A friend of mine is a teacher (I’m not showing off, that’s not the end of the sentence. READ ON YOU FOOL) and she just got in touch through facebook to ask me:

“Do you have any ideas about activities I could do with my Year 13s to help them think about how to end a story?”

She’s a teacher. Did I mention that? Cool, right?

Anyway, while I didn’t really have any practical ideas to help her, I did have a little rant about story endings. Here it is in its entirety, as I typed it. Yes, this is how I type messages on facebook, including all the random capitalisations and exclamations.

I said:

PICK MY BRAINS! OK. I’ll not write my new book for the next few minutes, I’ll give myself entirely to YOU.

The way I look at it, the ending of a story MUST be planned out before you start. Great director Alexander Mackendrick (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533241/) said: “If you’ve got a beginning, but don’t yet have an end, then you’re mistaken. You don’t have the right beginning.”

So being stuck on your ending just means you haven’t planned things out properly or you haven’t written the beginning and the middle properly.

The trick is to START WITH THE ENDING. You need to do a session on story structure – ACTS. Do it like a mountain range.

Or watch this video and translate it into whatever you like:
http://youtu.be/oP3c1h8v2ZQ

Once you’re comfortable with the concept of a story being a series of UPS and DOWNS on that graph (or mountain range, or roller coaster or whatever) then an ENDING must be the final UP or DOWN. It’s the completion or final failure of the task that originated at the BEGINNING. (That’s why the beginning is so important to your ending. The ending is contained within everything implied by the beginning.)

Whatever desire or need drives the story is fulfilled or finally dashed at the end. If anyone is struggling with their ending, it’s usually because there isn’t a strong enough desire or need driving their story. This is a problem with their story, their character, their entire world and everything they’ve written.

You need to picture everything about your ending at every point that you’re writing the rest of your story. To be honest, it’s what keeps me writing: the desperate fear that I might DIE before reaching the point where I write the ending that’s living in my head and in my plans.

The magnitude of that final UP or DOWN of the ending must be bigger than any of the UPS orDOWNS along the way (the act climaxes).

There are also clever endings: the character fulfils his need/desire in stunning fashion (a big UP) but at the same time realises that wasn’t what he was really after all along, he really wanted something else (to find hinmself, to reconcile with his mother, whatever). That’s called an IRONIC ending (in the trade).

I suggest you get a short story they can read the entirety of pretty quickly (maybe LIFTERS? Hahahahahahaha advertising my own books in my facebook rants – EXCELLENT!) and get them comfortable with charting the ups & downs of a character’s fortunes.

*****SPOILERS HERE***** So don’t read the next paragraph if you don’t want to know what happens at the end of LIFTERS *****

At the end of LIFTERS, for example, Adaq achieves what he thought his desire was at the beginning of the story – he now has the means to forget his life of crime and start a new life on his own two feet. But it’s come at a price. He no longer has his sister – perhaps what he really wanted, deep down, was to fix that relationship. He is also less sure about his own identity than he was at the start – maybe finding his own identity was really what he wanted all along, not money or independence.

*****OK YOU CAN CARRY ON READING NOW - BUT WHY HAVEN’T YOU READ LIFTERS YET?*****

So is it an UP ending or a DOWN ending? I don’t know, but it’s a GOOD ending. Superficially it should be an UP, but it feels more like a DOWN.

Get them to think up ENDINGS that are either big UPS, big DOWNS or something more complicated. Then you can work backwards to plan out the rest of the story.

And now I will just finish. A surprise ending.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR PLEASE.

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Joe Craig, lifters, rant, story endings

One thing I’m having to get used to seeing here in Tokyo (especially at this time of year) are the face masks.

They’re worn out of consideration for other people, to protect them from your germs when you’ve got a cold. There’s nothing sinister about them at all.

Except…

Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide talks about a yokai called Kuchisake Onna, or Slash-Mouthed Woman. This terrifying creature, the authors warn, “appears to be a normal young woman, but a surgical mask covers a horrifically oversized mouth that stretches ear to ear, filled with far, far too many teeth.”

Kuchisake Onna is a thoroughly modern yokai, familiar (according to one source quoted in Yokai Attack!) to “a whopping ninety-nine percent of Japanese children.” It’s easy, therefore, to guess the inspiration behind this:

This is the cover image of current J-Pop sensation Kyary Pamyu Pamyu‘s debut album Moshi Moshi Harajuku. The video for her insanely catchy single Ponponpon (it means ‘Clapclapclap’) has broken my poor mind into tiny pieces: I present it gladly here so it can do the same to yours.

Snee hee hee!

Sam

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – writing a book with a limited word count is a hard thing to do.  Fitting a complete story with a beginning, middle and end, a setting that feels real from page one, and rounded, believable characters into such a small space is tough – and it doesn’t always work.  Freak of Fortune by Ali Sparkes, however, is a book that does it all brilliantly.

