The Perfect Ending

I have put off writing the climax and closure of my YA novel. I have notes. I always have copious notes. I have my Scene chart, with its column of things to follow-up on. I began several pages ahead of where I knew I needed work, as I always do. This puts me in the atmosphere of my story. I found that I had begun my final confrontation, so was able to do an edit of that scene. Then, I was stuck.

I had more notes. I had ideas. But, what exactly should I include? I never like to presume I know the answers, plus someone might say that magic thing that strikes a chord. I have studied and taken classes for a long time, for a lot of things. I could be a lifetime student. But, in all those years, this is the first time I have made the decision to treat this, writing, as a profession and I want to get it right. I turned to my trusty computer and googled endings.

It did not seem to matter the words, or order of words, I searched for. It was one of the least productive searches I have done. However, I did find six sites with information. The most helpful one was ENDINGS by Lori Handeland.

It is scary to put the finish on twenty-four months of work. You’ve worked so hard on it and you want the ending to memorable. You want that sigh when they set the book down. You want them to look at the cover, remember your name and wait for your next one.

I am not going to paraphrase Ms. Handeland’s page here. Go take a look for yourself. I’ve found it extremely helpful.