How many times have you enjoyed a book right up to the end, but when you closed it, you felt unsatisfied? Not in the sense that the ending wasn’t “happy,” but rather that the last chapter seemed slapped together? Or predictable? Or missing something?
Endings are not easy. I recall when my agent mentioned she thought my novel might need an additional scene at the end to “round things out.” Another scene? What could that possibly entail? I was gobsmacked at first. Even though I liked the ending I’d written, I soon found myself thinking, what if…
Exploring alternatives isn’t a bad thing. So, the next day, I got up early to work on revisions. Much of that time was spent staring at my screen, running downstairs for a yogurt, or a coffee, and then going outside to whack at an overgrown bush.
It seemed appropriate. I realized whacking is what we do when we revise anyway.
When whacking makes sense
YA Fantasy writer Michelle Sussman once tweeted that she deleted the last two chapters of her novel and “rewrote them by mixing in [an] awesome new twisted backstory reveal.” That’s quite a shake up.
When I emailed her about it, she said wasn’t entirely satisfied with the ending, but passed it on to a few readers for feedback. One of the readers questioned the backstory. Michelle said, “That one tiny innocent question led me to nearly scrap the entire manuscript. I knew his question was valid – in fact, he’d stabbed right at the heart of my manuscript.”
The backstory was tied directly into her final two chapters.
The Rule of Twenty
It took Michelle two days of agonizing over what to do, much of that time spent typing mindlessly in hopes that the answer would magically appear. Then it dawned on her that she’d taken the easy route. She hadn’t pushed herself to explore beyond the first idea that had come to her. She used The Rule of Twenty, where you look past the first ten obvious answers to consider at least 20. She finally found her answer.
“What else could I do but delete the last two chapters, come up with a stronger backstory and rewrite? …. I know changing the backstory and the ending will cause a domino effect of changes in my book, but I believe the entire manuscript will be stronger for it.”
Why twenty? The first ideas are usually the obvious ones. The brain follows well-traveled paths to easy, predictable or stale conclusions. It is only when you push yourself to twenty ideas that you start tapping into original ideas. The first couple of stabs we take when writing an ending may not be as creative as they would be if we kept exploring alternatives.
Look beyond the obvious
It took guts to for Sussman to completely blow apart an ending she’d already written, but she felt the result was worth it. I was glad my agent pushed me to add another chapter to In the Context of Love. Feedback from my readers (and the fact that they want a sequel) confirm I wrote a successful ending.
Shake things up when you’re revising. Sometimes it takes bravery and confidence… and hopping up for another coffee, window gazing, taking a walk, lying awake at night, thinking what if… what if…
We need to give our endings the time they deserve, even if that results in a figurative headache. The outcome might be the reassurance that you had it right the first time, but you’ll never know unless you push yourself.
