Grand Exits

It’s hard to kill off a character, especially a beloved character. We debate, gnash our teeth and wring our hands, (They don’t reeeaally have to die do they? What if I just rewrite the plot? Or maybe throw in some magic Lazarus serum. Yes, that’s it! Lazarus serum!), we cry (and hope our readers do too), and then we stare at the page totally drained of emotion and wondering if we’ve just made a huge mistake and where to go from here.

But here’s a secret. Killing off a character also can be opportunity to have a little fun. Hey, we’re writers, remember? We torture our characters for breakfast (and lunch, and dinner, and elevenses).

A well-written exit is a chance to make our adored character larger than life. The culmination of everything we’ve tried to convey about them, and it can be a huge page-turner and fan favorite if done right.

Here are some of my favorite final exit examples and why I love ‘em. Warning: Minor spoilers for Castle, Star Trek and Burn Notice.

Captain Montgomery: Castle

The Exit: In the semi-finale of a thread spanning multiple seasons, the loyal and beloved Captain Montgomery is revealed to be the mysterious “third cop” in a group of vigilantes entangled in the events surrounding the murder of main character Kate Beckett’s mom twenty years ago. Now, that past has caught up to him. He’s the only remaining survivor of the vigilante group, so the bad guy pulling the strings considers him a liability and gives Montgomery an ultimatum: turn over Beckett or they’ll kill his family.

Montgomery sets a meet with Beckett at an abandoned air field hangar. As she walks up to meet him, she gets a text that tells her he’s in cahoots with the bad guys. When she confronts him, Montgomery shows his true (awesome) colors. He used Beckett as bait to lure the bad guys, knowing he could get her safely away and take the bad guys down. Which he does. At the price of his life.

Why it Works: The twists! It’s a huge shock to the Castle team and viewers that Montgomery played a part in the backstory of Beckett’s mom’s death. We feel a sense of betrayal and whiplash, and because we’re so thrown off our game, there’s a lingering unpredictability throughout the rest of the episode. We have no idea what to expect.

The emotions! There is a very deep bond between Montgomery and Beckett, which is shown beautifully here as he gives his life to save her. Viewers, too, get the sense that, while Montgomery might be flawed or have made past mistakes, he is a man who stands his ground, a man to admire.

The lines! I have a soft spot for exits that include lines of bravado in the face of imminent danger or death. Montgomery’s last words, before he takes out the final bad guy (Who has just told him he can’t hide): “You’ve got that ass backwards, boy. You can’t hide from me.”

Kirk’s Dad: Star Trek (The new movies)

The Exit: George Kirk is on-screen less than 12 minutes. I love him anyway. The Romulans are attacking. The ship is crippled. There’s only one way to save his wife and infant son…stay behind. Not only does he do that, he does it with an aplomb and conviction of character that makes me want to cheer and weep at the same time.

Why it Works: Well, see above, for starters. Simultaneous cheering and weeping is like the gold medal standard of reader/viewer reactions.

Also, the pacing! It helps here because events move so fast and build a foundation of intensity that heightens our emotions all the more. The fact that they kept the dialogue running between Kirk’s parents throughout all of this was a brilliant move.

The effect on other characters! This is a great example of how a character death can alter the course of the lives around him or her. Sometimes, writing someone off isn’t the hardest part. It’s keeping everyone else going in their absence. We haven’t even met Kirk yet, but we sense this will play a defining role in making him the character we know and love. Don’t forget about managing the aftermath of your Grand Exits.

Madeline Westen: Burn Notice

The Exit: Madeline Westen, chain-smoking, straight-talking mom of spy hero Michael Westen, is trapped in a house with her grandson and Jesse (one of Michael’s fellow former spies) as the bad guys close in. Like, the really bad guys. The ones who also have Michael and gang pinned down in an office complex across town, threatening to kill Madeline and her grandson unless Michael gives himself up to die. So, what does Maddie do? She takes herself out of the equation. They have explosives in the house, but no remote detonator, so Maddie gives her grandson to Jesse to escape and sets it off herself, taking down the bad guys in the process.

Why it Works: The attitude! This ties back to my earlier comments about great final lines. Madeline Westen chooses to go out on her own valiant, kick-A terms. In a situation where the bad guys should clearly hold all the cards, she flips their metaphorical poker table so fast, it’s not even funny. They’ve lost their main bargaining chip, and Michael is now free to rain down hell on them.

