40 thoughts on “Reader and Writer Friday: The Beginning-Ending-Beginning Cycle”

1. Steve, we’ll miss you!

   As a reader, I like it when the main story question is answered, or the bad guy is caught, or the couple has a HEA, but to get me to the next book, I like an unanswered story thread. The unanswered thread could be a secondary character’s problem or the bad guy’s missing side kick, something like that.

   • Thanks, Priscilla. I’ll miss writing here, but I’ll still be around, reading and commenting.

     The unanswered thread. Yes, great way to hang on to the reader and pull them to the next story.

     I’ve appreciated your comments here, and look forward to your reviews on The Well Read Fish. Best wishes for your writing!

2. Steve, getting to know you through TKZ has been a gift. Thanks for your posts that always make me think, question, and search for answers. I’ll miss ya here, my creative friend!

   As a reader: A well-written story with a satisfying end makes me want to look for more books by that author. Series are appealing b/c the ongoing characters become friends whose lives I’m interested in.

   As a writer: The first couple of books in my series ended with teasers that promised future developments/problems/adventures for the main characters. I haven’t focused as much on teasers in the later books b/c they have more complicated plots. That keeps me busy trying to wrap up all the loose ends in a way that satisfies the reader but isn’t a neat bow. Plus I don’t know what the next book will be about until I trip over the idea.

   Thanks again for your posts and friendship, Steve!

   • Thanks, Debbie. I’ll miss the writing, but I’ll hang around to read your posts, comment, and maybe come up with some new ideas for new work for you. I do like to aggravate people.

     I like your answers to what keeps you in a book or draws you to the next book. Good point about tying up all the loose ends with a complicated plot, and not knowing what story the next book will bring.

     Thanks for answering the many questions I asked as a new writer here at TKZ. I value your friendship! We’ll stay in touch!

3. I have read a number of “Book 1’s” for 99 cents on Amazon. Some better than others. Some, don’t finish the story. To find out “who did it” you need to buy book 2 for $7.99. I have no idea if this works. I do know none have been good enough for me to buy book two.

   • I agree, Alan. That’s a cheap trick. When a reader buys a book, they deserve an ending. You wouldn’t buy a car with two tires missing. I wouldn’t buy book #2.

     Thanks for your participation here at TKZ! It is appreciated.

4. Hate to see you leave, Steve. Family must come first, so I get it. But you can’t escape me that easily. 😉 Love your newsletters!

   To answer you questions…

   If I fall in love with the characters and/or the writing speaks to me — preferably both — I’ll buy the next book. As a writer, I implant a question in the reader’s mind. Doesn’t mean I end on a cliffhanger, just that I make them wonder where I’ll go next.

   Happy Easter weekend!

   • Thanks, Sue. I’m leaving, but I won’t be gone. I’ll be reading your posts. And I always enjoy your newsletters.

     Great answers on hooking the reader with characters they fall in love with, and writing that speaks to them. I like your writing idea of leaving a question in the reader’s mind. And you could always send out Poe the Crow to insert a tiny ear implant with the message, “Buy more Mayhem!”

     Thanks for all your assistance, advice, and patience. You’ve helped me a lot!

     Happy Easter Weekend to you, Sue!

5. Thank you, Steve, for all your thought provoking posts. Glad you will still be around the TKZ community!

   As a writer, I still feel too inexperienced to comment on tricks and tips for capturing the reader at the ending. But then going at it from the other end, as a reader, if a writer wants to hook me enough to read the next book: the story has to have been worth the emotional investment and the time spent reading (more so now as the older I get the less spare time there seems to be!). I want the main plot point wrapped up, and I don’t want to feel cheated when I reach the story’s end.

   Unfortunately, at least for me, I think it’s even harder for a writer to grab me as a reader with their book since I am a writer as well. I just can’t seem to quit with the “reading to analyze their writing” habit that develops when you start writing your own content. In a way, readers who are not themselves a writer seem freer to just read and enjoy the book, without having the internal analytics turn on every time. LOL!

   • Thanks, Brenda. I enjoy stirring things up a bit, and making people think. This is “creative writing” after all.

     Good point about the book being worth the time investment. The older I get, the more I value my time. And the book analysis angle made me smile. I do the same thing, as well as with movies.

     Thanks for your faithful participation here at TKZ! Best wishes for your writing.

6. Steve, thank you for all your wonderful, thought-provoking, inspiring posts here at TKZ. I will miss you, but like Sue noted, family comes first. I’ve signed up for your newsletter to stay in touch. I very much appreciate your friendship, too.

   What I look for as a reader is an engaging, immersive story featuring characters I grow to care about. I want a satisfying ending–order/balance restored, or a new order/balance achieved and basically. I’m a sucker for a happy ending, but if it’s done well, having the characters succeed but at a cost can satisfy and propel me to read the author’s next book. For me, as a reader, this usually means the next book in a series, or, if I just finished the final one, the first book in their next series. Having an open question series story arc question is important, too.

