Ending a Novel…
Isn’t easy.
The past few days I’ve been working on the end of my WIP. Let me tell you, this has been the hardest part so far. The beginning was a little clunky. The middle was a mixture of good and not so good. The section just before this flew out of my typing fingers like a breeze. And then suddenly, I’ve been hit by the inability to type more than a few hundred words before I feel exhausted. For this novel, I can usually write over a thousand before I start to feel creatively tapped.
I had a plan all along on how I wanted the novel to end, and here we are. But there are so many things to wrap up, and it’s such an important part of the book. Being the climax and all. Once I get past the climax, the last chapter will be pretty easy to write, but until then, arg!
The problem is that the ending is a huge battle scene. And while I know how it ends, I’m not sure all of the smaller steps that I need to take in order to get there. I know I should treat this part like the rest of the novel so far: It’s just a first draft. Get it down and then fix it later.
I’m just having trouble doing that right now. I don’t know if it’s end-of-novel anxieties or if it really is just tougher to write the end. Maybe it’s that I’m not very skilled in writing the endings because…well, I don’t finish things often. So, it’s a pretty new experience for me.
Endings are just so important. The beginning is what gets the reader interested. The middle is what keeps the reader interested. And the ending is what makes the reader interested in reading more of your work. All three are extremely important, and if I want to be a published author, it’s really important to get that third one down pat.
So, I’m just going to push through this problem I seem to be having and do the best that I can.
I only have one prior experience regarding the notion of writing an ending, buuuuuut, I do remember it did take a little more time than the rest. The end is definitely a BIG animal: all the plot thread have to tied together in a neat little package, the pace has to be exciting (keep the reader turning pages and all that), conflicts have to be resolved. It really shouldn’t have come as any surprise to me that it would take longer to write this section than any other section, even on first draft.
I would say take your time, really. Unless you have some sort of “etched in stone” deadline, give yourself some breathing room and enjoy it. Not that you have to “dwell” on it (it’s still a breeze-through first draft), but maybe take a deep breath and try not to force it either?
Either way, good luck! There’s no feeling like finally finishing a book! =)
You’ll get through it, Jen. Just keep doing as you are. You’re soooo close, and you can revise until your heart’s content then, too.