@kellywilliams1332 I'm going through revision drafts of my WIP at the moment, and sometimes it's hard to know when to stop! This was a great reminder that, at some point, it will be time to hand over to alpha/beta readers and an editor.
In another video, Jerry says, "When you have more than one ending, chose the more emotional one." Good advice. As I was typing the final scene on the first draft of my current novel, both my Lead and I were crying. I won't be changing that ending.
I can't tell you the number of stories (not sure I'd call them novels) I've written that have gone nowhere. I admire your writing and so am super excited to have found your blog. My big issues are developing bad guys and then reconciling the middle. I plan on watching all your writing videos and then get writing. Thank you!
Thank you. This applies to movies and series as well. So many I've seen with bad endings, that it ruined the whole experience of watching and being invested 😑
Thank you, sir. I am a musician, with a few completed albums, but I find your advice to be great wisdom for the general creative process. I am a storyteller deep down; so much so, my wife is nudging me to do something with words. Tonight, while I was looking for advice on word count, writing by hand like (Bibi) vs a manual typewriter, etc., I found your youtube channel! The Left Behind writer! Dallas Jenkins' dad! The Chosen! So great! Blessings!
I haven't watched all of your videos, but I can tell that you are very knowledgeable. More than picking the right word, you know so much that you have many examples to show for and you only conveniently pick the best among many. Thank you. I hope I can write as you do. Best regards.
I don't even remember HOW I found you (ca 2 years ago), but I'm always thankful and inspired after hearing your thoughts on writing.... This one just snapped me right back once again, I'm not near the endgame yet of any of my latest ideas, but I'm movivated to get there soon for the gripping feel of actually closing it
Thank you for this. I think most of us would like to write a book with an ending that is transformational. Being patient isn't always easy, but critical. Thanks again.
0:08 oh interesting! 😀 first time seeing a video wholly dedicated to ENDING a story. I’m really looking forward to this content and also highly amused because… Recently, in my 50s I was called to write the one book I’ve always wanted to read but have never seen. It poured out of me like an avalanche from nowhere. The idea, setting, plot, themes and characters arrived fully formed all at once - it’s to the point my old hand cannot keep up with my excited brain and get it down in an organized manner - let alone think how to make it stop! My feed is full of bright young authors with a shockingly sophisticated understanding of - 3act structures, character design, world building, genre, plot, tension, and a 1000 free planning templates and sheets to go with the 100 pieces they just sliced and expanded my passion project into … and buried me in the process 😩 - none of them go into detail about when to end the story, how to end, or ways to critique it though. “have a strong ending in mind at the start so you know where you’re heading” 🤷🏻 Then along comes the old guy with “if you wanna do that I can tell ya how?” - so for a minute I was like SHEESH… does it take so long to write a book only older folk know how to finish 😂😂😂🎉 Lets hope I can get there before my 80’s. *settles in* 👀 🍿
Awesome advice, very clear and straightforward. I’d love to hear more about what you said around 3:11 about how to know when rewriting becomes ineffective and how to gauge when a story is complete. I always edit my scenes to high heaven and feel I could go on forever with it to make it perfect, but of course that’s not productive. Thanks again for the great video!
I enjoy your clarity and natural teaching style. I feel treated as an equal, even though I am unpublished... yet. I will continue to watch and learn from your videos. Heartfelt Thanks.
I adore Brandon Sanderson's epilogues in the Stormlight Archive. They are all from the POV of Wit, my favorite character by far, and I'm sure that's part of why I love them. But they also all contain these huge surprises, little gifts, that he leaves for the very end of each. These are all part of the same massive series, so that may be part of why they work. I'm not as good at analysis as JBJ, obviously, so I don't really understand the why of why they work, but I know they do. Sanderson just knows how to stick a landing.
Thank you. I'm over half-way through a novel. As I've been writing I have slowly figured out the scope of the story, I know roughly what will happen, but I'm here because I was stuck. Part of my problem is that I haven't figured out the adversary's character arc, as I watched this I realised that their arc has to culminate with an emotional interaction with my protagonist's arc and that's the ending I need to aim for. Many of the plot points can get resolved on the way, but the actual ending has to be a personal and emotional face-off between the protagonist and antagonist. Got it!
what do you do if you plan a series and don't want the face to face interaction to happen until one of the future books? How do you think it'd be best to keep that emotional high between the two characters while still keeping them apart?
