In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about ending your story with balance restored. Does it always have to be happily ever after?
VIDEO
AUDIO
SHOW NOTES
What does it mean to restore balance at the end of your book? Do you always have to wrap everything up with a bow? How do we feel about leaving things open-ended? And how can you restore balance without a happily ever after?
What we talked about:
What is balance restored? And why do we want to talk about it? (0:25)
What about killing characters? Would that be too dark? (3:08)
The cultural expectation of the hero’s journey. (7:18)
What about epilogues? (12:15)
What other ways can you restore balance? (12:50)
How can you keep it open-ended? (18:45)
LINKS
Things we mentioned:
Harry Potter by JK Rowling
Star Wars
The Hero’s Journey Joseph Campbell
The Silence of the Lambs
Dexter
Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Want more about these topics? Check out:
SWRT 148 Dark Endings Part 1
SWRT 149 Dark Endings Part 2