   As a writer, in a series with an ongoing storyline there will be a question of some sort which has been raised. Our hero(es) situation is still evolving–what’s next? If it’s a romantic sub-plot with an issue that’s resolved, where are they headed? Will my hero decide to stay at the place she thought of only as temporary? What happens next on their quest? Those sorts of questions.

   Hope you have a great weekend and a Happy Easter!

   • Thanks, Dale. I’ve appreciated your friendship and the help you’ve given by filling in for me. I always enjoy the gold you mine from the archives, then organize into a central topic. Thanks for signing up for my newsletter.

     Great answers on the techniques and strategies for keeping readers in the story, then buying the next book. Deep, well thought out ideas.

     Best wishes for your writing! Happy Easter weekend!

7. Many thanks for all of your posts, and best wishes for the “next chapter” of your own life.

   • Thanks, Michelle. You noticed the theme. And thank you for your faithful participation here at TKZ. It is readers and participants like you who make it all worthwhile. Thanks!

8. Steve,
   When we were going home to Iowa from Virginia I happened to see the sign for Mad River as we were about to cross it. I thought, hmm, Steve Hooley writes about a river with that name. Then I looked up where we were and realized that your book river was real, and that you lived there! I will miss your posts, but I’m glad you’re still going to be around TKZ. I wish you well in your future.

   As for reading, the satisfying ending is what keeps me looking for the next book by an author. Robert Crais and Lee Child make me seek out all their books, and, of course, the HEA in romances is a must.

   Whether I write romances or romantic suspense, I’m gonna give my readers that satisfaction.

   • Thanks, Becky, for telling me about discovering the Mad River. And thanks for your participation here at TKZ.

     Satisfying endings seem to be getting the most votes for best technique to keep readers looking for your next book. Great author recommendations.

     Best wishes for your romance and romantic suspense books. Keep giving the reader that satisfaction, and they’ll come back for the next book.

     Thanks!

9. Steve, sad to be losing your weekly posts at TKZ, but I’ll keep a reminder of you in a historical thriller I’m writing. It involves a name from my faraway childhood small town. Our family dined out once a week at Hooley’s Cafe. Before I knew of you, I decided to incorporate the name and the cafe (it’s now a brokerage office) in my 1947 story, particularly the ending, which I’ve already written. So every time I revisit that scene, your image crops up in my thoughts, along with the memory.

   That said, I have no excuse not to finish the book.

   All the best to you and your family.

   • Thanks, Dan. And thanks for telling me about Hooley’s Cafe. I’m curious. What town was the cafe in?

     Thanks for your participation here at TKZ. Good luck with finishing the book. And best wishes for your writing!

     • Vista, CA. Isn’t small anymore.

       • Thanks, Dan. Years ago there was a pub in Athens. Ohio, called O’Hooley’s Pub. My mom was there once, probably the only time she was ever in a pub. I believe it’s now called Jackie O’s.

         I’ll check the history on Hooley’s Cafe. Thanks!

         • Hanes Bldg, 244 E. Broadway, Edward Jones now. There’s a Hooley’s Public House in La Mesa (San Diego area) might be descendants?

           I obtained a PDF of a 1947 issue of Vista Press newspaper from the Vista historical society website and scanned ads but didn’t find one. Ain’t research fun? What a rabbit hole!

           • Thanks!

10. Your posts are thought provoking and I will miss them. I’m glad you’ll still be hanging around.

    A well written book with characters I’ve fallen in love with is what makes me read the next book. And I hope that’s what I give my readers.

    • Thanks, Patricia.

      Characters to fall in love with. Yes! That’s like super glue to grab your readers.

      Thanks for your participation here at TKZ! Best wishes for continuing success with your writing! I enjoy your newsletter.

11. Steve, I’m sad to hear you’re leaving TKZ as a contributor. Your posts have always been creative and thought-provoking, but as your post this week indicates, every ending brings about a new beginning. Best wishes in all that you do.

    As a reader, I want a satisfying end to a story. As a mystery reader, I want the ending to be surprising and to satisfy all the clues that were dropped along the way. No “deus ex machina” for me. Like Alan, I’m not a fan of books that end in a cliffhanger so you have to buy the next book to find out what happened. I never take that bait.

    As a mystery writer, I try to provide the things I want to see as a mystery reader.

    Thanks for all your posts here at TKZ. Have a wonderful Easter weekend.

    • Thanks, Kay. I’ll be hanging around here at TKZ, reading and commenting.

      It’s interesting how what we want as a reader is reflected in the type of fiction we write.

      I appreciate the help, support, and advice you’ve provided as part of the partners in crime. Best wishes with your mystery series and middle grade series.

      Have a wonderful weekend!

12. Steve. Really? Here’s my thought: A Friday without sunshine is like a Friday without Steve’s post.

    ‘Nuff said. Seriously, though, I’m glad you’ll still be lurking in the halls. Maybe a guest post from time to time? Your family must come first, of course…they win!

    For my reading pleasure, I must thoroughly like the MC. And justice must win. We watched a movie the other night, title I’ve forgotten, that ended with no justice, no promise of justice. See why I’ve forgotten the title? Stories, in my book (pun intended), must at least have the promise of justice in the next one.