One thing I always feel that works well is have your bad guy show up early. The protagonist and antagonist should meet and do something near the midpoint. The best antagonists actually do something. They should get some wins before their eventual defeat. That might be the Joker poisoning a few people, the Terminator running around town and chasing Sarah Connor, the T-Rex rampaging through the park in Jurassic Park, or the murderer showing up to monologue before just barely getting away on an episode of Criminal Minds. Successful antagonists make themselves known to the protagonist and the audience and effect some kind of real change on the story before their eventual defeat.
Thank you! I, personally, find some kind of endings more satisfactory depending pf the genre I am reading. It all come, as you say, to preferences and expectations. I really love twisted endings in mysteries 😀 I truly dislike extremes, be it a hang up or when they say too mucho of what is to come. I love a little room for my imagination to fill in the gaps and create my own interpretation. Greetings from Uruguay.
I'm planning a trilogy but I am also a pantser. I think I just figured out my ending for book one but leave a lot of loose ends. how do you plan to wrap up the stories while still leaving the door open for more?
@@kellywilliams1332 I went back to the method I used in the first novel of my trilogy: tying up the major plot points of the first book, but also relying on a lot of foreshadowing and bread crumbs to keep the door open. I think this only works if you have characters that readers really like and feel invested in, though. Though my first novel ends with unresolved romantic tension between the two main characters and a *potentially* threatening political situation, it still reaches a satisfactory conclusion. I'm going to try to emulate that with the second book. Since the second book is part of a trilogy, however, it won't really be a stand-alone like the first book.
The story I am about to wright and the one wich will probably be the next story had their ending from the get go. Because the endings were part of the story. And that is how it should be.
Stephen King's Gray Matter, The Ledge, Graveyard Shift and The Mangler have quasi-unresolved endings thar are quite powerful. I like to use this technique.
Okay I got 2 Questions, since I am a New Writer supposedly... 1) Can "The Ending" be like Dragon Ball? Next Time, on Dragon Ball Z... and 2) Can The Book, be about "Power Struggle"? Like Now about Power Ups or Power Boost type stuff. But, Power Struggle like trying to find your place in life. Like where does your character stand in the book.
On the topic of open ending I don't feel Brandon Sanderson mistborn is one of those. I think it is closer to what you would have preferred. I was wondering your opinion on the first book. ( No spoilers if you ask I'd like to private message you about it since it's such a good series.)
Jerry do you have a novel on writing like Stephen King? Most authors struggle to put these concepts into words but I feel that you have what it takes to really put together something comprehensive.
The ending to The Stand was a huge disappointment. After reading hundreds of pages, instead of getting the promised big battle, it had a dues ex machina ending.
What if I'm so tied up to a book that I'm not ready to let it go ? To actually end it someday ? What if the characters, the world I'm writting means too much for me ?
What about 6? The Subtext , undertow ending you could call it. The conspiracy Harry Potter endingfor example.He’s actually a kid who lost it , killed his abusive stepparents and is now reimagining the who thing in a new light with him as the hero- from a mental institution. Or, an example from film, same principle at work. Marty McFly actually suffered a concussion when he turned up the juice on his electric guitar in Doc Browns lab let’s call it- opening scene. Marty is half dreaming half hallucinating the whole thing from his hospital bed. Perhaps he’s been given drugs that contribute to the illusion. It is interesting in that we see him asleep when Doc Brown calls him in the early mornin hrs. He’s been hallucinating from the time of the concussion all through the trilogy till he actually wakes up in the hospital with his family by his side. “ I had this horrible dream,we were all losers”. “ It’s o.k Marty Dear, you bk in good old 1985” Reguardless, the greatest cinematic payoff in history. Number what was that? Number eight on the story circle anyway. Home- bk to the future= number 7- Yellow line. Home free= nummber8 on the story circle., Green line.Character arc in a altered for the better timeline.😊
Thank you so much for your helpful guidelines. Particularly the 6 different endings. As well as being a very successful novelist, you have a great speaking voice. Your vocabulary and delivery, in which listeners understand exactly what you're saying, is exceptional. There's calm confidence in the way you speak. I'm reminded of President Biden 😊.
Fair but that wasn’t a writing problem, imo. I think it’s one of the most well written works I’ve ever been lucky enough to experience and it’s what inspired me to really finally get on top of that novel.
Great advice for writers. I’m really sorry that you wrote the left behind series. There are millions of evangelical conservatives who believe that you’re biblical fanfiction is prophecy.
