Character: Adopts Another Person, Or Two, Or Tenme, Immediately Falling In Love:

character: adopts another person, or two, or ten  me, immediately falling in love: 

If you want a good cliffhanger example, the Magicians (tv show) has a great one at the end of their second season. Instead of “life or death” stakes, they relied on individual arcs and side-stories throughout the season that didn’t connect until that final twist.

Spoilers Below

The cool thing about the ending is that they didn’t put their characters in danger (well, some of their characters were in ambiguous danger, but as viewers we weren’t sure how much); they took away something the characters value and count as their source of strength: magic itself.

Basically, the characters killed a minor god (who was threatening to destroy the fantasy world he’d helped create because he was bored, meaning the deaths of millions of sentient fantasy people/creatures) and the elder gods took magic as a consequence. This worked because they’d already established that gods have parents through a previous, individual character arc earlier in the season, and they’d established that, even if the gods don’t obviously show it, they do care about their children. The killing of the god was also necessary. It was either that or allow the god to eradicate a world he only saw as a plaything--the equivalent of a child smashing an ant farm because the ants aren’t as entertaining as they used to be. They could’ve easily ended on the cliffhanger of whether or not the god would destroy the fantasy world (as we might expect based on previous shitty use of the cliffhanger ending) but instead they finished the story they’d been building up to and made the cliffhanger the consequences of their choices.

So, the twist wasn’t “oh my god, will they make it out alive?” The twist was, “oh my god, what does a show called ‘The Magicians’ do in a world without magic? How will our characters solve problems without their main tool and source of power?” It also connected well to development of the main characters, which I won’t get into here, but basically--good twist and cliffhanger because it was deeply integrated in all parts of the story and presented consequences that went beyond the overdone “wIlL oUr ChArAcTeRs SuRvIvE???”

5 Better Ways to End Your Story

1. The Dialogue Gut-Punch

I usually imagine this ending happening after some great, destructive plot twist or long-kept secret has been revealed to the narrator and/or reader. There is shock and awe and maybe some betrayal. This is where you fully feel the effects of what has changed, the beginning versus the end. And in this case, the end is not ideal.

Maybe the resolution’s scene has been set, but that’s not offering enough closure. How to tie up the loose end? A short (and I mean short) piece of dialogue. It usually involves a sense of resolve and acceptance, even if the resolution at hand is otherwise displeasing or harrowing. The gut-punch comes from that acceptance, that acknowledgment of what has been lost in the quest to fulfill their goals. Doesn’t always mean defeat or a pyrrhic victory, but all protagonists must lose things while trying to gain others. This is where that character and the reader feels the loss in the wake of a resolution. 

2. A Question and an Answer

This is a lot like #1, only there’s a different setup. Instead of a scene being laid out and then one line of dialogue, there are three components. The scene is set, a question is asked, then an answer is provided. The end. The question and answer usually revolve around the reflection of what has changed. A “what now?” for all intents and purposes. Can be used for a mysterious ending to a standalone or a setup for the next installment in a series.

It is worth noting that the answer does not always have to be dialogue. For example, a character could ask: “So this is what we have left?” and then a (brief) description is given of a ragtag crew that’s survived the whole story. Play around with it. 

3. The Full Circle

There are a couple ways to go about this ending. Two, in particular, are my favorite.

A) The story begins with a scene that has a very specific tone and attitude of the main character(s). The end of the story is a very similar scene (through setting, circumstance, characters, etc. as long as it’s obvious the last and first scene parallel each other). However, the last scene has the opposite tone and the opposite attitude. If the first scene is hopeful and the MC is full of naivete and energy, then the last scene is melancholy and the MC has been washed away into tired hopelessness. Or vice versa. Offers sufficient closure to standalone works. For a series, it would be quite satisfying to take the first scene from the first installment and mirror/flip it for the last scene in the last installment. 

Or

B) The story comes full circle through setting (or circumstance) only. In this case, the first (or inciting incident) and last scene share a setting. But the scenes do not mirror each other overtly or consistently. The significance relies upon the setting and the changes that have been made to the setting because of what has happened. It’s a good way to symbolize similar changes in the character(s). Maybe the story begins in the MC’s childhood home, where it is bright and full of life, but when the story ends in the home, it has become desolate and empty. Something has happened to the home over time, just as something has happened to the character over time. 

