Last night, I had an apostrophe, er... epiphany. (Slaps knee. Hook, anyone? Anyone? *shrugs*) I thought of a new way to end my first novel, an ending that would completely change everything.
It got me thinking about how to end the series, though.
Without giving anything away to those who haven't read Mockingjay (the last novel in the Hunger Games trilogy) or Sapphique (the sequel to Incarceron), the two authors took very different approaches to ending their series.
Mockingjay's close puts to rest all the wondering about who Katniss ends up with, how she lives her life after the games, etc.
Sapphique leaves you guessing about the specifics, freeing you to imagine the possibilities of who ends up with who and how the world changes after the story ends.
I'm torn between the two camps. I liked the ending to the Hunger Games trilogy, and not just the finality of it all, but what actually happened. On the other hand, for those on the other 'team', the ending alienated them. With Sapphique, I sat there staring at the last page thinking... wait, that's it? What happens next? My imagination filled in the blanks based on my own preferences, but... still... I was a little bummed.
So, which do you prefer (without giving spoilers). Open ended endings? Or endings where everything is wrapped up in detail?
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I think both types of endings have their place -- it's mostly their execution that can make or break it for me. I personally always struggle with tying everything up.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fellow campaigner in the SF group -- look forward to learning more about you over the next few months.
I like both, depending on the situation. But I think I prefer open-ended ones, since they can stick around in your mind for longer.
ReplyDeleteAnother Campaigner here. :)
I like both type - depends on the story, in some cases one will make better sense than the other. I think my bigger issue with Mockinjay was how she handled Katniss as a whole and not so much who she ended up with.
ReplyDeleteHaha, since I've never actually gotten to the end of a longer work *shame, shame* I'm not sure which I like better: the tie-up-loose-ends ending, the or vague ending. Most of my short stories have vague endings, so I'm going to go with that.
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about vague endings is that you get to imagine what happens yourself. I think Harry Potter could have benefited from a vaguer ending, personally.
Hullo fellow campaigner. Following you now (we are in the same group!). Series are tough, but I bet you will get it! For what it's worth, I loved THG ending. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://anallegedauthor.blogspot.com/
Hello, fellow science fiction Campaigner, nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteTidy wrap-up endings are fine, but I don't mind a question or two left open. It depends on how "realistic" the novel is, I think. In the real world you rarely get a tidy wrap-up, so I think that a grittier, more realistic style is allowed to be less tidy at the end.
Paula Jordan, another SF campaigner here. Nice to meet you. I think you can really have it both ways if you want to. Definitely provide all the information that was promised in the story. No one likes to be left thinking,'well yes, but what happened to ....' But a well-imagined character who survives the story is going to have a life after 'The End.' You needn't make it look like everything interesting in her/his life was in the book.
ReplyDeleteHi from the campaign! I'd have to say somewhere in between. Too little is frustrating and I often don't want to read more from that author. Too much feels a bit fake. It depends.
ReplyDeleteI wound up being disappointed in Mockingjay's ending, but not because of the romance.
Hi! I'm from the YA campaign! This is a really stupid question but I'm newish to blogger and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to follow your blog. It doesn't have the blogger bar at the top. Help please? Your posts are interesting and incredibly useful!
ReplyDeleteFor me, it depends on the book and how well a vague ending is executed. I do love a little bit of reader interpretation in an ending--it leads to all sorts of thinking and discussing--but it has to be done well or I get super frustrated.
ReplyDeleteI'm in your YA group from the Campaign and just thought I'd pop over to say hi. Love your blog, and I love the Hook reference. :)
Hi! I'm in your YA campaign group! I struggle with endings too. In general, I think readers like to participate in a book which means leaving some room for interpretation on their part. Then again, if it's too vague or unsatisfying, it makes people mad. See? I struggle. lol
ReplyDeleteUnrelated question... Are you on Twitter? If so, how can I find you?
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on the story for me. Some open endings have worked and others have been disappointing. Same with endings that are wrapped up. Great post!
ReplyDeleteAlso...
Tag! You're it! :)
Hi Avery -
ReplyDeleteFellow nerd, wife and writer. I tend to think if the characters would be okay with it, I am okay with. I know my MC would kick up a fuss about any endings with a neat bow, but others - who knows? :)
K
I'm a fan of endings that do both: close up some loopholes and perhaps open others. The good thing about leaving a few gaps is that the story seems to go on in the reader's mind. Fellow campaigner here, nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteHello from another campaigner!
ReplyDeleteI think that both types of endings CAN work, but I tend to favor (for novels) less ambiguous endings. A reader has invested a number of hours and unless the ambiguous ending really sparks the reader to somehow get a deeper appreciation of what came before, I think it can feel like a let-down. It's like a magic trick where the magician doesn't pull the rabbit out of his hat but instead reaches in, feels around, says "Wow, that's not what I expected!" and then sets the hat down and moves on to his next trick.
It's fair to say that real life doesn't always provide tidy endings. And, certainly, there's room for that in fiction, too. It just has to be done with care.
Hiya, I'm in your fantasy group, so stopping by to say hello. I LOVE Edgar Allen Poe as well. And I'm veering a bit into the territory of horror with what I'm writing, which I never imagined doing.
ReplyDeleteI do not like tidy, tied up in a bow endings. I like there to be some give to the ending. :-)
ReplyDelete