Munday - The End
Let's talk about endings!
1. Do your stories/RP arcs have endings? Or are they like sitcoms, incidents end but the story goes on.
I guess I favor the "sitcom" approach. Stories have endings, but I see them as pretty much larger incidents in an ongoing life. Like, "Secundus" has an ending with Victor and Alice getting married, but, as seen in the various drabbles and other bits of fanfiction, things continue on after that. Perhaps not on such a grand scale, but they're still living life and having little adventures.
2. If you write trilogies/quartets/quintets etc. does each book have an ending of it's own?
Pretty much. I tend to try and wrap up the events of each story before going to the next. Especially if there's going to be an in-universe gap between stories -- for example, "Secundus 2" takes place about two years after "Secundus" AND in a different location, so it's kind of important that everything from the first story get more or less wrapped up! (Though I'm wondering if this applies as much to my current project -- writing out the backstory to another RP Victor of mine. The way the second story in the quartet has shaped up, it's kind of "moments in the life," so it doesn't have the most conclusive ending.)
3. How far ahead do you know how your book will end?
Typically from the beginning of the story. I've found that I don't have some sort of "ending" point, the story suffers as I get stuck somewhere. Usually my ideas come to me with some sort of definite ending (like "Secundus"), so it's not usually a problem. Those that don't, I tend to adapt into drabblefic to circumvent the issue.
4. Do you write happy endings? Or less so.
Oh, I'm a sucker for happy endings. I like putting my characters through the wringer during the story itself, but I love giving them a happy ending. I'm really not one for downer endings. My feeling is, "Okay, you've gone through all this -- here's a boatload of happy for your trouble." Granted, I don't always adhere to this in some of my shorter fic, but typically I go for a happy ending.
5. Do you ever have trouble with endings? Which do you think is harder - Endings, or beginnings?
Oooh yes. Sometimes I just CANNOT figure out how to get to the ending I want. The story just either meanders on without purpose, or comes to a sudden grinding halt. This has doomed quite a lot of ideas I've had (those that I couldn't turn into shorter, "who needs an ending" drabblefics, anyway). I think endings are a bit harder for me, though sometimes I have trouble with beginnings too. Typically when the idea I've come up with kind of started in the middle. Either way, it can be a real challenge to get from point A to point B. Very happy "Secundus" did not give me much guff with that!
1. Do your stories/RP arcs have endings? Or are they like sitcoms, incidents end but the story goes on.
I guess I favor the "sitcom" approach. Stories have endings, but I see them as pretty much larger incidents in an ongoing life. Like, "Secundus" has an ending with Victor and Alice getting married, but, as seen in the various drabbles and other bits of fanfiction, things continue on after that. Perhaps not on such a grand scale, but they're still living life and having little adventures.
2. If you write trilogies/quartets/quintets etc. does each book have an ending of it's own?
Pretty much. I tend to try and wrap up the events of each story before going to the next. Especially if there's going to be an in-universe gap between stories -- for example, "Secundus 2" takes place about two years after "Secundus" AND in a different location, so it's kind of important that everything from the first story get more or less wrapped up! (Though I'm wondering if this applies as much to my current project -- writing out the backstory to another RP Victor of mine. The way the second story in the quartet has shaped up, it's kind of "moments in the life," so it doesn't have the most conclusive ending.)
3. How far ahead do you know how your book will end?
Typically from the beginning of the story. I've found that I don't have some sort of "ending" point, the story suffers as I get stuck somewhere. Usually my ideas come to me with some sort of definite ending (like "Secundus"), so it's not usually a problem. Those that don't, I tend to adapt into drabblefic to circumvent the issue.
4. Do you write happy endings? Or less so.
Oh, I'm a sucker for happy endings. I like putting my characters through the wringer during the story itself, but I love giving them a happy ending. I'm really not one for downer endings. My feeling is, "Okay, you've gone through all this -- here's a boatload of happy for your trouble." Granted, I don't always adhere to this in some of my shorter fic, but typically I go for a happy ending.
5. Do you ever have trouble with endings? Which do you think is harder - Endings, or beginnings?
Oooh yes. Sometimes I just CANNOT figure out how to get to the ending I want. The story just either meanders on without purpose, or comes to a sudden grinding halt. This has doomed quite a lot of ideas I've had (those that I couldn't turn into shorter, "who needs an ending" drabblefics, anyway). I think endings are a bit harder for me, though sometimes I have trouble with beginnings too. Typically when the idea I've come up with kind of started in the middle. Either way, it can be a real challenge to get from point A to point B. Very happy "Secundus" did not give me much guff with that!