The other day, I was rereading my first novel manuscript – Hunting the Rememberer: Chimera Anamnesis. In 2013, the ending I wrote made me roll my eyes and facepalm. Now, the ending I wrote in 2021 made me scream and squeal as multiple plot threads were tied off in a single, action-packed chapter. Goodbye, summary that crashes the landing. Hello, character development and prophecies fulfilled.
The beginning of a novel or other story, I have no problem with. And I always start with a vision of the ending. Writing the middle is definitely difficult after a point. But the ending – making the ending stick right like how I envisioned it is sooo tough!
I’ve been watching so many youtube channels of authors giving writing tips, especially about how to and how not to end a novel. You have to answer so many questions raised in the book and tie off so many plot threads… It’s challenging indeed. And you have to make sure the reader leaves with the right emotion that you wanted to effect in them.
Right now, my novel ending looks alright. The epilogue is where I run into a problem of my own making. Hehehe. We’ll see what the publisher(s) say soon enough. 🙂