In his article “The Final Scene,” (Writer’s Digest, October 2019), Jordan Rosenfeld writes: “Final scenes are the end of one chapter in a protagonist’s life…However, the final scene need not feel completely conclusive. It may feel like a new beginning.”
That lit up a mental lightbulb.
“In the reader’s mind your characters and setting will live on….”
“The true final scene shows readers where your protagonist is now, how he has changed, and what he thinks or feels as a result of the consequences of your inciting incident.”
“Final actions should speak to how your protagonist is going to behave differently now that he has survived the narrative’s trials.”
This made me rethink the ending of my current work-in-progress that I’ve tagged with yet another working title. As it turned out, the novel became the first in a pair about a turning point in the young protagonist’s life. So where I leave Ma’rama at the ending of (now) Ma’rama, Duke’s Daughter is exactly where Ma’rama, Emperor’s Emissary begins.
But even at the conclusion of a stand-alone novel, the protagonist wakes up the next morning as a changed person from the opening page and moves on to a new phase of her life.
This writing stuff is a never-ending education!
Jordan Rosenfeld’s article was excerpted from Make a Scene Revised & Expanded Edition, 2017, Writer’s Digest Books.
Mary S. Potter 