By Writing a satisfying ending to a fantasy series is tremendously important. Readers invest a great deal of time in a book series. They fall in love with characters, hate others, and become deeply invested in the outcome of the story. The ending is the final note that can either be pitch perfect, giving the reader ‘the tingles,’ or hit an off note.
When I began writing The 8th Island Trilogy with book one, Above the Star, I was not thinking about the ending. It was not until I was early on in writing book two, Below the Moon, that I had to slow my momentum and pause. I have never been a person who writes with an outline. Wild story ideas and even wilder characters come easily to my mind. However, a series is a big responsibility. Part way into book two, I knew I needed to plot my characters’ journeys to the end.
I sat on the floor with eight different colors of markers and highlighters. A pack of sticky notes. A rainbow of blank cue cards. The most helpful item: A giant pad of paper. I spend a solid day piecing together the plot lines of my three haphazard heroes: fourteen-year-old Ella, her mom Tessa, and her grandpa Archie. I also needed to do this for the important secondary characters and the book’s villains.
My goal was to leave readers with the hair on their arms standing on end. I planned plot twists and planted clues throughout the story. Seeing the plot and subplot written out in a similar format to an idea map—points connected with lines—I gifted myself a successful framework.
With that framework, and knowing how I wanted to conclude the trilogy, I got back to writing. Even with this outline, I left room for spontaneity. In book three, Inside the Sun, for example, a new character appeared in the first chapter as I was free writing. I had not anticipated introducing that character—named Nickel—but she brought something fresh to the story.
Writing the ending of Above the Star left my heart pounding for what was to come. As I typed the final words in Below the Moon, I cried. Inside the Sun is the dramatic crescendo to dying worlds and fractured relationships that is so satisfying. The story is not wrapped up with a pretty bow—there’s no verisimilitude in that—but in such a way that resonates as real, even for an adrenaline-fueled fantasy adventure.
Alexis Marie Chute is the author of the award-winning, best-selling memoir Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing and Pregnancy After Loss, published by She Writes Press. She is also a distinguished artist, photographer, and filmmaker. Chute has been named an “Emerging Canadian Photographer” by Photo Life Magazine and a “Top 40 Under 40” by Avenue Magazine, and was awarded the John Poole Award for Promotion of the Arts. She is also the director- producer of a feature film to accompany Expecting Sunshine. Her writing has been widely published in places including TIME, Today’s Parent, Scary Mommy, PhotoEd, and WestWord Magazine. Her artwork is represented by the AR&S Gallery at the Art Gallery of Alberta. Learn more at AlexisMarieChute.com.
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