Readers love a well done plot twist. They like to have the rug skillfully pulled out from under their feet at the last minute in a way that changes everything they understood about the story, while simultaneously making them see everything with perfect clarity. One of my favorite romance authors, Kristen Heitzmann, gives us some clues […]
June 20, 2022 by 27 Comments Novel EndingsUnderstanding the New Normal World of a Story’s Resolution
A story’s Resolution is a tiny section of the overall story. From the perspective of structural timing, the Resolution represents 2% or even less of the story’s total running time. Some stories give it the generous portion of as much as a few chapters. But in other stories, the Resolution may be implied more than […]
August 9, 2021 by 76 Comments Novel Endings3 Things to Know About the Ending of a Story
There are three parts of a story that are difficult to write: the beginning, the middle, and the ending. (I was going to start the article by referencing the ending of a story as one of the hardest parts, but then I realized… it’s all hard. Ahem.) Each has its own special set of challenges, […]
September 28, 2020 by 38 Comments Beginning Your BookThe Link Between Your Story’s Hook and Resolution
On a theoretical level, art often comes down to patterns. As readers and even writers we are not always conscious of these patterns, but whenever we are able to recognize that a story works—or does not work—usually what we are responding to is the comparative effectiveness of certain underlying patterns. This is perhaps nowhere more […]
July 20, 2020 by 47 Comments Novel Endings4 Questions to Prevent Plot Holes
How peachy would the writing life be if we didn’t have to prevent plot holes. Just imagine—you could write anything you wanted to, and every single thing would make sense. No need to worry about the fact that your two awesome scenes actually don’t make sense side by side. They get to be in the […]
August 12, 2019 by 39 Comments Novel EndingsHow to Evoke Reader Emotions With “Surprisingness”
Have you ever read a book for a second, third, even tenth time—just to experience the emotion the story evokes? Clearly the elements of the story aren’t a surprise. You know exactly what to expect. If so, you were benefiting from an author who knew how to evoke reader emotions. Literary agent Donald Maass says […]
March 20, 2017 by 97 Comments Beginning Your Book8 1/2 Tips for How to Write Opening and Closing Lines Readers Will Love to Quote
When I’m scanning an Amazon preview to decide if a book is going to be worth my time, the first test is always the opening line. A sloppy, casual, or plain-Jane opening line instantly makes me suspect I’m looking at the work of an author who is an outright amateur or, at the best, someone […]
March 27, 2016 by 46 Comments Novel EndingsHow to Know When to Write The End
I wrote my first book when I was fourteen–and I had no idea when to write The End. I printed the manuscript in December 1999 (just in case Y2K crashed the world and I lost my beautiful story). This was a great accomplishment, of course. I’d just finished writing a book. Except, it turned out, I wasn’t […]
January 11, 2016 by 84 Comments Novel EndingsThe Re-Readability Factor: Does Your Book Have It? (5 Ways to Make It Happen)
When I was a young reader, I had a horrendously bad habit. Whenever I started a new book, I would systematically read the front cover, the back cover, the front matter, the back matter–and then the final line of the book. I know, I know. Anathema. I clearly remember the day I swore to never do […]
May 20, 2015 by 71 Comments Novel EndingsIf You Don’t Fix This Mistake in Your Story’s Climax, You’ll Hate Yourself Later
The Climax has got to be the best part of your story, right? It’s the maraschino cherry on top of the sundae (that is, of course, if you’re the kind who saves the cherry to eat last). Anyway—the point is you want your story’s Climax to be gripping. You want it to be suspenseful. You […]
