Beginnings
and Endings
In or Out? Beginning or End? (An illustration I did for my book, The Elements and Principles of Design.)
B eginnings and endings cause writers the
most grief. I have sat struggling over the beginning of a story many times. What
am I trying to say? How should it be said or shown? What type of person would
be reading this? And what would grab the interest of that type of reader? I sit
at my computer and feel the blood rising in my head trying to feed my brain. I close
my eyes, try to block out the distractions around me, and think. I write until
I’m either satisfied or time runs out. Usually the time runs out—well—the time always runs out in my case.
Most writers write out the
whole book or story from beginning to end. Then they make several passes back
through the book fixing things—such as adding or subtracting details, rearranging
things inside chapters, making sure of verb and pronoun agreement, and etc. Then
they go back and rewrite the beginning and the ending. Here’s why.
·
Because beginnings
should accomplish the following:
1.
Catch the interest of the readers.
2.
Introduce the characters.
3.
Set the stage—time, place, social atmosphere,
era, situation.
That’s a tall order, and it applies to writing personal
and family history as well as to books and articles.
There
are three approaches you can take with beginnings:
1.
You can start with an anecdote or little story
that will generate interest.
2.
You can start with dialogue that makes the
reader curious.
3.
You can make an interesting statement or raise a
question that hooks the reader in.
Obviously, you have to decide which
approach will work best for what you’re writing. And then the fun begins!
·
Because
endings should accomplish the following:
1.
Wrap up loose ends.
2.
Answer raised questions.
3.
Make the reader feel satisfied.
There are three approaches you
can take with endings:
1.
Create a summary.
2.
Conclude with a comparison of times, places, or
people. (Harry was like his grandfather in that . . . .)
3.
Draw conclusions or submit final findings.
You need to make the work look, feel, and sound finished.
And what a great place for a writer to finally be! Good Luck in your work.
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