There’s a rule in story telling that you get into the tale as late as you possibly can – and Ali achieves that wonderfully by introducing us to Nic and Rav mid-argument.  We can instantly tell that these guys are friends who have drifted apart and that matters have finally come to a head between them.  For some authors, that confrontation would have been enough – but then have both boys swept off the bridge they’re fighting on in a flash flood, and you’re dragged along for the ride.

I don’t want to give anything away, but the adventure continues in a very unexpected way that not only shines the spotlight on the relationship between the boys, but their entire community as well.  As I keep saying – this isn’t an easy task to begin with, let alone in a short (yet, perfectly formed) book.

The titles in this Edge series from Franklin Watts are perfect for reluctant readers who would ordinarily be put off by thicker, heavier books.  They are a great reintroduction to reading for kids who have come to see picking up a book as a chore and simply need a fast-paced adventure to remind them of the joy of storytelling.  Highly recommended.

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 It has to be said I’m a slow reader…and my reading pile is waaay to high. So it’s taken me a while to get to WOLF by Tommy Donbavand. I’m happy to report that as we share the same dim, damp and depressing conditions here in the cave I get first dibs on any signed copies floating around.

Fair enough I reckon. When you share another mans puddle bonds are formed. Enough said.

So then, to the book. Well, it really is a fantastic read. It’s a no nonsense approach to just how it feels to be slowly turning into a werewolf. Possibly not for the young sensitive reader, this wolfish tail (see what I did there), is so engaging…a story that invites the reader into the mind of the Adam the victim for such a shocking, shared experience. Tommy takes you on a sensory journey from the first sensations of finger-tip-twitching through to the spasms of bone-cracking transformation. And it really grabs you from the fist page.

The story is dyslexia friendly which opens it up to reluctant readers and those who find some books challenging. This is a great introduction to the damp, murky world of Tommy Donbavand and his brilliant Scream Street series.

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Last night I went on a tour of Aoyama Cemetery, the biggest and oldest graveyard in Tokyo.

Local taxi drivers, I heard, won’t stop here during the hours of darkness.

They speak of a woman in a blue (or white) dress who hails a cab and asks to be taken to a nearby destination, calling it by a strangely old-fashioned name.

But whenever drivers who pick her up take her there, they find she has vanished, leaving nothing but a pool of water.

Whether it’s the ghost or the upholstery-cleaning fees these cabbies fear the most, no one knows. ;D

Sam

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Exclusively here at Trapped By Monsters, here’s the twelth part of Tommy’s brand new Scream Street story – Shiver of the Phantom…

—

Shiver of the Phantom

by Tommy Donbavand

Chapter Twelve

The Wail

“That was a fail!” rumbled Mr Aspin as the group stopped to catch their breath outside the Crudley family’s garden. He clicked his pen and marked a cross next to the word ‘Pet’ on his clipboard. “And, now that the exam is over, we can finally—”

“How can it be a fail?” Cleo interrupted. “All Henry had to do was petrify a pet…”

“Yeah, and I reckon that mouse will need weeks of therapy to get over what it’s just been through,” added Resus.

“You can’t fail Henry for simply blowing too hard,” said Luke. “Show me where it says that in the rules.”

Aspin glared down at the children for a second, then snarled. He scribbled out the cross and placed a tick next to ‘Pet’. “He’s bound to fail on the next task, though,” he sneered. “In all the times Harper’s taken this exam, he’s never managed a Worrying Wail.”

“This time will be different,” insisted Cleo. “Won’t it, Henry?”

“Maybe,” said Henry weakly.

Ten minutes later, the group found themselves in a spacious, well-appointed kitchen. Twinkle the fairy entered from the garden, unaware that he had visitors, and dropped a pile of vegetables onto the table. Then he hefted a huge iron pot from a cupboard and set it down next to the vegetables with a clang!

“I’ve never been inside Twinkle’s house before,” said Cleo, as the fairy began to chop up a carrot. “It’s nice.”

“We’re not here to look at the décor,” Resus reminded her. “Henry’s got to wail.”

“He’ll do it,” said Luke, patting the trembling phantom on the back. “Won’t you?”

“Er…”

“Right,” said Aspin. “Off you go then, Harper. Let’s see you scare the fairy with a wail.”

Henry pursed his lips and began to make a soft “ooooh!” sound.

Twinkle dropped pieces of carrot into his cooking pot and selected another from the pile.

“Come on, Henry!” Cleo encouraged.

“Ssh!” hissed Aspin. “No coaching from the sidelines.”

This time, Henry’s wail was a little louder. “Whooooo!”

Still Twinkle didn’t react. He finished cutting carrots and placed a large potato on his chopping-board.

Mr Aspin grinned. “Last try, Harper…”

Henry gave it everything. “WHOOOOO!”

Everybody turned to Twinkle to watch his reaction…

Nothing. The fairy hadn’t heard a thing.

