaine]

Thanks for all the advice, in spite of the sparse details of my story I've given.

My editor has worked on lots of fantasy, so I don't think that should be an issue.

I guess my problem is deciding what's the most engaging point to end the story. I do think Queshire and Finchbearer make good points about closing a sub plot.

Out of personal preference, if you're reading book 1 of a series, do you prefer it ending on a cliffhanger, or at a sort of crossroads for the character (i.e., school ending for the summer, a party splitting into two, etc).

If you have any thoughts on what made you want to keep reading a series, I'd love to know.

Also, thanks for the book suggestions, Mad Swede. I'll check those out.

 

[BearBear]

Only one question: Cover art is or ?

And I thought my books were long...

 

[pmmg]

So my big question is, to any writers who've had to chop their book in half (or close to that), how do you find a good ending in what was once the middle of the book?

I see that I did not actually answer the original question. I would say, I am aware of two authors where this happened, they took a longer book and tried to split it into two. IMO, neither one of them did it well. One of these was LOTR. The Fellowship ends in an odd place. It does not really feel like a proper ending to me. The other, no one would know.

If I was tasked with this, I would want my first book to be a complete story in itself, even if it was part of a larger tale. So the end, I would want to feel like it was the end of the first book, even if there was more to follow. That would mean the book had its own conflict, that was somehow resolved.

I cannot speak to your book. I've not read it.

Out of personal preference, if you're reading book 1 of a series, do you prefer it ending on a cliffhanger, or at a sort of crossroads for the character (i.e., school ending for the summer, a party splitting into two, etc).

I am indifferent. I want the book to feel like it reached a natural stopping place, and completed something that was suitable for the story it is.

If I use your examples. suppose the character wanted to pursue SOG, but was stuck in school. Book one can be about the many ways they try to pursue, but the difficulty of school keeps getting in the way. But then school ends....the problem of school is resolved, SOG remains for the next book.

If you have any thoughts on what made you want to keep reading a series, I'd love to know.

Mostly is it strong interest in the characters. If I like reading about them, I will likely continue.

 

[The Dark One]

I thought the end of Fellowship of the Ring was pretty good - although it seemed more of a convenient pause than an "ending".

Some decent advice already. If it were my book I'd probably be dealing with Sog as some sort of impossible thing (occasionally mentioned) that suddenly becomes unexpectedly real in the final Act - like the appearance of the king at the end of Robin Hood. Meanwhile, other books are ended at more immediate junctures.

 

[Rexenm]

Why is the MC searching for Sog? It seems a large book, so assuming there would be lots of context, maybe Sog has so much Sog has done, that one would have to search for Sog. Or is there clues about Sog, that would relate to Sog?

 

[Prince of Spires]

It sounds a bit like The Dark Tower, by Stephen King. Though I've only read the first one. But that raises more questions than it answers. The UK edition of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson was actually split in half (which made for a bit an ending to the first part).

The main thing I think is that you need to have a clear arc or plot for each novel you have. For instance, in the Wheel of Time series, the series is about the Dark God escaping and the fight that will follow his escape. Which is sort of like your search for Sog. However, each novel in the series has a clear beginning, middle and end. They each tell a complete story.

This means that you can leave stuff open, however, you need to wrap things up as well. If you just end in the middle of a tale, then you will leave readers confused and dissatisfied. Remember, by its very nature, a novel contains a sort of count down towards the end. As you flip the pages as a reader, you will know that you're getting closer to the end, since there is less and less book left. So you'll be expecting some kind of climax as you get closer. If a story then just end, then you'll feel just confused and wondering where the rest of the book is.

Now, you can have cliffhangers. The Fellowship of the Ring sort of has this. As in, it shows the tale of the Fellowship splitting up, which is a complete arc, but mainly you get a cliffhanger as Frodo starts his journey towards Mordor with only Sam to help him.

All this to say that you can split your novel. However, don't expect to simply be able to chop it in half and be done with it. In all likelyhood, you'll need to move some chapters around, change some character and story arcs, and rewrite some scenes to make it work.

 

[Finchbearer]

For me, a good series usually leaves unanswered questions and a brewing understory(?), usually there are only hints of the larger plot to tantalise.

But, I also enjoy a ‘conclusion’ or a tying up of loose ends to finish the book with, usually preceded by a climax scene.

 

[JBCrowson]

Thanks for all the advice, in spite of the sparse details of my story I've given.

My editor has worked on lots of fantasy, so I don't think that should be an issue.

I guess my problem is deciding what's the most engaging point to end the story. I do think Queshire and Finchbearer make good points about closing a sub plot.

Out of personal preference, if you're reading book 1 of a series, do you prefer it ending on a cliffhanger, or at a sort of crossroads for the character (i.e., school ending for the summer, a party splitting into two, etc).

If you have any thoughts on what made you want to keep reading a series, I'd love to know.

Also, thanks for the book suggestions, Mad Swede. I'll check those out.

My first book ends with the MC on a real low - he split with his girlfriend, his home was destroyed, his father died because his mother chose to save her lover rather than MC's dad, so MC has a major fall out with his mother as well. This provides the motivation for him to go off to foreign lands for the rest of the series - he has no motivation to stay, and his internal development arc is essentially learning to forgive his mother and then make peace with her. So more of a cross roads.