Trying to Make Up My Mind – Which is Better? by Jo Ann Brown

Usually I’m very sure of my opinions, but I’m been debating an issue with myself for the last couple of weeks.
What is better: beginnings or endings?
I love beginnings. It’s fun to step off into an adventure in both real life and when reading. Emerging into a place (or a time) I’ve never been before is always a thrill. It doesn’t matter if I’m walking through ruins of a supply depot in northern England left by the Romans over a millennia and a half ago

or taking a virtual reality ride on a banshee in the Avatar section of Disney World for the first time. The chance to experience something new is exciting, the anticipation exquisite. Anything and everything is possible in that moment before everything begins.
But I love endings, too. The feeling I get when I’ve spent a wonderful day with my family or enjoyed a great visit with friends or seen a great movie or finished a book by a favorite author that ended up being even better than I’d imagined. Or such a book by a new-to-me author!
This time of year is all about endings and beginnings. Last month, I finished work on the fourth—and final—book in my Amish Spinster Club series. Immediately after it was done, I started work on the first book in a new Amish series set in lush valleys of the Green Mountains of Vermont. It’s been tough to say good-bye to the Amish Spinster Club characters I’ve spent over a year with as I watched them make homes and lives and find love in northern New York, and now I’m having to get acquainted with a new “cast” in a new location.
Starting a new book is like standing in that long line, inching forward a person at a time, for a ride.

There’s the breathless possibility of something amazing that’s about to begin. I’m not sure where it’ll end up other than my hero and heroine must have their happy ever after ending. Will this be the book that “writes itself” or the one where I have to labor over every word? What surprises are waiting for me in spite of outlining the book in a synopsis? No matter how much time I spend with characters before I put fingers to keyboard, they always hold back something about themselves or their story that they won’t reveal until I’m in the midst of writing the book. Looking forward to those discoveries is part of the excitement that fires me up at the beginning of a project. I love it!
However, I admit that I also love being able to type the words “The End” when I reach the last page of a manuscript. Not that I’m actually done with the manuscript because it’s time then for a red pen and revising. I go through a LOT of red ink during this part of the process. However, I really enjoy revising because I can look at my characters with a different eye than when I’m going through their story with them the first time. No matter how much work awaits, there’s the satisfaction that weeks of work have led to something being completed...and that’s a wonderful feeling!
So now you can see my quandary. What is better: beginnings or endings? Post your opinions...and I’m going to guess nobody is going to say middles, though now that I think about it, being in the middle of something can be great fun, too, can’t it?

How Endings Impact Your Readers

by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan

Several years ago, while shopping with friends at Sam’s Club, we milled around the book/DVD section. One of my friends picked up a movie and showed it to another friend in our group since it had one of her favorite actors in it. We had discussed this movie when the trailers were first shown, but none of us had seen it yet. The friend who adores this actor said she refused to watch the movie because she had talked with friends who had seen the movie and were disappointed in the ending—the lead character died in a shocking way. The friend who brought the movie to our attention asked if the movie was any good, despite the ending. The other friend and I spoke at the same time, "Doesn't matter."

Have you ever read the ending of the book to see if you’re going to like how the story is resolved? I admit to being a second-generation ending reader. Sometimes I really try hard, especially while reading suspense, not to skip ahead because I like to guess whom the villain is and if I’m right.

I want a promise of hope and a happily ever after. Since I'm investing my heart in a story and the characters, I want a heart-satisfying conclusion. 

Quite a few years ago, I watched a movie based on a novel written by a popular secular author who writes love stories—notice I did not say romances—yes, there is a difference. I loved the movie’s storyline and adored the characters until I watched the ending with horror. 

My heart had been ripped out!

I sobbed and not in a good way. If I had been reading the book, I would've flung it across the room. I was that angry! I vowed never to read that author's books or view his movies again. I will admit I broke that vow after a friend promised one of his movies did have an HEA ending.

Endings affect the way a reader enjoys a novel. Some readers like me want the fairy tale and happily ever after. Other readers want a satisfying conclusion as long as the story is good. Of course, the novel genre influences the ending, too.  

Romances need to have a happily ever after where boy and girl fall in love and commit to a future. Women’s fiction novels need to have a satisfying ending for the character’s story arc. Suspense and mystery novels should have a solved crime at the end. The villain isn’t always caught, especially if the novel is part of a series, but most often, all loose ends should be tied up neatly for the reader. Fantasy and sci-fi novels should have a satisfying resolution to fit the story premise. Basically, the reader needs to have an answer for the proposed story question at the beginning of the novel.

What about you? Do you read endings first? What kinds of endings upset you? For you writers, what genre do you write and how do you know when you’ve written a satisfying ending?

~*~

Heart, home, and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories with those elements come naturally. Represented by Rachelle Gardner, Lisa is an award-winning author for Love Inspired, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after. She is the Operations Manager for My Book Therapy. Happily married to her own real-life hero for almost thirty years, Lisa and her husband have two grown sons. When she isn’t writing, Lisa enjoys family time, kayaking, good books, and playing in her craft room with friends. Visit her at lisajordanbooks.com.

Endings by Christine Johnson

These days my heart is heavy, because my beloved kitty of 17 years is nearing the end of her life. She has thyroid and kidney disease. Though she has lived a long, happy life, I’m having a hard time letting go.

 

That made me think about series and the characters we come to know so well over the course of many books. As an author, I love to write series and to explore the many interesting characters in a town or location. With each book, more is revealed. As a reader, I feel the same way and mourn a bit when a series ends.

 

When I ended the books set in Pearlman, Michigan, I knew it was time to say goodbye. That didn’t mean the farewell wasn’t bittersweet. A few tears were shed. Do you enjoy series or books set in the same location? Why or why not?

The last Pearlman book

The wonderful thing about ending a series is that a new one can begin. I loved the opportunity to set a new series, Boom Town Brides, in a real-life place that has long fascinated me—Singapore, Michigan. No, you won’t find this town on today’s maps, but it once existed and had a fascinating end after the lumber boom was over. The first book in the series, Mail Order Mix Up, came out in April, and the next one, Mail Order Mommy, will be released in November.

Book 1 of Boom Town Brides

 

What do you like best about series?

 

 

Christine Johnson

http://christineelizabethjohnson.com

Mail Order Mix Up (LIH, April 2016)

Mail Order Mommy (LIH, November 2016)