Dog hair. Right Butters? That's you!
(Music) LOGO.
Hello everybody! The Project K.E.E.P. charity
drive is officially over, and you guys, holy shit! You rallied around Project K.E.E.P. in such
a big way! You were SO generous, and Cliff and I appreciated it SO much! This is our final monetary
count that you guys donated. All of this money is going directly to Project K.E.E.P. so that they
can buy supplies and essentials for kids entering foster care. Thank you guys SO much for all your
support! This cause means SO much to us and I am honestly completely blown away. I did not expect
this to become as successful as it did. Now, due to the unreliable nature of the mail there are
still a few supply donations coming in, so I'm not going to reveal the final supply count for a few
more weeks. We're gonna let a few more packages come in first. Keep your eyes peeled for that
announcement. So far we have over 250 donations, so I cannot wait to see how many we have once
all is said and done. That said, we did reach two more donation goals before the drive ended,
which means I have two more prizes to hand out. Congratulations to these amazing human
beings! You are walking away with a signed copy of Single-Minded by Lisa Daily. Lisa Daily was super
excited about the Project K.E.E.P. drive. She has put together foster care drives herself, so
she was really eager to get involved. Thank you SO much Lisa for your generosity! You are incredible!
And again, thank you to everyone who donated! I'll be back with the final supply count in just a few
weeks. Anywho, today we're talking about how to write the very last chapter of your book–AKA the
resolution. Sometimes people confuse the climax of the book with the resolution because they both
occur toward the end, but they are VERY different plot points. The climax is the most intense moment
of your novel. It’s when the conflict of the story comes to a head, and it usually happens
within the last few chapters of your novel. The resolution is the aftermath of the climax. It's
once everything gets resolved, and it is the very last chapter of your novel. Think of the climax
as the explosion and the resolution as the dust settling. Writing a solid final chapter is pivotal
to the success of your novel because it's the last impression you're leaving your readers with,
so it could make or break their impression of your book. No pressure! Because of this,
I'm giving you the tips and tricks you need to keep in mind when writing ‘The End.’ Today's topic
is dedicated to two of my patrons from over on Patreon, Alex and Jesse. Alex is super active
over on my Patreon. He is constantly throwing out super cool video topic suggestions. Jesse is also
amazing. He happens to be one of my beta readers for The Savior’s Sister and he is hysterical. They
wanted to know all about writing an impactful ending, so I'm listing my top 10 tips for
doing just that. Number One (1): Understand its purpose. The end of your book is the resolution,
which means shit needs to get resolved. When you write a novel, you are typically introducing some
kind of conflict at the beginning, and by the end you need to introduce some form of finality
to that conflict. But sometimes people get so wrapped up in world building or the characters
that they lose sight of the purpose of their story. This ultimately boils down to a lack of
understanding regarding structure. Every chapter of your novel should be moving the plot forward
in some way. The resolution is no different. I have read books where, by the final chapter, the
conflict wasn't REMOTELY resolved. This didn't make me feel excited to read the next book. It
just made me feel like I wasted my time. Number Two (2): Know where you're headed. You're writing
the last chapter of your book. Where do you go from there? If this book is a standalone,
then that's it. This is literally the end. That means you need to resolve everything. All the
loose ends need to be tied up, because there is nowhere else to go. If anything isn't resolved,
then it needs to be intentional. Something that you want to remain mysterious. If this book is
part of a series, then the last chapter is the end of one plot within a much bigger story. That means
you still need a resolution, but you'll probably introduce some new problems, as well. For example,
the conflict of The Savior's Champion is, “Will Tobias survive the tournament and
get to be with the woman he loves?” In the last chapter, these questions are answered. However,
a new problem is introduced that will be explored in the next book in the series. Writing a series
is not a green light to leave your reader hanging; you need to resolve the conflict while still
introducing a new problem in order to incentivize them to read further. Number Three (3): Don't
forget your subplots. Your subplots are important! You can't just let ‘em piss off into the wind. If
you're writing your last chapter, you need to take a look at your subplots and see if they
were resolved. Now, you don't have to resolve them IN the last chapter. They could have been touched
on before then, but they need to have been tied up by that point or else readers are gonna take
notice. Of course, the exception is if you're writing a series and the subplot is going to
continue on into the next book, but there still needs to be some sense of finality before then.
Number Four (4): Look to your beginning. Quite often the resolution of your story is somehow
a mirror of or the antithesis to the beginning. The resolution gives you an opportunity to show
where your character started and how much they've changed since then. People grow through conflict,
so the comparison between the start and the end is going to highlight that. Now, please don't think
you have to be overt with this. No one wants to read a rambling soliloquy about how far they've
come. But an effective ending typically showcases a major dichotomy between the introduction and
resolution. Number Five (5): Bring your themes home. Many books have some kind of message the
author is trying to convey and the resolution is an ideal time to bring these messages home. The
resolution is supposed to be thought-provoking and emotional, and this is largely because of themes.
This is your last chance to make whatever point you're trying to make. You don't have
to be blatant about it. In fact, you probably shouldn't be. But if you're relying on themes,
the resolution should support them through the action and dialogue. Number Six (6): Don't jerk
yourself off. There have been many books that I absolutely loved, but once the author got
to the resolution, they became so prolific and self-indulgent and preachy. Why? Why’re ya doing
this? This is the final impression you're leaving your readers with and you don't want it to be the
taste of vomit in their mouth. That's not to say you can't write an emotional ending. In fact,
most of the time you totally should. But there's a big difference between tuggin’ at your reader’s
heartstrings and tuggin’ at your own dick. “But Jenna, how do I know if I'm jerking myself off?”
Clue number 1: your hand is on your dick and you're rubbin’ back and forth. Clue number 2:
you're telling your reader how to feel rather than evoking emotion through the story. Clue number 3:
you're stating your themes explicitly. Themes are meant to be understated, not spelled out in neon
lights. And clue number 4: you are feeling way too fuckin’ smug while writing this crap. If you're
writing your resolution thinking, “I'm a genius! Look at the wisdom I’m bestowing upon the masses!”
Then you've probably busted a literary nut. Number Seven (7): Convenience is your enemy. This point
is most relevant to the climax of the story. However, it pertains to the resolution, as well.
If your conflict is eliminated too conveniently or coincidentally, readers are gonna be pissed.
They're gonna feel like they got invested only for all the drama and pain to have been worthless. A
lot of writers do this by relying on old cliches, like, “It was all a dream,” or, “The answer was
inside of you all along.” This is a storytelling cop-out, and best believe readers will not be
picking up your next book. Number Eight (8): Not everything needs to be spelled out. In the climax
of your novel, the sidekick sacrifices his life to save the main character. His parting words are,
“You are my everything.” Then in the resolution, we get a page-long explanation telling the reader,
“Guess what? The sidekick was in love with her the whole time!” Ya think? Sometimes writers
treat their readers like idiots, especially in the last chapter. They're afraid readers might miss a
thing or two, so they decide to spell it out for ‘em. I get it. Some readers are really stupid,
but you shouldn't cater your work to the lowest common denominator. Number Nine (9): Satisfy the
reader–with their consent, of course! If there is one goal for the resolution, it's to leave the
reader feeling satisfied. They need to get what they were promised out of the novel. For example,
if you're writing a romance, that means the resolution needs to have a happy ending. It's
a requirement of the genre, and thus, that's what readers expect. “But Jenna, don't I want
to deliver the unexpected?” Not at the expense of ruining your book! It's great to shock readers,
but surprise and outrage are not the same thing. People gravitate to certain genres with
specific expectations, so pulling a 180° on your readers during the resolution isn't gonna fly. And
Number Ten (10): Shut up! I once read a book where the climax happened in the middle of the story and
the last 100 pages were the resolution. That's really boring! Some writers want to show every
detail of the aftermath, but that's what epilogues are for, and epilogues are short. Ultimately,
the resolution is supposed to resolve the story and open up some new questions. It's not there
to introduce a brand-new cast, or expand upon the world, or show the day-to-day life of the existing
characters. If you're tempted to go this route, stop yourself before you start. So that's all
I got for you today! A huge thank you to Alex and Jesse for requesting today's video! If you'd like
the chance to have a video dedicated to you or if you want access to tons of other awards, check me
out on Patreon! We've got an exclusive writing group, we have early access to videos, we have
a monthly live stream, we've got signed merch! The link is listed below. Get on it! Don't forget
to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if you want to be alerted as SOON
as I upload, all you have to do is ring that bell! That's what all the cool kids do. Don't you wanna
be cool? I know ya do! The Savior's Champion is available in eBook, paperback, hard back, signed
hardback, as well as audiobook! If you are new to audiobooks, you can listen to TSC on Audible for
free! All the information is listed below, so just click the links, listen for free. You'll be glad
ya did! And be sure to follow me on social media! I'm on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook–and of course,
you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
(Flippant Male Voice) Hey! Everyone! I'm Flynn! I fuckin’
love myself. So if you love me, and you don't mind a bit of Jenna, then why don't you press
the fuckin’ subscribe button? You know you want to, ‘cause then you get to hear more
of me! Anyways, press that button, ding the bell, and we'll have a great fuckin’ time.