"When do you know it's been rewritten enough? When you've gone from making it better to merely making it different."
Great advice.
i wrote this one down too! great quote!
@kellywilliams1332 I'm going through revision drafts of my WIP at the moment, and sometimes it's hard to know when to stop! This was a great reminder that, at some point, it will be time to hand over to alpha/beta readers and an editor.
In another video, Jerry says, "When you have more than one ending, chose the more emotional one." Good advice. As I was typing the final scene on the first draft of my current novel, both my Lead and I were crying. I won't be changing that ending.
Thank you Jerry! I enrolled in your Dreamer to Author program and finished my first book. Thank you for sharing your God given talents.
Wooooooo! Congrats!
God given, but I suspect very much Jerry-honed
I can't tell you the number of stories (not sure I'd call them novels) I've written that have gone nowhere. I admire your writing and so am super excited to have found your blog. My big issues are developing bad guys and then reconciling the middle. I plan on watching all your writing videos and then get writing. Thank you!
There's so many gems in this that it's almost blinding
Thank you. This applies to movies and series as well. So many I've seen with bad endings, that it ruined the whole experience of watching and being invested 😑
Thank you, sir. I am a musician, with a few completed albums, but I find your advice to be great wisdom for the general creative process. I am a storyteller deep down; so much so, my wife is nudging me to do something with words. Tonight, while I was looking for advice on word count, writing by hand like (Bibi) vs a manual typewriter, etc., I found your youtube channel! The Left Behind writer! Dallas Jenkins' dad! The Chosen! So great! Blessings!
I haven't watched all of your videos, but I can tell that you are very knowledgeable. More than picking the right word, you know so much that you have many examples to show for and you only conveniently pick the best among many. Thank you. I hope I can write as you do. Best regards.
Chicken Soup for the Left Behind Amish Vampire; now there’s a book I would love to read/guilty pleasure. 😂
😂
I am 13 years old and I made an adult novel and had trouble coming up with an ending. This was very helpful!
I don't even remember HOW I found you (ca 2 years ago), but I'm always thankful and inspired after hearing your thoughts on writing.... This one just snapped me right back once again, I'm not near the endgame yet of any of my latest ideas, but I'm movivated to get there soon for the gripping feel of actually closing it
Thank you for this. I think most of us would like to write a book with an ending that is transformational. Being patient isn't always easy, but critical. Thanks again.
How to end a story. I'm going to guess with a period.
I can’t believe all this advice is free
Thank you, Jerry! I like the full-circle ending. I'm going to use that one.
"all youre getting from publishers is fifty shades of wait and see" xD xD thats a great line
0:08 oh interesting! 😀 first time seeing a video wholly dedicated to ENDING a story. I’m really looking forward to this content and also highly amused because…
Recently, in my 50s I was called to write the one book I’ve always wanted to read but have never seen. It poured out of me like an avalanche from nowhere. The idea, setting, plot, themes and characters arrived fully formed all at once - it’s to the point my old hand cannot keep up with my excited brain and get it down in an organized manner - let alone think how to make it stop!
My feed is full of bright young authors with a shockingly sophisticated understanding of - 3act structures, character design, world building, genre, plot, tension, and a 1000 free planning templates and sheets to go with the 100 pieces they just sliced and expanded my passion project into … and buried me in the process 😩
- none of them go into detail about when to end the story, how to end, or ways to critique it though.
“have a strong ending in mind at the start so you know where you’re heading” 🤷🏻
Then along comes the old guy with “if you wanna do that I can tell ya how?” - so for a minute I was like SHEESH… does it take so long to write a book only older folk know how to finish 😂😂😂🎉
Lets hope I can get there before my 80’s.
*settles in* 👀 🍿
Thank you for the advice. I really like your way of teaching. It really helps me with my stories.
What a philanthropic writer. Thank you for sharing the wisdom you've gained
Awesome advice, very clear and straightforward. I’d love to hear more about what you said around 3:11 about how to know when rewriting becomes ineffective and how to gauge when a story is complete. I always edit my scenes to high heaven and feel I could go on forever with it to make it perfect, but of course that’s not productive. Thanks again for the great video!
Finally someone who gets it. Ambiguous endings are so overrated. I want a story that feels complete, not something that feels "literary".
I think it ultimately depends on the genre and tone of the story.
I enjoy your clarity and natural teaching style. I feel treated as an equal, even though I am unpublished... yet. I will continue to watch and learn from your videos. Heartfelt Thanks.
