The End, Pt. 3

As we wind down into 2014, I'm once again pondering a few writing things.

Isn't today a good day to think about ENDINGS?

Those perfect final sentences that make readers go Ahhhhh.

I've pulled out my favorite books to how some of the best authors pull it off. Not just what they say, but the way they say it. How the words look on the page, how they sound.

Listen to a few. Try reading them aloud.  Last sentences are often magical and poetic.

BEHOLDING BEE by Kimberly Newton Fusco.
(I'm secretly pulling for this one to win the Newbery next month.)

Chapter 126. Yes, you read that right. 126 chapters.
Only 329 pages. A lot of short chapters, including the final one which is not quite two pages long.

"And then, in the blink of an eye, they are gone.
Just like they said they would be."



PINNED by Sharon Flake.

"At the fountain by the bridge, drinking at the same time. Our lips ice-cold and warm. I think I hear him say, 'I love you, Autumn Knight.'"

 

FLORA & ULYSSES. by Kate DiCamillo

The very last lines are from the Epilogue.
Here's part of the poem Ulysses the squirrel has type-written: Words for Flora.

you
are the ever-expanding 
universe
to me




Finally,  another new favorite of mine.
The entire last chapter reflects back to the first chapter in OUT OF MY MIND, by Sharon Draper.

(I know, I know. Late to this party. I may be the only person who's just now reading this one.
I liked this story so much. Such a perfect book on many levels. Kidlike. Great voice. Surprising plot twist.)

The last sentence unexpectedly took my breath away. What a perfect way to end, as she began:

"I have never spoken one single word. I am almost eleven years old..."



Two of my previous ponderings on writing endings can be found
here:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2013/10/more-on-end.html

And Here:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2013/09/when-enough-is-enough.html

More on THE END

According to my scribbles in a notebook, this quote about ENDINGS came via Virginia Euwer Wolff.

(But since I can't verify it, please don't quote me.)

I love it, no matter who said it.

"It's not exactly a WOW! or an AHA! 

But it's a cross between them, a WHOA!"

Click here for a few more words about endings, via my week with Ann Hood et al at WRITERS IN PARADISE a while back. And guess what-- they're already accepting applications for the 2014 conference in St. Petersburg, in January, with great writers.

HERE's the link to that excellent conference:

http://writersinparadise.eckerd.edu

Speaking of Endings:

Wouldn't you like to spend a week in January, learning and writing, 

looking at this at the end of your day?

When Enough is Enough

I have some gems in my files. Had I not spent the summer slowly clearing away the decidedly unnecessary piles of paper, I'd never have found them.

I'm copying this and pasting it in front of every writing spot I ever put myself in.

From THE WRITER, April 1989
(and no, I have not been writing that long but I have been a fan of Lois Lowry's forever)

Knowing when to stop is one of the toughest tasks a writer faces. 

Is there a rule that one can follow? Probably not. But there is, I think, a test against which the writer can measure his ending, his stopping place.

When something more is going to take place, but the characters have been so fully drawn, and the preceding events so carefully shaped that the reader, on reflection, knows what more will happen, and is satisfied by it, then the book ends.
Lois Lowry.  Pure genius.


An earlier post about ENDINGS, with examples from my favorite books:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-very-end.html

And a few thoughts about my own manuscript's ending words:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-cautionary-tale-and-writing-tip.html

The Very End

Remember my advice from the other day?

Be Brisk. Be Brief. Be Gone.

I love endings. I love READING the final lines. Don't even mind writing them, if I hit the nail on the head so to speak. 
No cliches, no over-sentimentalizing. :)
I want an ending that makes me sigh. 
Brisk, brief, and gone.

For fun (?) today while re-writing an ending, I reached behind me and grabbed the closest stack of books for inspiration.

A sampling from some of my middle-grade novel collection. No titles, thus no spoilers.
(but if you'd like to know a title, leave me a comment and I'll share via the comment section." )

UPDATE: Several of you have asked so here are the titles. Skip this part if you don't want to know!)
1.With a Name Like Love
2. Hound Dog True
3. Touch Blue
4. Penny From Heaven
5. The Liberation of Gabriel King



"Daddy says it's his trademark, but it's not. It's our only salvation."

     "I'm Mattie Breen," she says. Her voice is quiet, but no one says Speak up. Everyone can hear.
     "I write stories."

     My hands on the wheel, my heart near to bursting, I aim the Tess Libby's bow at the horizon.
     And gun it. 

He'll grin and say, "Best seats in the house."
And they were.

Then maybe they'd figure out what love and courage were all about, and life would spring open like a lock that found its key. 


 Other places to look at last lines:
http://flavorwire.com/167171/famous-last-words-our-20-favorite-final-lines-in-literature

http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/last77.html
 

A Cautionary Tale and A Writing Tip

This morning, up early and working hard, I tipped over a glass near a stack of 
writing notebooks.

 The good news? It was water.
 The bad news? Although they were mostly salvageable, some are unreadable.

I had been meaning to go through these notebooks forever because I was convinced they contained very valuable information. Maybe not!

But I always tell students the importance of keeping notes. 
Next time I will mention the value of keeping notebooks in safe places. Away from liquids.



But the other good news relates to a single page discovered inside the oldest, wettest notebook. Notes from a book I bought after reading it from the library. It may have been the very first book on writing craft I added to my newly created library. 

Lee Wyndham's Writing for Children and Teenagers.
An oldie, yes, but good information and a few used copies are still floating around for sale out there. Also in libraries.  

My book is not readily available so I'm glad I found this note inside a 

waterlogged notebook:

And right now I need to know everything there is to know about making ENDINGS better.

In case you can't read my notes:

1. Can't just think things out
2. Something must happen to the Main Character, a powerful personal experience that shocks, rocks or floors her. Terrific impact.
3. Then have a quiet scene to show the Main Character has changed. The Main Character thinks over her actions.
4. Then a scene where she PROVES she's changed.
5. CONCLUSION: The original character has changed considerably so
Be Brisk. Be Brief. Be Gone.

I'm off to re-create my ending! Thanks, Lee Wyndham.