Writing a book - tips from an author #3
Concluding a three act story. The final or third part of a three
act story is the conclusion. You have to tie up all the loose
ends here, or your readers will remain unsatisfied. Don't ever
rely on 'hope' that the reader will have 'forgotten' your
subplot involving a giant city-eating space weasel that surfaced
200 pages before. The reader WILL remember, and WILL expect you
to explain how the weasel was defeated! Above all, the last act
is the place for the final, crucial conflict. Typically,
everything gained so far looks to be in great danger of being
lost by a single, small act - an example would be Lord of the
Rings. It could be argued that the Mount Doom scene is actually
the climax of the book - and the incredible effort shown by
Frodo in making it this far suddenly appears to be wasted, as he
decides to keep the ring. You have a chance here to reveal
something important about your characters - in the case of
Frodo, it is that there are limits even to his willpower.
Whatever you reveal may have been foreshadowed already - Frodo
put the ring on once before, when under immense pressure, so his
final failing isn't completely out of the blue. The resolution
can therefore be even more surprising - back to LOTR, and
Gollum's role has definitely been foreshadowed. Sure enough, he
ends up saving the world, against all the odds, yet entirely
believably. This is where the www.GetPlotted.com
'scratchpad' online idea storage comes in handy. You can make a
list of 'to do' things that need to be tied up at the end. Check
them off as you do them, and there won;t be any loose ends.
Be wary of using randomness in your stories. In other words,
although you are the creator of your literary world, and can do
anything you like, don't write things that appear 'arbitrary' to
your readers. The great novels of all ages are marked out by the
consistency of the worlds they create - randomness doesn't play
a part. The Frank Herbert 'Dune' novels, for example, stand tall
as masterpieces of logical progression from start to finish. Why
is the dry, barren world of Dune so valuable? Because it is home
to 'sandworms'. Why are sandworms important? Because they
produce 'spice' as a waste product. Why is 'spice' so important?
Because it enables starflight. And so on. Don't be tempted to
use phrases or ideas just because you think they 'sound good'.
Use them because they help to create a consistent jigsaw of
interlocking ideas and themes. And while we are on it, be
consistent. Keep an eye on the tone, style etc of your work.
Don't jump around from thriller to comedy or first person to
third person if you want success in your writing.
Most genres have a definite and accepted style, or set of
conventions. If you break those conventions without very good
reasons, you run a real risk of alienating your reader. Gangster
novels, for example. Extreme power brings extreme corruption, so
if you want your Mafioso to be a kind, God-fearing gentleman
into flower-arranging, you need a good reason for it. If you
stick to these basic rules, you should be able to create a
convincing and interesting internal world in the mind of your
reader, which is basically what it's all about! The plot
generators at www.GetPlotted.com are a
good way to create an outline - whatever the genre, the outline
will be internally consistent, so you won't create the skeleton
of a novel that has any major flaws.