There also is a strong sense of steely, motherly protection in her final scene. She wants to stick it to these guys, and she lets them know it. The bad guys enter the house, see a 50+ year old woman lounging on a couch smoking a cigarette. She fixes them with a sly, how-do-you-like-me-now smile, says: “This one’s for my boys,” and hits the button. People don’t forget characters like that!

Misc. Other Favorite Exits

• Draco – Dragonheart *“Look to the stars.” Happy sigh.*
• Boromir – LOTR *Can you say “redemption?”*
• Wally Hamilton – The Far Pavilions *This one made me ache in a way beyond tears.*

How about you? Any you want to add to the list?

The End

Endings are one of the trickiest scenes for writers to do well. There’s usually so much to wrap up, and we want to stay true to our story without making our readers feel gypped. Plus, reader expectations are usually sky high, so it’s hard not to disappoint.

I’ve heard people say the end doesn’t really matter to publishers because, by then, the book has already sold, but endings can make or break the book from a reader’s perspective. For me, Mockingjay was a *thud* ending to The Hunger Games series, and I wasn’t all that thrilled with the epilogue in Harry Potter either.

A lot of blog threads focus on what to do and what not to do, but the challenge is there’s such a wide variety of endings — happy, sad, serious, funny, etc. I thought we’d take a slightly different approach. With examples!

Below are two of my favorite endings, based on
1) my satisfaction after reading that last page,
2) how well it fit with the rest of the book,
3) timelessness – will I look back years from now and still remember it as a great ending?

I’ve included comments about what works for me and why:

Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey

Mother of us all, he was glad that now, of all times conceivable, he, F'lar, rider of bronze Mnementh, was a dragonman of Pern.

It's such a triumphant moment. The danger hasn't passed, the trouble hasn't all been solved, but you know without a doubt the characters are in this fight for the long haul and refuse to be defeated. It makes me want to pump my fist in the air and say "bring it on!"

And it definitely makes me want to pick up the next book right away.
 

The Far Pavilions, M.M. Kaye
They rode out together from the shadows of the trees, leaving the Bala Hissar and the glowing torch of the burning residency behind them, and spurred away across the flat lands toward the mountains...

...and it may even be that they found their Kingdom.

I love this ending! These two characters have been through hell for almost 1200 pages. If you think you've seen characters put through terrible situations...believe me, Ash and Juli went through worse. From the very beginning of the book, there's been a theme of the mountains as a symbol of hope. Ash's step-mother told him a fable about a secret kingdom in the mountains when he was very young and they were on the run.

I love two things in particular about this ending:

1) The cinematic exit. In one sentence we get imagery of rider silhouettes through the trees, against the backdrop of a burning villa, and then the stark beauty of the north Indian landscape. I would so LOVE to see this on the big screen.

2) The hope. Even more than the imagery, I love that the author gives these two characters a chance at rest and a peaceful life together. It's not a promise. That would have been too strong for this book. A chance at happiness is more fitting. And that's why I love the author's choice.


What are some of your favorite endings?

First & Last Lines Follow-up

Thanks for all the comments on Wednesday's first and last lines. Everyone has unique preferences for what they like and look for - though people seemed to enjoy #10 for the opening. The answers for your favorite ending were pretty varied.

It’s also really interesting that there wasn’t a book that stood out as a clear winner for both opening AND closing.

Here are the mystery books I used with the corresponding numbers of their openings and closings.

Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
 #9 Lessa woke, cold.
#3 Mother of us all, he was glad that now, of all times conceivable, he, F’lar, rider of bronze Mnementh, was a dragonman of Pern.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling
#1 Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
#7 “They don’t know we’re not allowed to use magic at home. I’m going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…”

Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
#11 I’d never given much thought to how I would die—though I’d had reason enough in the last few months—but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.
 #9 And he leaned down to press his cold lips once more to my throat.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
#4 When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.
#3 I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.

The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
 #5 Cazaril heard the mounted horsemen on the road before he saw them.
 #1 His ladies would be waiting.

Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson
 #7 Ash fell from the sky.
#5 Vin closed her eyes, simply feeling the warmth of being held. And realized that was all shehad  ever really wanted.

Fool Moon, Jim Butcher
 #8 I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon.
 #6 I settled back to ask Susan over, and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.

The Demon’s Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
 #2 The pipe under the sink was leaking again.
 #8 He felt grounded and at home already under his brother’s gentle human hands.

The Ten Thousand, Paul Kearney
 #3 By the sea, Rictus had been born, and now it was by the sea that he would die.
#10 Her mule was hobbled on the hill behind, and upon it Jason’s black armour glittered cold in the sun.

