Writing Excuses Transcripts

Writing Excuses 6.30: Help! I can't end my book!

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2011/12/25/writing-excuses-6-30-help-i-cant-end-my-book/

Key points: Stuck in the corner with a deus ex machina? Go ahead and do the deus ex machina, then go back and establish it. OR rewrite the situation. Look for solutions that tie into the characters, the world, and the plots -- thematically related. Look for the smallest change, so that your characters still have to work. Lukewarm ending? Raise the tension, simplify, and look for resonances, especially with the beginning. In any case, write the ending and then fix it. Early highlight? Is your story really what you think it is? Make the most interesting part the focus. Ask alpha readers what promises you made. Overlap your resolutions in one scene. Explain before the climax, not afterwards. When do you give up your formula/outline? When you have something better. How do you set up a satisfying ending with sequels? They will talk about that next season.
( cut and paste ending? )
[Brandon] All right. Dan, bring us our last writing prompt of the season, of the year.
[Dan] Help! I can't end the season!
[Mary] So what you have to come up with...
[Brandon] Dan needs a hamburger...
[Dan] Yes.
[Brandon] You need to write a story about Dan needing to get a hamburger, about all the things that stop him from getting to this hamburger.
[Dan] Then, in the end, I don't eat a hamburger, but I get something far more satisfying.
[Mary] Christmas leftovers!
[Dan] I was thinking chile relleno, but that will work, too.
[Howard] Mama Chus...
[Brandon] All the Writing Excuses crew is salivating.
[Howard] I'm sorry, we're going to start naming restaurants we love, and that's not what you wanted.
[Dan] All right. We are completely out of excuses, and so are you.
[Brandon] Thank you for listening all season. We'll see you next year. Go get some writing done.
[unknown] Whew!