Don't Shortchange Your Ending

I spent the week finishing up my new Harlequin Romance as we welcomed our first grandchild into the world. Have laptop, will travel. :)

I counted myself lucky to be at the end of the book through such a busy week because the end of the book is wrap up and wrap up is easy...

Or is it?

You still have to make sure every scene has a journey step and that the type of scenes you choose to manifest that journey steps that resolve your conflicts don't merely work; they're the best scene possible.

You don't want to rush. You still want to get in the details.

You most certainly don't want to shortchange the emotion of the ending.

This is the payoff readers have been reading for. You've been racing them to this ending, to the resolution of the mystery, to the declaration of love, to the saving of the world. You shouldn't say, "They found the bomb, defused it and everybody went home." Even if that's exactly what happened, readers want some detail...and some emotion. More than anybody else, Romance readers and writers KNOW there is an emotion to closure. :)

Your readers want to sigh with relief as your characters sigh with relief over the saving of the world, resolution of the mystery or declaration of love.

So though this is a short blog...there's a big point. Don't shortchange your endings. Don't wrap things up too quickly. Don't tell the ending. Show it.

Happy Monday and Happy Reading...

susan meier