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.