Killing My Ending

[Philip Overby]

I went back and forth a while back about making my current WIP into a series. Maybe a duology or trilogy. However, as I'm nearing the end of my first edit, I'm heavily leaning towards cutting my whole ending and rewriting it to make it a standalone. I think this is possible, but I may have to go back to earlier chapters and either cut more characters (I've already cut half a dozen including the chapters they were in) or tie up those loose ends. I left a lot of loose ends in my story because I thought I was going to do a sequel. I figured, "Well, I can resolve this in the next one." However, I'm not really interested in doing a sequel now as I think I can successfully tell the story I want to tell in one book.

I guess the solution could be to leave my current ending and save a different file to write the new ending and see which I like better.

Hmm...I guess I don't really have a question then.

Wait, maybe this: have you rewritten your stories with multiple endings to see which one works the best for you?

If you can glean anything else from my rambling above, I'm open to suggestions or thoughts about changing paths from a potential series to a standalone.

 

[Graylorne]

I don't write multiple endings, because to me these don't define the length of the book. My endings are about the only thing more or less fixed.

My present WIP will be either a standalone or a duology. The first part is basically done at 75k. What it will be depends on the length of part two, but I'd rather have a standalone this time. Just finished my Shardheld trilogy and I'm rethinking my Revenaunt series. For the moment just writing single books would be a relief.

 

[Devor]

If you can tie everything up at this point, it sounds like that might be the better idea.

Closing up loose ends can make an ending very satisfying, especially if that's the right length for the story. And tying them off doesn't prevent you from adding a sequel later. If anything, it forces you to step up with the sequel if you want it to be as good.

Then there's that whole discussion about practice novels. I'm not going to say that your novel is a practice novel. Is this WIP even your first? But if it was, if you feel like there's a chance it might be, if you're back and forth in your confidence in the novel, then I think tying it off can help. I think it creates a sense of closure that can help you see the work and it's problems more objectively as you go forward. Which can help you to fix them.

 

[Philip Overby]

It's not my first by a long shot. I've probably written, since I was in my early twenties, at least a dozen novels in various "finished states." The last several years I've been trudging along towards getting a finished, edited project. A novel I finished in 2012 I thought was going to be the one, but upon further reflection, it's too chaotic, too ambitious. I dare say a "practice novel" or whatever you want to call it.

This WIP is the closest I've gotten to something complete in all aspects. I think it will be better as a standalone at this point, so I think that's what I'll do. I'm going to have to re-outline though to get it in order. No worries!

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Going along with what Devor said, having your readers find closure is good. Look at that new 300 Rise of an empire film (haven't seen it yet) the first 300movie had a good ending that gave the audience a sense of closure. However, it left plenty of room available for there to be a sequel.

What you could do is find closure to the main conflicts but leave some of them left unresolved. It's hard to say without knowing too much about your story but letting the audience know this story is over but another chapter could begin might be good for you. Just hint at it rather than make it obvious. That's thoughts. I feel i went a little off course with my train of tought (pun not intended) but i hope i helped

 

[ThinkerX]

My approach here is not typical.

My tales are mostly on the shorter side; even my novels fall short of 70K.

What I do have are characters who are central in one story making a not so central appearance in others. Each story stands alone (hopefully), but each story is linked to others.

On the other hand, 'Labyrinth' is looking to be a series at this point, albeit a 'next generation' type deal.

::Sigh...gotta get back to editing Labyrinth...::

 

[Penpilot]

Having to do major edits to a story because you don't like the ending, been there done that. I threw away the last half of a novel because it wasn't working. Any way, sequels, the way I approach my novels is I write them as stand alones but I leave enough open for sequels if I wanted.

The novel I just finished, I have ideas for two sequels, but they're not direct sequels. There are two supporting characters who I gave arcs to in the first novel, but those arcs weren't completely closed. They were given, I hope, satisfying endings to their arcs, but they weren't tied up in a neat bow. There's more story to tell about them.

The novel I'm working on now, the ending is going to be a little open, with definite possibilities for a direct sequel, but my intent is for it to be a stand alone.

I guess what I'm saying is as long as you give a satisfying ending to the major and minor threads, it doesn't matter if you leave the door cracked open. Some great stand alone movies have had open endings, Bladerunner and Children of Men to name two.

I mean just because a story ends doesn't mean the lives of your characters don't carry on off the page. So if you leave the story in that sort of situation, then it'll allow you to jump back in and carry on if you want to do sequels. It'll just be a matter of maybe leaving a few small and apparently innocuous openings where you could drop another huge problem into the character's lap or have the problems from the first book re-emerge.

 

[hots_towel]

the ending that ive chosen and am pretty set on doesnt even resolve the conflict that goes on for a planned 6 books. Id have to release a sequel story just to bring ultimate closure to the world. Because of this, if everything goes according to my plan, my 6th books wont be the last one. there will have to be one more.

this is all because if I end it the "correct" way, it will be pretty underwhelming, as all the fireworks and flare are being put into that epic moment where its not going to end the way it was leading the reader to believe. or thats how i perceive it at least

 

[Jabrosky]

After thinking over my current WIP's plot, I fear it may have a more opening ending than I originally intended.

In the middle of the story, I have my heroine meet up with a teenage boy who is the kingdom's rightful heir. She wants to kick off the hypocritical tyrant who's currently in charge and replace him with this heir, but then she inadvertently gets the boy killed on a side-quest. I feel this twist is necessary for the story since it represents the heroine's nadir, but then it raises the problem of who inherits the kingdom once she gets the tyrant thrown out in the climax. This heroine is emphatically not a political type herself. I'm thinking she goes off to find a suitable heir in the sequel even though I intended this story to be a standalone.

 

[Terry Greer]

However, I'm not really interested in doing a sequel now as I think I can successfully tell the story I want to tell in one book.

Devor and others have picked up on this, and I agree - I'd suggest you already know the answer yourself.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

R.A. Salvatore's advised that I start with a stand-alone when we had a conversation after I finished my first book.

It sounds like you benefit from the stand-alone ending. You could STILL write that character in a new story, but by having the debut novel end, you can move onto other characters without cheating your fans.

 

[Fyle]

I don't think there is a such thing as planning to have an ending or a certain amount of books.

It seems works can be continued at anytime with a sequel or prequel. GRRM had planned 3, then 5 now 7 annnnd now teases and 8. When Stephen King wrote the Dark Tower 1 did he think it would be 7? I think not, he was 19 years old if I'm not mistaken when he wrote it. Star Wars isn't a book... but I think it's a good point and case about how a story can be wrapped up nicely and come back around with sequels and prequels ( I know, I know the prequels were money grabs but, if they were geared for the core fans or an older audience they could have been great).

I think it depends more on the content of the work, how much you enjoy writing the characters, how often they keep popping back in your mind after it's "finished" will tell you if you want to write a sequel(s). If you happily move on to other things and forget it, then the series just wasn't meant to be. It's not something you can decide at any point.