Note: there is also the divergence from these two examples where the character in the beginning is not the character in the end. Most everything else remains the same. It’s been used to show succession, defeat, loss, and the passage of time. 

The Full Circle allows a nice platform to approach the reflection, the resolution, and the changes all through subverted scene similarities and symbolism. 

4. The Joke

Pretty simple. The last line is a comedic remark. It should still involve a level of reflection and/or resolution for closure and cohesiveness. And please make sure it matches the overall tone of the story (not just the scene). 

And now #5, the long one…

5. The Cliff-Hanger (But it’s actually used to its full potential)

So many times, especially with TV shows, I see a story end with a dull, exploitative cliff-hanger. Sure, it works. But it doesn’t work as well as it could. These endings usually rely upon a plot twist that has no previous setup or mild, unbelievable danger. So let’s fix that and use the crap out of a cliff-hanger’s potential. 

The plot twist with no previous setup is boring and unfair. The reader (or watcher since I brought up TV) should be thinking “oh my God” not “what the hell?”. The difference is “what the hell?” equates to confusion and sometimes the fracture of their suspension of disbelief necessary for all fictional stories. “Oh my God” equates to excitement, shock, and enthrallment. ENTHRALLMENT is the key word here, as a cliff-hanger should reel you in further just as the story ends and you become impatient for the next installment. So how do we get “Oh my God” with a plot twist (there are other ways to get “Oh my God” but since (bad) plot twists are common, we’ll use that as an example)? The answer is: we build it up, we add foreshadowing and clues for the reader to find. Let them feel like detectives as they fill in informational holes and fall down rabbit holes of speculation, even if they don’t know what they’re looking for exactly. Let them get close, but not close enough. Add red herrings. If the plot twist is a shock to the narrator, make sure they miss things the reader doesn’t miss and make sure they aren’t super reliable. It all adds to that cloud of mystery around the reveal. It keeps the reader inside the narrative, not thrust out by a plot twist that comes from thin air. Trust the reader and trust your ability to manipulate the illusion of reality. 

The mild, unbelievable danger that the cliff-hanger so often relies upon is an idea that easily triggers examples. Again, mostly TV episode endings are guilty of this. What this involves is a life-or-death situation involving a main character that the reader knows (or at least believes wholeheartedly) cannot die. Therefore the cliff-hanger’s life-or-death danger becomes the opposite because the reader believes the character will leave the situation alive. How to combat this? Easy. Don’t put them in a life-or-death situation (this also goes for scenes that aren’t cliff-hangers). It’s boring if you think or know the character will live no matter what. However, hopefully by this point, the reader is invested in the character fully and cares about their wellbeing (because their life is safe). So, exploit that. Offer up a situation where the character’s fears, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses are played against them. Because even though they may escape this situation alive, the reader will (probably) begin to wonder what other things are at risk. The character’s happiness, significant other, assets, stability, et al.  Those things become muted points when the danger is heavily reliant upon an unbelievable life-or-death situation. 

However, there is an addendum to this. If your story features a rather large MC cast and you have proven your willingness to kill off some of them in the past, then a life-or-death cliff-hanger could still maintain its intended effect. Just… don’t overuse it. 

tl;dr TORTURE YOUR CHARACTERS AND DON’T PLAY YOUR READERS FOR CHUMPS. 

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If you take away only one thing from these 5 examples, let it be this:

The key to a satisfying ending is reflection.

It doesn’t have to be overt reflection (trust me when I say subtle reflection is usually better), but the ending should show in one way or another the changes that have taken place over the story and the resolution that has befallen the characters. The ending wraps it all up into a bite-size piece of text and is the last thing you leave your readers with. Proceed with thoughtful consideration and caution. 

Also a quick Q&A: 

Q: “I don’t know how to choose the right ending.”

A: Do a couple different things while brainstorming:

Imagine the ending of your story using each of these examples as well as others you think of

If the story is first-person or heavily driven by the MC, ask “how would this character end the telling of their story?”

Consider the overall tone and themes of your story– some endings fit those better than others

Ask “what ending offers the amount of closure I’m trying to give?”

Look at works of fiction similar to yours and their endings. Which work and which aren’t fulfilling?