A Devil in the Details, K.A. Stewart
 #10 There’s a certain sound the human head makes when it hits the trunk of a tree.
 #11 Have I mentioned how much I love my wife?

Bloodfever, Karen Marie Moning
#12 All of us have our little problems and insecurities.
#4 What had changed was me.

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
#6 Even in high summer, Tintagel was a haunted place; Igraine, Lady of Duke Gorlois, looked out over the sea from the headland.
#12 Her work was done.

The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
 #13 It was night again.
 #13 It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.

Fave First & Last Lines

As we head into prime summer reading time, I thought it’d be fun to look at opening and closing lines. Maybe there’ll be one or two that catch your eye for your TBR list. It’s also a good way to see what works and what doesn’t in our own writing.

The lines below are all from recent books. Let me know which ones you like best in the comments trail.

My faves are #10 and #11 for openings and #5 and #8 for closings. Here’s what I learned: go for the intrigue factor in your opening, and aim for resolution and lyricism, poetry and peace at the end.

I’ll share which books these are from later in the week, though I bet you can guess some!

Openings

1. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
2. The pipe under the sink was leaking again.
3. By the sea, Rictus had been born, and now it was by the sea that he would die.
4. When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.
5. Cazaril heard the mounted horsemen on the road before he saw them.
6. Even in high summer, Tintagel was a haunted place; Igraine, Lady of Duke Gorlois, looked out over the sea from the headland.
7. Ash fell from the sky.
8. I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon.
9. Lessa woke, cold.
10. There’s a certain sound the human head makes when it hits the trunk of a tree.
11. I’d never given much thought to how I would die—though I’d had reason enough in the last few months—but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.
12. All of us have our little problems and insecurities.
13. It was night again.

Endings

1. His ladies would be waiting.
2. Mother of us all, he was glad that now, of all times conceivable, he, F’lar, rider of bronze Mnementh, was a dragonman of Pern.
3. I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.
4. What had changed was me.
5. Vin closed her eyes, simply feeling the warmth of being held. And realized that was all she had  ever really wanted.
6. I settled back to ask Susan over, and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.
7. “They don’t know we’re not allowed to use magic at home. I’m going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…”
8. He felt grounded and at home already under his brother’s gentle human hands.
9. And he leaned down to press his cold lips once more to my throat.
10. Her mule was hobbled on the hill behind, and upon it Jason’s black armour glittered cold in the sun.
11. Have I mentioned how much I love my wife?
12. Her work was done.
13. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.

The Dangers of "The Matrix Zone"

All right, I’m probably going to rile some people with this one, but it must be said. There is no faster way to make me stop reading and throw your book across the room screaming than by falling into what I like to call The Matrix Zone.

What is this horrific author faux-pas, you ask?

An ending (or scene) that destroys your story so completely it makes all the wonderful, brilliant stuff that came before it absolutely meaningless.

I really liked the first two Matrix movies…and that’s where my love stops. The trilogy ends – literally – with the hero dead, blind and being dragged off unceremoniously by enemy robots. This isn’t some genius twist or the set-up for a big come-back — that’s really how it ends. Oh, and they compromise with the evil bad guys.

Please, friends, do NOT do this in your novels. Here’s why:

1. Readers want to see the main character get knocked down. A lot. This is what makes a story great. But only because readers believe the MC will get back up in the end. It’s about overcoming obstacles – if the MC doesn’t do that, more often than not, readers are disappointed. In multiple MC stories, you have a few more options, but the basic principle applies.

2. We like it when the good guys win. It’s really that simple. Imagine the reaction if, after 7 books, Voldemort beat Harry. Waaa? Readers have an innate sense that this is NOT how things are supposed to work. There are, of course, some books with very gray good vs. bad, where this might not apply as directly. And the good guys don’t need an absolute victory. Actually, they probably shouldn’t have one. However, I urge you to look VERY carefully at your novel before deciding you can break this rule.

3. The Matrix Zone makes everything that came before feel irrelevant. If readers get to the end of your book or series and suddenly feel like they’ve wasted their time (and money)…that’s a bad thing. For me, this is the exact feeling I have at the end of the third Matrix movie. I have similar issues with Mockingjay.

Why did I travel through all these highs and lows with Neo (or Katniss) just to have him (or Prim) killed at the end? Why should I watch the first two movies now? I know how it ends and all the struggle in between sort of seems pointless. Maybe Neo would have been better choosing the other pill. Again, these are NOT questions you want readers to have about your books!

