So what did you think about how the Harry Potter series ended? Were you happy? Did you feel ripped off? It’s important to get the ending right as you’ll see at the end of this post.
First: did you ever have one of those days when you just feel like you’re running fast and getting nowhere? Myndi Shafer knows how you feel. This is hilarious.
On that subject, do you feel that your present job fulfils you? Well then perhaps you should be a manhood operator. A happy manhood operator. This post comes to you via August McLaughlin, from her days as an actress. Just brilliant.
If you’re not happy in your work, you can always quit. But what do you say to everyone on the day you leave? It’s hard to find the right words, but this person did in a group email to his co-workers. But if you don’t like colorful language, don’t look.
Some will say that if we’re not happy doing what we’re doing, we’ve only one person to blame. I really liked this, from Ingrid Schaffenburg: we are our concept:
Of course we have to be old enough to form our own concept of ourselves. I hope this little baby is not too messed up later by her mother’s concept of who she is. For some reason I find this picture disturbing. You may just laugh. I suppose it depends on what you think of Jessica Simpson.
At least Rick Santorum has no illusions of who he is. He is convinced that smart people just won’t ever like him. Got that in one. Thank you for the compliment, Rick.
So finally: why your novel should always have a satisfying ending. Otherwise you’re going to upset people. And there’s some readers you just don’t want to upset …
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rytV6i6bSnA&w=420&h=315]
‘Another man would have made it an affair and nothing else. Another man would have been more ruthless, more cynical. The naked husband falls in love.’
Mark d’Arbanville has the ‘perfect life’: a successful writer, he is happily married with a teenage son.
But when he falls in love with another woman, Mark’s life unravels, exposing regret, estrangement and heartache. Yet as his marriage falls apart Mark still can’t let go. Nor can his lover, Anna, who won’t leave her husband. When Mark finally does make the break, the effect is catastrophic - his wife commits suicide. The circuit breaker comes when Mark finds his dead wife’s journals, and in their pages discovers a man - himself - he can barely recognize.
He is forced to take stock of who he is and how men and women live their lives.
THE NAKED HUSBAND takes a candid look at the way men think, act and feel inside a relationship. Shocking, disturbing but impossible to put down, it’s a novel for every woman who ever found the reality of sex and marriage so different to the fairytale, and wondered why.
Although I enjoyed the links to the other articles, I wish you had started with the ‘best’ stuff, and that is your re-released book “The Naked Husband,” and your interview on CoolGus Publishing. Absolutely intrigued with the blurb for the novel and the premise. Will it be released on Kindle besides B & N’s Nook?
First - I’m so sorry for such a late response, Alvarado. I’m away at the Ubud Writers Festival in Bali and they’ve kept me very busy. In answer to your question: yes it will be released on Amazon in about a month’s time. I’ll be talking about this more later when I get back …
I wanted to know why your book must have a great ending - you didn’t say!
And alas, on an iPad, with a 1 g a month download, I only open videos when I’m in the presence of wifi. I will check it out later, when I get home to my laptop. Harry Potter, when you think about it, was ALWAYS going to end with the defeat of You Know Who - it was just a question of whether or not Harry would survive. Or Snape. And I’m going to leave my further opinion there in case there are still two people living in a hole somewhere who haven’t read the books and actually still want to!
Well, your book must have a great ending because … well you have to watch the video and then you kinda get the point. Suffice to say, Adolf isn’t at all happy with JKR.
Great links Colin! And thanks for the mention
Pleasure Ingrid.
Thanks for including me in this wonderfully put together post, Colin. Cheers to you and satisfying endings.
Congrats on re-releasing The Naked Husband for a new market, Colin. I think I’ve mentioned that that was the book that introduced me to your existence as a writer. It certainly is raw and painful but it’s a gem. It dips into an angst and longing in the very soul that can never really be captured in words. I’m glad you wrote it. In it’s own little way, it serves as a good mystical treatise for me. Hope others get to appreciate that way too.
… “appreciate *it* that way too.”
Thanks Trish. As I said to Debra, it was only CoolGus that persuaded me to publish again. And it was emails and comments like yours that mad eme think it still had real value out in the world. Thank you again for what you’ve said about it.
I enjoyed your post -lots of links is always a risk-’will they return?’ so good for you. I think it helps people trust you too. As a writer I have to say I find endings a bit nerve-wracking - as that’s where it potentially all falls apart. Its rarely talked about, - certainly not enough, so thanks for this.
Thank you. Endings have to be so much more than just the part where you stop writing. And I’m so glad you enjoyed the links and they all worked!