Tip for April 7, 2010; Earning the End

"In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it." -Rose Tremain

This quote is true. I generally don't plan the ending, not only because I'm not that much of an outline person (I just launch in), but because all that goes before it effects what it will become. Of course, I have a vague idea of the ending, but most of the time I'm going on sudden ideas. And it works, most of the time.

Here's an example of what I mean;

So, say 'Jerry' goes on a quest to recover a treasure, in a book. The author has a very definite idea that Jerry will recover the treasure and everyone will all go home rich unharmed.

The plot unravels, and the author is left with a very poorly written, half-done novel.

However, the author tries again, this time just launching into it, thinking that he/she will find out if Jerry gets the treasure at the end. This novel gets published and successful.

Now, this example had nothing against planning. In fact, the novel will be all the better if you carefully plan and outline the beginning and middle. However, as the quote says, the ending has to be earned by all that goes before it.

What's your opinion on it?

Oh, and if any of my readers has any ideas on what I should post on, please comment or email me. I'm starting to run out of things to say.