It's true that the title of this blog does not look like anything to do with historical fiction, but the equilibrium between wildlife and humanity was not always so precarious as it is now. Finding the balance which existed at the time you're writing can be a very useful tool to setting a believable background for your writing. So here are a few mammal considerations... Wild mammals were everywhere - they still are, in fact! Whether you're writing about the middle of a city or the middle of nowhere, it should be a given that these animals will influence life. As well as the obvious and frequently maligned rats and mice, other mammals have cohabited our cities with us. Foxes have always had a partially urban existence, and the building of cities on waterways also often lead to otters and (depending on how far inland they were) seals being resident. Mankind knew how to find wild mammals - there is a continuous development in the scientific study of our wild mammals and this...
Friday 29th November - Endings
Well, we're pretty much at the end of NaNoWriMo! If you're anything like me, you'll be wondering where the last month has gone! It might seem strange to have the penultimate blog on endings, but hopefully this just proves that the end of your book is not the end of the adventure!
On the first blog, I spoke about the importance of beginning a book well and how - in many ways - it's the most important part. Endings are equally important, but for a totally different reason. You don't have to hook anyone in, you want to give them a satisfactory ending for the characters they've invested in.
One thing I realised, after several years(!), is that happy endings are never going to be exclusive. As readers, we invest so much in characters, so by the end what we're really looking for is a contented ending. The reader will be as lost without these characters as you are, so give them an ending full of hope. This could be with a stereotypical happy ending, but more often (speaking as a reader here, as well as a writer!) it's by leaving it open for good things to follow.
Here are a few ideas about ending your story:
Well, we're pretty much at the end of NaNoWriMo! If you're anything like me, you'll be wondering where the last month has gone! It might seem strange to have the penultimate blog on endings, but hopefully this just proves that the end of your book is not the end of the adventure!
On the first blog, I spoke about the importance of beginning a book well and how - in many ways - it's the most important part. Endings are equally important, but for a totally different reason. You don't have to hook anyone in, you want to give them a satisfactory ending for the characters they've invested in.
One thing I realised, after several years(!), is that happy endings are never going to be exclusive. As readers, we invest so much in characters, so by the end what we're really looking for is a contented ending. The reader will be as lost without these characters as you are, so give them an ending full of hope. This could be with a stereotypical happy ending, but more often (speaking as a reader here, as well as a writer!) it's by leaving it open for good things to follow.
Here are a few ideas about ending your story:
- Life is never easy, but after the rollercoaster you've sent your characters on, make sure you open up the opportunity for it to be as near-as!
- You've built your characters into your readers imaginations. Don't spell out their whole lives, let your readers decide what happens next UNLESS...
- ...There's a sequel! But still allow the book to stand alone. There's bound to be someone who starts in the middle of a series!
- Comeuppance is underrated. Sometimes a satisfactory ending is more about what happens to the antagonist than the protagonist.
- There will always be that person who reads the last line first (Grrrr!). Make sure your ending is slightly ambiguous, just to keep them guessing!
Whatever your ending, just remember: you've built this world, now let your characters (through your readers' minds) continue to live in it.
[Psst! Have you seen this: Power to Your Word]
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