I need some help....

[Hannah]

Hey everybody, I was hoping I could get some tips here. I'm not sure where to post this so...

When I'm writing I can come up with characters and a basic plot, but I can never come up with an ending. Usually I will just start writing and see where the story takes me, but I would like to be able to outline my book before I start writing. How do you come up with your plot? Any tips would be appreciated! :)

[Dana]

There's a couple of different things you could try, but it's going to be different for each author of course...and all of these suggestions are going to sound really basic, but if you get past that and actually try them it might end up helping you out. : )
(Oh, and all of the suggestions are for figuring out endings, not for figuring out entire plots.)
1. In a broad sense, you could just sit back and ask yourself, what could end this story? And then figure out how to connect your current plot with that ending.
2. Really get into your characters heads (especially the villain's, in this case), and figure out what they would do next at each step of the way.
3. Try to look at your plot from an analytical point of view - every story has a climax, usually caused when the bad guys and the good guys finally cross paths. How can you take this simple idea and convert it into the details of your plot?

I don't know if that helped at all - what you could also do is post a brief summary of your plot, and then we could brainstorm possible endings. : )

[Grant]

Hey, just keep writing your first draft, get all your ideas out on paper first. I promise you, the ending will come to you itself :) you will probably change your mind a million times, but the perfect ending will come to you at the perfect time. The way I do it, is to outline one chapter at a time. For example: outline chapter one and then write it, then think about chapter 2, outline it and then write it and so on. This works for me.

I hope this helps you out a little :)

[[deleted user]]

i believe there's a writing tips topic, you can ask any questions there

[[deleted user]]

but I'll answer. shortly. actually it depends on you. Do you want to make a second story or you just going to stop there. For me, cliffhanger is my thing, for another writers, they have different ideas.

see, the only thing you need to write a good story is just let everything in your head popped out. You'll be surprised by what your brain can do.

[Dana]

The Problem Corner would actually be a better place to post things, as the Writing Tips is kind of the other direction - people proactively offering advice, rather than people asking for it. : )
But I don't think anyone's going to fault you for posting wherever...
Anyway, I have to argue with Rea's statement. Just letting everything in your head pop out is a great way to brainstorm and find the elements for your story - and it can even be a good way to write a rough draft. But there's more to storycrafting than just that stage. However, I do agree that it's definitely the place to start. : )