This was a long post. Whew. You’re a peach if you read it all the way through. Hopefully this helps you on your writing journey. 

morally grey does not mean “is bad but also sad”

I’ve done some Twitter threads on this topic, so thought it might be nice to do a Tumblr post too. One of my pet peeves is when people act like adult fantasy (or sci-fi for that matter) is just a straight white dude thing and that diversity only exists in young adult fantasy. That’s such a disservice to all the authors of marginalized identities currently writing adult fantasy!

Authors and books below the cut, including links to Goodreads. I’m not providing trigger warnings (if I make the post too long Tumblr starts freaking out about it), but you can use the search function on Goodreads reviews to find more specifics. 

Keep reading

20 things I want more of in fiction: strong female characters

To quote TheMarySue.com, strong female characters are rarely strong and rarely characters. Strong Female Characters™ are leather-clad, emotionless, “independent,” defined by their relationships to men, and often have a tragic backstory (often involving abuse at the hands of men). More often than not, they are portrayed to be just as powerful or even more so than male protagonists, but in the end are relegated to fighting the secondary villain(ess). 

So here is my list of 20 things I want to see in strong female characters. 

Strong female characters who are girly: Not “feminine,” girly. They don’t wear tight leather bodysuits, they wear pink dresses and curl their hair and are excited when Sephora comes out with a new blush product. 

Strong female characters who are funny: I mean, come on. I can count on one hand the number of strong female characters who could be comedians. 

Strong female characters who support other women: Don’t make them hate the girls who have sex or wear makeup. Don’t support the idea that femininity is weak. 

Strong female characters who are not traditionally attractive: Make them fat. Give them acne. Maybe they have bushy eyebrows. Who knows? 

Strong female characters who fall in love and remain strong: If she can lift a truck at the beginning of the story, getting the man will not change that. Being strong is not undesirable. 

Strong female characters who are not physically strong: Why do they need to lift a car to be strong? Women can be mentally and emotionally strong too. Example: A WWII nurse who has to deal with recent amputees and vets with PTSD. Do you know how much strength that would require? 

Strong female characters who are tomboys/manly: Be cautious with this one. There is a whole list of harmful tropes surrounding this idea. For more information, see TV Tropes’ Tomboy page.

Strong female characters who don’t use long-range weapons: Let them be the smasher for once. I want to see them throw punches. 

Strong female characters who become stronger on their own accord: Have them want to do more, and train to become better or strive to learn more. BUT (and this is a big but) don’t make them do it because they were abused. Don’t. 

Strong female characters who are LGBT*QIA: Enough said. 

Strong female characters who are POC: See above. 

Strong female characters who are older and not hardened by war: give me an prankster grandma or a general who is known as “mom.”  

Strong female characters who have feelings: Please stop making them emotionless or merely snarky/sarcastic. I mean, have you ever met anyone who was only sarcastic and nothing else? People like that don’t exist. 

Strong female characters who are strong because of women: Maybe their moms taught them how to fight. Maybe they were inspired by a warrior queen. Stop giving them five older brothers. Seriously. 

Strong female characters who aren’t lone warriors: Give them a badass crew (bonus points if they’re all women) whom she considers her friends. Real people have friends. 

Strong female characters who have a family: They need at least one family member that they love and want to protect. Stop making them estranged from their parents or orphans. 

Strong female characters who cry: Please, let them have feelings. 

Strong female characters who aren’t defined by men: Don’t give them emotion only when they fall for the male protag. Don’t make their backstory all about when they were abused by a man. Don’t give them mentors who are all men. Don’t attribute her abilities to men. 

Strong female characters who don’t define men: Stop having her strength be the measure that the male protagonist must surpass. Stop having her death give motivation to the male characters. This must end. 

Strong female characters who weren’t abused: Having rape/abuse as a motivation is a disgusting cliche. Stop it. Just don’t. 

Read more about strong female characters:

Geekfeminism

The Mary Sue

TV Tropes

Huffington Post

me: ‘chosen one’ plots are lame and overdone. i can be more creative than this

my brain: i hear you, but consider this: every society has their own ‘chosen one’ and nobody knows who the real ‘chosen one’ is so it’s just a bunch of idiots trying to solve a problem they’re not even sure they’re destined for

me: