Yesterday, I read through Grimaulkin Tempted in one sitting, and got to the end. It sucked.

This isn’t the first time I realized this. My beta reader for Grimaulkin told me that my ending for that was too short. So I added a couple of scenes, and I suppose it came out more satisfying.

Grimaulkin Tempted‘s initial ending is “the cops came, arrested everyone, and it was over.” Noooooo. It can’t end that way. Too easy.

The idea about endings is that things are ramped up to a point where something breaks.  You have to give the hero something to want throughout the story, and the ending is the climax of either getting what he wants, or not getting what he wants. He has to fight for it, too, which means “the cops came” is not a good heroic ending.

But I hate endings that drag on…and on…and on. I want the book to end, not go on for fifty pages describing the inner thoughts of the main character and how he feels about things. The ending is action. The denouement is reaction. I have the last line in the book, and it’s a hard punch. I have the denouement, and I’m happy with that.

The climax toward the end? Sucks.

I plan on getting this to the editor by October 1.  I’m giving myself a week to come up with an appropriate ending. I hope the muse comes up with something better than “the cops came”.

Started writing Earth/Virgo from the point of view of the gangster. Let’s see if I can make him interesting.

My next appearances will be at the Scituate Art Festival on Saturday, October 7, and Autumnfest in Woonsocket on Sunday, October 8. Check out my calendar for future events.