Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Make it Stick

Ahhh, when I was young and limber, I took a gymnastics class and I performed really well. One thing I remember the most about tumbling is that you have to MAKE IT STICK. Your routine is important, the jumps, flips, splits, stretches...but even more important is that you have to STICK IT at the end. You MUST make that final leap, stay on your feet and throw your hands in the air with victory. You are judged by how well you make it stick.

I have made it a point to READ again. This is difficult with a royal court and a Jester that hates reading. I have read plenty of children's books out loud, and even a couple of MG's to myself. Research, ya know? But the books that I like, full of suspense, murder, mystery, crime, forensics, conspiracies, I don't get to read as often as I'd like.

Now, I recently finished a book that held my attention all the way through. It wasn't "unputdownable" as some would say, but it was well written and a good story. But, when I got to the end, I was terribly let down. There were a few subplot ideas that weren't wrapped up. I even had to go back and read a few chapters over again to make sure I didn't miss it. So, would I recommend this book to my friends? Probably not. (You notice I'm not asking my followers to run out and read it)

I probably don't have a lot of professional advice to offer on this, as I haven't completed my novel, YET. However, I do know that I am constantly making notes to remember to "wrap up" certain parts of my novel. I even found a character that I introduced in chapter one and then never spoke of him again!! I had to either delete him, or bring him into the story more. I noticed a conflict or two (minor ones) hadn't been resolved. Time to resolve it, or delete it. Is it really necessary to understand the plot? If so-tie it up, make it stick. If not, DELETE.

Is there anything you do when you are at the end of your novel to tie it up? Any foolproof plan on how to Make It Stick??

(repost)

3 comments:

  1. Really good advice. I have to be careful about introducing new characters or conflicts and forgetting to resolve or mention them again.

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  2. Wrap up subplots - man, how is it you hit right on one of my weaknesses. ;-)

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  3. If you find a fool proof plan, it is going to worth a lot of money! You'll be rich! :)

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