Take Five series: #24: Resolution
Writer Anne Rice has some marvelous videos you're welcome to check out at her YouTube channel. For today's tidbit, we're just going to have her commentary on ending the novel:
Shown above: Writer Anne Rice discusses how she decides on the endings in her novels
Transcript (excerpt): I may have an idea how the novel is supposed to end, but as I go pounding towards that ending, there comes a moment where it definitely seems to be over.
That's never the final moment. I always go back within a few hours or a few days, and refine that ending. And there have been times when I've completely rewritten that ending. But what I want is a real feeling of resolution - that the novel's come to the place where it really should end. And it's all feeling, it's all intuition.
I'm disappointed by a lot of endings in the world, by the endings of movies. Movies sometimes don't go on long enough for me. I try to keep that in mind. And I try to answer all the questions.
I've been criticized for my bad endings, for cliffhangers, for open endings. For not wrapping everything up. I think that comes from the fact that I want to reader to have a sense of life and the character going on. But I do want to have that resolution, that satisfied feeling that you've come to the natural end of something.
If you've enjoyed this video clip, you might also like to browse several other Anne Rice videos from last year's Take Five series: Stay the course or her official video channel at AnneRiceDotCom.
About this series
The Take Five series is curated by Sasha Soren, author of Random Magic. You can find out more about the book here, if you like:
