Story Advancement & Entertainment ~ A Question...

[-K2-]

I'd like to touch back on this considering the same topic from an all-inclusive standpoint. In other words, what did the story accomplish considering where it ends. IOOW, how big does the ending need to be?

As a glaring example, the first novel of my series plays out like this. The bulk compared to the end/last chapter.
(Naturally, everything that happens affects that end).
1S. Doom, adventure, despair, action, violence, justice, sex, betrayal, heartbreak, wrath, crushing oppression, personal growth, the world and society almost gone... etc..
1E. The protagonist changes their viewpoint and decides to do something about it. The End.

So, after all the struggle it ends with: a decision and personal growth. The first novel's end is very small compared to the story. Then again, the first novel is about one person, their journey of discovery, and the world around them. Without that change in self, the rest doesn't happen.

Question being... can the end be too small for the story?

Thoughts?

K2

p.s.: All that I've been investigating these past few months has me diving back into editing gangbusters, on both the first and second novels. Besides that, I'm thinking I need to get moving because after our latest government shenanigans, it's all beginning to read more like prophecy instead of fiction.

 

[tinkerdan]

This would work for me.

1E. The protagonist changes their viewpoint and decides to do something about it. The End.

However, it works best when the MC is the type who finds it difficult to get up in the morning and go to work; let alone save the world.
Self centered and egoistic, yet self-depreciating enough to hold themselves back from achieving anything.
Then the story becomes one of having him discover something in life that makes the world worth saving.

Endings can be anything you like; to a certain extent. If you go the traditional route, you might find a suitable ending and if the work stands out enough for an agents eye they might take it and then ask you to change the ending.

Take for instance Podkayne of Mars by Robert Heinlein.

Heinlein thought the only way to end the story to make sense was to have the MC die, which in turn explains how her obnoxious high IQ brother has a turn around in his perspective.
However::
The publisher, having decided to put this in their Juvenile collection, decided that wouldn't work for them and that she could be seriously injured but not fatally.

Self-publishing?
You can really do what you want; however if you want to sell you might consider reading traditionally published novels and get some notion of how everyone these days is ending his or her novels.

The blockbuster-equation:
I thought I'd mention this because all those blockbuster productions are beginning to have the fate of the universe and everything. I think when you go that direction(high stakes)there is possibly more pressure on the ending because anything too meek or mild might be construed as a Deus Ex Machina ending.

Just my opinion and I'm sure there are more of those to go around in the forum.