Some people will say “But he saved Zion. That’s what really matters.” True, but here’s another writing lesson for you. See, I didn’t really care about Zion to begin with. If you’re planning to sacrifice an MC, you better have the rest of your cast fleshed out enough that your reader accepts it as a worthy sacrifice to save friends.

So, there you have it. My take on one of the biggest mistakes I think writers can make. What say you?

The UN-Fairy Tale Ending

Let’s face it—not everyone can get their happy ending. And we wouldn’t want them to. For authors, unhappy endings actually can be a powerful tool in moving the story forward. I’m not talking about torturing characters along the way, but true irreversible endings where things just don’t work out for our pals on the page.

The Secondary Couple
My favorite example of this comes from Last of the Mohicans (the movie, not the book). The two sets of siblings pair up—Hawkeye and Cora, and Uncas and Alice. Since Hawkeye and Cora are the main couple, we’re pretty positive no lasting harm will befall them, despite all the dangers thrown their way. However, we’re much less sure about Uncas and Alice.

At the end, they both die rather dramatically, but this unhappy ending serves multiple purposes. One, it allows us to see more of Hawkeye’s and Cora’s character in their reactions to their siblings’ deaths. Two, Uncas’ death completes the entire theme of the book and movie…leaving Chingachgook as the last of his people.

Uncas and Alice exchange only a handful of lines in the movie, but we feel their love through their looks and their actions. Regardless of their sad end, they’re an essential part of the story’s tapestry.

The Partial ‘Dream Come True’
Here’s another book/movie example for you. In Lord of the Rings, Eowyn has two great loves—her infatuation with Aragorn and her undying devotion to her uncle and her land. While she doesn’t get her wish regarding Aragorn, she does emerge as a heroine for her people.

The first ending is “unhappy,” but it allows her to demonstrate incredible character growth regarding her commitment to Rohan. She’s able to defend her uncle in his dying moments and reconcile with him. That’s where her true “happy ending” lies.

In Linnea Sinclair’s Shades of Dark, the romantic interests end up together, but Sully sacrifices his eyesight and power along the way.

The ‘Let’s Increase the Stakes’ Approach
Sometimes authors are evil. *laughs gleefully* We need to highlight the stakes, increase the tension…basically, we need to kill someone off. And 99% of the time, it can’t be our MC (unless we plan to bring them back or narrate as a ghost!).

That means we need “throwaway” characters. Except, I really don’t like that term, because the best “throwaway” characters are anything but throwaways. They’re secondary characters we know and love, and that our characters know and love. Yet, we know deep in our hearts, even as we’re first creating them, there’s no way they’ll get a happy ending.

In Harry Potter, Sirius and Cedric are perfect examples. We know they’re gone and they’re not coming back, but they’re never forgotten because the other characters continue to be affected by their absence.

The Sucker Punch
Every once in a while, we need to throw readers for a twist. Something huge, dramatic and irreversible that makes them sit up, move their face closer to the page and shout, “Holy shit, no way!”

Enter the unexpected unhappy ending.

These hurt. Really badly. For both readers and writers. Yet, they make a story so much more powerful.

One of my very favorite books is M.M. Kaye’s The Far Pavilions, and in the final pages, she kills two characters in a battle you don’t really see coming and, boy, do you feel it!

Another example that still gets me is when Prim is killed in Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay. Collins does a wonderful job of making unhappy endings work for her. Her treatment of Peeta’s hijacking is yet another good use of a relatively unhappy ending (Though I have other issues with this).

The ‘Strength of Friendship’ Test
This is when one character’s death, wounding or sudden disability shines the light on your MC’s true colors. How far are they willing to go for love or friendship?

Gotta love the poignant example of Lonesome Dove, where gruff, no-nonsense Captain Call conquers hell and high-water to escort the body of his friend Gus home to Texas.

For me, Dragonheart manages to be the happiest sad ending ever! We all know what’s coming by the time Bowen swings his ax, but it’s still heartbreaking to know the situation he faces—forced to kill his friend in order to stop the evil. Yet, it captivates us because there’s nobility and honor in Draco’s sacrifice.

Death as Release
In some cases, unhappy endings are the best a character can hope for quite simply because they’re an END. Russell Crowe’s character in Gladiator is basically fighting so he can die. He yearns to be with his family again.

For characters like this, life is already one never-ending stream of unhappiness. Death must seem a welcome relief, and as readers, a small part of us cheers when we see a character released from such pain.

The GRRM Approach
No one gets a happy ending. *grin* I couldn’t resist!

Pay special attention to which of your characters wind up with UNhappy endings and why.