“No effect whatsoever!” announced Aspin happily. “It’s a fail!” He clicked his pen and lifted his arm to mark a cross on the clipboard – and knocked Twinkle’s cooking pot off the table with his elbow.

The iron pot landed square on Henry’s foot and he howled in pain. “OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!”

Twinkle squealed. “Who’s there?” he demanded. The fairy grabbed a parsnip and wielded it like a weapon. “Tell me who’s there!”

Luke took the clipboard and pen from the furious Aspin and placed a tick next to ‘Wail’. “Thanks for the help!” He grinned.

—

The 13th – and final – part of this exclusive Scream Street story can be found where it all began tomorrow: www.screamstreet.co.uk

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Last night I bought and downloaded Lifters by Joe Craig for the Kindle.  I’d known the book was coming for a while but, aside from having seen the cover, I didn’t know anything about the story itself.  So, I was really looking forward to reading it.

It’s not easy keeping the word count down when it comes to writing a story – especially not when the story features as much action, plot and solid characterisation as Lifters.  Having read Joe’s Jimmy Coates books, I knew I was in for an adventure that would keep me turning the page – but I didn’t realise that I would empathise with the main character, Adaq, quite so quickly.  In a few short paragraphs, we understand everything we need to know about his relationship with his sister, why he’s doing something he clearly feels is wrong, and how he is persuaded to go for one more score.  Add to the mix a mysterious ‘package’, and two more compelling characters and you’ve got a book you couldn’t put down, even if you wanted to.  Plus, this is the first time I’ve seen parkour – or free running – dealt with so brilliantly in book form; the description jumps off the page at you.

The only downside is that the book must end just as the story gets going – although that, in a way, is its strength.  Joe respects his readers enough to allow them to decide what happens next themselves, rather than try to spoon-feed us with a forced ending.  That said, if he ever decided to tell us more about Adaq, Maya and the ‘package’ – I’ll be first in line to read it.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants a fast, edge-of-the-seat urban adventure.

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Posted to Book Zone for Boys, here’s the eleventh part of my brand new Scream Street story – Shiver of the Phantom…

—

Shiver of the Phantom

by Tommy Donbavand

Chapter Eleven

The Pet

Henry reappeared through the fence piece by piece, looking like a child’s rubber toy that had been overstretched to the point of breaking.

“How was that?” he asked.

Luke, Resus and Cleo stared at the phantom in horror. His face sagged dramatically to one side, his stomach bulged over the waistband of his trousers and his arms were now so long that they dragged on the ground as he walked.

“Yikes!” exclaimed Resus. “It might be an idea to stick to open doors for the time being.”

A pale shadow fell over the group as they grabbed bits of Henry and tried to reshape him. “When you’ve all finished mucking around,” snarled Mr Aspin, “it’s time for Henry’s first test!”

“Yes, sir,” croaked Henry, finally looking more or less like himself again. “Whatever you say, sir.”

The phantom president consulted his clipboard. “The first challenge is for Harper to Petrify a Pet…”

“Well, that shouldn’t be too hard,” said Cleo. “Cats and dogs have a sixth sense about ghosts. They frequently see things that people can’t.”

“The problem is,” said Luke, “that I haven’t seen Shan the witch’s cat around for ages, and the only dogs in Scream Street are Sir Otto’s hellhounds.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere near them.” Henry quivered. “They scare me!”

“Wait,” said Resus. “The rule is that Henry has to scare a pet, right?”

“That’s right,” said Aspin.

“Then it doesn’t have to be cat or a dog.” The vampire beamed. “Follow me…”

They found Fifi Crudley in her garden, playing with her pet mouse. The young bog monster was encouraging the mouse to run from left to right by offering it lumps of cheese.

“There you go,” said Resus.

“A mouse?” scoffed Aspin, flicking through his notes.

“It’s still a pet,” Resus pointed out. “And Henry shouldn’t have to blow too hard in order to give it a scare.”

Mr Aspin, unable to find anything in the rules that forbade a phantom from scaring a mouse, produced a pen and got ready to make notes. “Get on with it,” he growled.

“OK, Henry,” said Cleo. “This is it… Just do your best.”

The phantom nodded nervously and crouched down in front of the mouse. Fifi, unable to see him, continued to make the animal dash back and forth. Frowning in concentration, Henry blew gently.

The mouse stopped, mid-scamper, and turned to face Henry, whiskers twitching.

“It’s working!” hissed Resus. “Blow harder, Henry!”

Henry sucked in a deep lungful of air and blew as hard as he could. The mouse stared at him, blinking in the breeze, then was suddenly lifted off its feet. It flew straight at Fifi, sinking into her gooey stomach with a sickening schlop!

“Squeaker!” screamed Fifi, plunging a fist into the muddy folds of her belly and fishing around for her tiny friend.

The trio were dragging Henry towards the garden gate by the time she pulled the mouse free.

—

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