NaNoWriMo Prep: Writing the Final Scene
Knowing the Ending Before You Start
Photo by Isaac Wendland on Unsplash
In the weeks before a marathon, runners reduce their mileage, giving their muscles a chance to repair themselves before the big race. They taper off mileage, get lots of sleep, and eat a balanced diet until race day.
We are taking a similar approach during this last week before NaNoWriMo: reading short pieces of prose, writing a little poetry, doing small dives of introspection, making some narrative goals.
By the last week in October, students have completed the following:
developed characters
sketched out story worlds
thought about interior and exterior arcs
wrote and rewrote premises and loglines
created loose plot lines on poster boards using different colored Post-Its for the main characters
discussed how all of this planning doesn’t guarantee success or results
One of the last things I ask students to do is to write the final scene. This activity invites them to envision what they are writing toward. The ending will change dramatically by the time they actually arrive at that point, but knowing the ending, or at least knowing where you think you are headed, can be a powerful thinking piece for writers.
After reading Jami Attenberg’s great Craft Talk piece on How To Choose An Ending, (especially the last three questions which I have taken directly from Alexander Chee’s response regarding Jeff Vandermeer’s advice) I devised a three-part lesson to help students think through their ending.
Before Writing The Final Scene
Answer the following questions as comprehensively as you can. Thinking through these questions will help you craft the final scene.
Who will be in the final scene of your novel?
Through whose consciousness will the final scene be rendered?
Where (interpret this as you will - geographically, emotionally, metaphysically) will the final scene of your novel be?
What is the mood you want the reader to experience in the final scene?
What is one question you’ve posed in the novel that will be answered in your final scene?
What transformation in your main character will be apparent by the final scene?
Will your ending support, defy or disappoint the status quo?
Will your ending devastate your reader with beautiful sadness or leave them with a feeling of peace and hope and possibility?
How will the final scene shape the meaning of the story, but is not the meaning of the story?
Do you know how to write the final scene?
Writing the Final Scene
Write the final scene any way it tumbles out. Go as long or as short as you want. Don’t get bogged down in true construction and don’t censor yourself. Write calmly without fretting about getting it “right” or even competently accurate. If you can’t write in scene, write in exposition. Include anything that pops into your head about this scene, knowing it will most likely be cut or rearranged in the end. If you feel like you cannot write the final scene, merely consider each character and outline their journey from start to finish in a few paragraphs.
After Writing the Final Scene
Now consider your plot line. Look over the scenes that you’ve laid along your timeline for each of your main characters. What scenes ultimately lead to the last scene? Select seven scenes you think are crucial to the final scene. Why are these scenes crucial? What are the stakes in each of them that propels the plot forward toward this ending? How do those seven scenes create a cause-and-effect chain that delivers the final scene? Share your seven scenes and your final scene with a partner and get their feedback.