Nice, that's actually even helps on how to write events/plots endings.
Thank you so much for the wisdom you share so freely.
This man is a gem. Nice Narration sir.
Thanks professor ❤
I adore Brandon Sanderson's epilogues in the Stormlight Archive. They are all from the POV of Wit, my favorite character by far, and I'm sure that's part of why I love them. But they also all contain these huge surprises, little gifts, that he leaves for the very end of each. These are all part of the same massive series, so that may be part of why they work. I'm not as good at analysis as JBJ, obviously, so I don't really understand the why of why they work, but I know they do. Sanderson just knows how to stick a landing.
Thank you. I'm over half-way through a novel. As I've been writing I have slowly figured out the scope of the story, I know roughly what will happen, but I'm here because I was stuck. Part of my problem is that I haven't figured out the adversary's character arc, as I watched this I realised that their arc has to culminate with an emotional interaction with my protagonist's arc and that's the ending I need to aim for. Many of the plot points can get resolved on the way, but the actual ending has to be a personal and emotional face-off between the protagonist and antagonist. Got it!
what do you do if you plan a series and don't want the face to face interaction to happen until one of the future books? How do you think it'd be best to keep that emotional high between the two characters while still keeping them apart?
One thing I always feel that works well is have your bad guy show up early. The protagonist and antagonist should meet and do something near the midpoint. The best antagonists actually do something. They should get some wins before their eventual defeat. That might be the Joker poisoning a few people, the Terminator running around town and chasing Sarah Connor, the T-Rex rampaging through the park in Jurassic Park, or the murderer showing up to monologue before just barely getting away on an episode of Criminal Minds.
Successful antagonists make themselves known to the protagonist and the audience and effect some kind of real change on the story before their eventual defeat.
Thank you! I, personally, find some kind of endings more satisfactory depending pf the genre I am reading. It all come, as you say, to preferences and expectations. I really love twisted endings in mysteries 😀 I truly dislike extremes, be it a hang up or when they say too mucho of what is to come. I love a little room for my imagination to fill in the gaps and create my own interpretation. Greetings from Uruguay.
Your videos helped me write my first novel last year! Thank you!
Many thanks, Jerry. I listened to this twice and will listen to your other video on writing. Thanks again.
Thanks Jerry. These tips have been so appreciated. They are easy to digest and implement.
Jerry just talked me out of a cliffhanger between the second and third books in my trilogy. Seems right!
I'm planning a trilogy but I am also a pantser. I think I just figured out my ending for book one but leave a lot of loose ends. how do you plan to wrap up the stories while still leaving the door open for more?
@@kellywilliams1332 I went back to the method I used in the first novel of my trilogy: tying up the major plot points of the first book, but also relying on a lot of foreshadowing and bread crumbs to keep the door open. I think this only works if you have characters that readers really like and feel invested in, though.
Though my first novel ends with unresolved romantic tension between the two main characters and a *potentially* threatening political situation, it still reaches a satisfactory conclusion. I'm going to try to emulate that with the second book. Since the second book is part of a trilogy, however, it won't really be a stand-alone like the first book.
Thank you Mr. Jenkins. Am bookmarking this one forever.
Amazing, Jerry. Thanks for sharing ths and a lot more. It's more valuble than gold, and life changing in the right hands.
Thank you so much sir for making these videos which helps people in making young writers.
Thanks Jerry! Helpful as usual. Blessings.
Love this video Jerry. Practical yet inspiring content per usual! TY!
The story I am about to wright and the one wich will probably be the next story had their ending from the get go. Because the endings were part of the story. And that is how it should be.
Thanks for the advice Jerry
That was helpful. Thanks for the insights!
Great advice, as usual. Thank you.
Excellent, Jerry! Thank you!
Good, solid advice. Thank you
Thank you! Very helpful.
I love your videos. I’m learning so much! Thank you!
Stephen King's Gray Matter, The Ledge, Graveyard Shift and The Mangler have quasi-unresolved endings thar are quite powerful. I like to use this technique.
this is so helpful.!! thank you!
Wonderful video! I really enjoyed watching it.
Impossibly helpful! Thank you!
Great video. Thankyou.
Anyone else here for Jerry’s ASMR? 🫠
Good stuff, as always.
Perfect timing! Thank you :)
Thank you
Can you do a video about writing a series?
Thank you for this video.
Okay I got 2 Questions, since I am a New Writer supposedly...