    In my writing,I barely feel qualified to comment. But, I do want to leave the reader with a sense of satisfaction that good will come of whatever bad is going on.

    Happy Easter weekend all!

    And Steve, we’ll keep the light on for ya… 🙂

    • Oh, Deb. You always make me laugh. A Friday without sunshine… I’ll have to hang that beside my writer’s chair. Thanks!

      Great answers: A MC to like and justice to win. Yes.

      I enjoy your newsletters.

      Happy Easter to you, Deb! And thanks for leaving the light on.

13. Steve –
    Thank you for your many posts all of which are/were engaging, thoughtful, and fun. Wishing you the best!
    Regards starting and ending… Like so many of your posts this one triggered an interesting thought for me. I am struck by how many Uber – successful books have a great start, compelling characters and premise, but whose endings are rather lame. Two examples that come to mind are “the firm“ by John Grisham, and “the da Vinci code” by Dan Brown.
    These and others suggest that perhaps a great ending is not critical??
    Once again, thank you and so sorry you won’t be posting here. I will be signing up for your newsletter.
    All the best, and happy Easter, my friend!

    • Wow, Tom. I’m honored that you stopped by today. Thanks. I hope you are doing well.

      Interesting thought you mentioned. Is it possible, in those examples, that the author’s name and previous success had anything to do with the success of the book in question?

      Thanks for signing up for my newsletter.

      Happy Easter, and best wishes for your writing, my friend!

      • Steve –
        Interestingly, I believe both books were the initial novels that gained the authors bestseller status.
        – tc

        • Good point. Thanks for setting the record straight, Tom. Other elements besides the ending certainly make a difference.

14. I like what I call “resonance” in an ending. Not just that it’s satisfies in story terms, but has just the right sound, the right note that makes you go ahhhhhh. It’s worth the extra effort to try to make it so.

    Godspeed, Steve. Keep writing.

    • Thanks, Jim. I agree with “resonance.” My wife is my first reader and my expert on resonance. Her name is also Cindy, and she’s a tough one to please. I’ve rewritten several of my endings several times until I won her stamp of approval.

      Thanks for all your help here at TKZ, Jim. Best wishes for keeping TKZ at the top of the list of best blog sites for writers!

15. Good afternoon, Steve.

    You are always interesting and informative, whether on or off the page. I am sure that you already have already accounted for all of the time that you will be freeing up by no longer writing for TKZ. I am also sure that you will not easily be replaced.

    (For those who don’t know…Steve does more work by accident than most people do on purpose. An account of his daily activities would put most people to shame.)

    Enjoy the days going forward, Steve!

    • Thanks, Joe. You exaggerate. But, thank you for the original opportunity to blog here at TKZ. Thanks for giving me the chance. I really appreciate it! And thanks for the advice along the way when I first started. It’s been a high bar trying to keep up with the wonderful writers who are more experienced. I will always look back at the time here as a wonderful learning experience.

      Thanks, my friend!

16. Dang, Steve. I know all of us will miss you. I hope all is well with your family and you.

    As a reader and a writer, I figure that, if the whole book doesn’t sell the next story, no ending will. The ending can give you no desire to read the next.

    • Thanks, Marilynn. I am well. My family is okay. I have some obligations I must fulfill over the next 2-3 years.

      I will miss the writing, and reading the responses. But, I’ll still lurk in the shadows reading and commenting.

      I’ve always admired and appreciated your comments on blogs, with an academic background and a willingness to tell it like it is. Your website is a treasure trove of writing information.

      Keep participating here, Marilynn. We need your input!

17. Steve: Your posts here will be greatly missed. I look forward to keeping in touch via your newsletter. I, too, love to craft wood from time to time. One example:
    https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/4843_1188215667861_3667074_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=MqU0QhSVI7YAX9aP9PL&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2.xx&oh=00_AfAHt7NMM6ZmbrdorANrtoPWpGCBgMKSxR0KtVc0dF29oQ&oe=662E5B83

    For Writers: What tricks and techniques do you use in your endings to capture the reader and make them want to read your next book?

    What I don’t do is wrap up every character’s thread. Minor characters, I feel, can be left to the readers’ imagination. This slims down the ending and thereby highlights the MCs’ victory over The Problem. Less is more, in this case.
    I may include an epilogue that serves as a gentle teaser for the next book, if there might be one. The epilogue to Sail Away on My Silver Dream ends with:

    “I miss Sharon a lot, but I’m grateful that I knew her, and I hope I’ll find her again someday. Once in a while, I have a wonderful dream where I’m on the Silver Dream, and Sharon is there, sailing with me over a sapphire sea.”

    The sequel, if I ever get around to it, will be titled, “Over a Sapphire Sea.”

    • Thanks, JG. That’s a nice carved platter or wall sculpture. I’ll never forget when you told us you learned to use a radial arm saw when you were so young you had to stand on a ball while working. That got my attention.

      Great answer on leaving a few character threads unwrapped, leaving the reader’s imagination to create desire to read the next book.

      Best wishes with your collaboration with the neuroscientist, and with writing about the guardienne.

      I hope you will continue to contribute your wealth of experience here!

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