tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post531809870821107210..comments2024-02-16T02:56:00.399-08:00Comments on Between Fact and Fiction: When You Break The AgreementNatalie Whipplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09978251567306345129noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-13566344705204460622010-11-09T05:20:04.871-08:002010-11-09T05:20:04.871-08:00I remember being "abused" by an author t...I remember being "abused" by an author that I had followed for years. "The Wastelands" by Steven King - I knew about 100 pages from the end that he was not going to finish the story, but I continued on EXPECTING it to come to a conclusion. It was worse than those TV episodes with "to be continued" at the end. I had to wait for years for the continued part, and my devotion was never the same. I have yet to finish that series.<br /><br />Be true to the reader and the reader will be true to you.Kathryn Langhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09150085002538678718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-11205101779602648072010-11-08T09:48:13.505-08:002010-11-08T09:48:13.505-08:00Really good thoughts here. :) I think this goes a ...Really good thoughts here. :) I think this goes a long way towards explaining a *few* different series conclusions I've read lately that I found unsatisfying -- a sudden flip in who the good/bad guys were *without* a lead up to make it feel natural, questions raised but never answered, a feeling that the promise of a story was never followed through. I can see how it would be really difficult to balance all that as the writer, especially over the course of several books, but as a reader I find it very unsatisfying when the conclusion didn't finish whatever I *felt* the story was.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17476469818875049798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-32434667139119519722010-11-05T09:54:10.270-07:002010-11-05T09:54:10.270-07:00Claire, that is very true. In watching all the ani...Claire, that is very true. In watching all the anime I have, I learned that pretty quick. Other cultures can have very different ways of telling and finishing stories.Natalie Whipplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09978251567306345129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-81611261291775979192010-11-05T09:51:07.533-07:002010-11-05T09:51:07.533-07:00Living in Japan, I realise that stuff I thought wa...Living in Japan, I realise that stuff I thought was true of all stories, is really only true of Western stories. <br /><br />The result is that when I first came, I felt like Japanese stories were unfinished, or disappointing. It's a weird thing to get used to.Claire Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14354840714847021685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-72107867204756969252010-11-04T22:05:58.626-07:002010-11-04T22:05:58.626-07:00I definitely know what you mean about promises.
P...I definitely know what you mean about promises.<br /><br />Personally, I think plot twists are fun for readers, but only so long as they follow a thread of some sort. After all,there's a difference between a twist and a hairpin turn off a cliff. If you character does something completely insane for no apparent reason, reader's wont be surprised,they'll just be screaming, "What the what?"Kelsey (Dominique) Ridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10646757546422013401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-1718577342890604272010-11-04T14:35:57.366-07:002010-11-04T14:35:57.366-07:00It is okay for the MC to lose. Sometimes that'...It is okay for the MC to lose. Sometimes that's the best ending to the story. I certainly don't think Frodo came out on top...fingerless and a depressed? <br /><br />But there has to be a decision, a "Coming to Jesus" of sorts. The character has to change, to grow, to accept their failure. They have to make a conscious decision to move on. Frodo did that. That didn't happen in the book I mentioned yesterday. The MC sat as the world around her changed, eventually grew bored with her rocking chair, and took a shower. <br /><br />Was it a memorable ending? Yes. Did I throw the book across the room after the last page? You bet.Becky Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00401748069394025303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-69623463963249403442010-11-04T09:54:15.325-07:002010-11-04T09:54:15.325-07:00I do like some twist endings. That's one of th...I do like some twist endings. That's one of the things I like about murder mysteries, how the nice and friendly character turns out to be the killer. <br />You made a really good point about how it's ok if the MC loses. I think you're right. I don't mind if the MC loses, as long as he/she isn't totally miserable because of it.Neurotic Workaholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775298184138766683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-15617030007568328822010-11-04T09:33:07.664-07:002010-11-04T09:33:07.664-07:00I like this post. I have run across books where th...I like this post. I have run across books where this happens from time to time.<br /><br />Frustration is not the feeling I would want my reader feeling when reading any of my work. Great post. Thanks.Reginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03493618594406138554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-62682613456339323772010-11-04T09:20:17.010-07:002010-11-04T09:20:17.010-07:00Fantastic post, Natalie! Thank you for this. And G...Fantastic post, Natalie! Thank you for this. And Guinevere, I completely agree with you. :)<br /><br />AmyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5774363178370829558.post-2079664039260170892010-11-04T09:08:36.329-07:002010-11-04T09:08:36.329-07:00Great post! Giving some kind of meaningful conclus...Great post! Giving some kind of meaningful conclusion even if it's not what was promised at the beginning is, I think (as a reader) the difference between a satisfying but bittersweet conclusion and one that is just unsatisfying. Or, the difference between putting a book down feeling unsettled, and hurling it across the room. :)Guineverehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10058786129073896210noreply@blogger.com