1) Can "The Ending" be like Dragon Ball?
Next Time, on Dragon Ball Z...
and
2) Can The Book, be about "Power Struggle"?
Like Now about Power Ups or Power Boost type stuff.
But, Power Struggle like trying to find your place in life. Like where does your character stand in the book.
Great video.
Thank you for your advice.
Thank you Sir
Thank you!!!!
How do you come up with movie scripts?
On the topic of open ending I don't feel Brandon Sanderson mistborn is one of those. I think it is closer to what you would have preferred. I was wondering your opinion on the first book. ( No spoilers if you ask I'd like to private message you about it since it's such a good series.)
Jerry do you have a novel on writing like Stephen King? Most authors struggle to put these concepts into words but I feel that you have what it takes to really put together something comprehensive.
Perfect❤❤❤
He ended his own video well. He changed the orientation and his posture when I viewed this video.
I like to writning story and novel but i am bad with starting and ending. I need more advise d.
When referring to rewriting, is editing and rewriting the same?
Thanks!
I am not a huge fan of epilogues or prologues. However, do you think they are expected as part of some genres, such as Fantasy and Science Fiction?
Hello sir, can you please tell me what kind of end does The Great Gatsby have ?
Send this video to Stephen King. He needs to know.
The ending to The Stand was a huge disappointment. After reading hundreds of pages, instead of getting the promised big battle, it had a dues ex machina ending.
Do you recommend writing a story in a trilogy? Beginning, middle and end?
When will your next live Q and A be?
Thank you! PS Audio is low....too low
How can i write, create and develop my secret agent or espionage spy novel?
Great video, just a tip the audio is a bit quiet.
What do I start writing on. Do I start writing in notebooks?
Dusk til dawn I will make this to the best of my ability
Cheers
I recently tried to watch "Left Behind" with Nicolas cage. It was sooo bad.
What if I'm so tied up to a book that I'm not ready to let it go ? To actually end it someday ? What if the characters, the world I'm writting means too much for me ?
Turn it into a series
What about 6? The Subtext , undertow ending you could call it.
The conspiracy Harry Potter endingfor example.He’s actually a kid who lost it , killed his abusive stepparents and is now reimagining the who thing in a new light with him as the hero- from a mental institution.
Or, an example from film, same principle at work. Marty McFly actually suffered a concussion when he turned up the juice on his electric guitar in Doc Browns lab let’s call it- opening scene.
Marty is half dreaming half hallucinating the whole thing from his hospital bed. Perhaps he’s been given drugs that contribute to the illusion.
It is interesting in that we see him asleep when Doc Brown calls him in the early mornin hrs.
He’s been hallucinating from the time of the concussion all through the trilogy till he actually wakes up in the hospital with his family by his side.
“ I had this horrible dream,we were all losers”. “ It’s o.k Marty Dear, you bk in good old 1985”
Reguardless, the greatest cinematic payoff in history. Number what was that?
Number eight on the story circle anyway. Home- bk to the future= number 7- Yellow line. Home free= nummber8 on the story circle., Green line.Character arc in a altered for the better timeline.😊
Thank you so much for your helpful guidelines. Particularly the 6 different endings. As well as being a very successful novelist, you have a great speaking voice. Your vocabulary and delivery, in which listeners understand exactly what you're saying, is exceptional. There's calm confidence in the way you speak. I'm reminded of President Biden 😊.
*GRRM wants to know your location*
Only thing he missed was take a shower. Them shower thoughts be powerful.
Can someone please send this to Cody Rhodes? 😂
I read this and I thought he wrote a book or something Im dumb as hell lol
How to end a story?
Write the words: 'The End'.
Attack on Titan ending ruined the series for me
Fair but that wasn’t a writing problem, imo. I think it’s one of the most well written works I’ve ever been lucky enough to experience and it’s what inspired me to really finally get on top of that novel.
I'm honestly surprised the wheel of time Jordan Peterson didn't pop up
Would you translate your video in Arabic, more followers, it would be amazing for Arab writing please do it. Thank you
İF HER SKELET İN BİBLİA DİEDS AND BURNS FOR US
Great advice for writers. I’m really sorry that you wrote the left behind series. There are millions of evangelical conservatives who believe that you’re biblical fanfiction is prophecy.
Your voice reminds me of Winnie the Pooh and maybe Joe Biden combined.
Thanks for the advice. Wishing you well.
Thanks!
Only thing he missed was take a shower. Them shower thoughts be powerful.