Tag: writing

8 Best and Worst Fictional Endings

Happily ever after? What do I look for in an ending and which book finales did I love/hate most?

The most important parts of a fiction book for me are the opening chapter and the last quarter.
I like to be thrown into action or posed a question for the initial hook. I will read a book without these elements, I consider myself a slightly varied reader, but I do prefer them to be there.
For me however, an impactful(!?) ending is non negotiable. I need the pacing to accelerate, big reveals or shocking twists. In my opinion the best books are the ones with plots that are unpredictable but still feasible.

I like to challenge my brain. Untangling a maze of misleads and consequences can tether me to a book for hours on end, just don’t throw in a wild card with no previous ties to characters or story line- that infuriates me, it feels lazy.

A brilliant ending can turn the tide of my favour for any book. I’ll forget all about any moments I spent drifting off or dragging my eyes across the page. An initially bad book can become a decent slow-burner if the pay off at the end feels worth the time invested in earlier details.

I can sacrifice action if the character development is intricate but there still has to be some sort of BANG towards the end. Nothing worse than a book that fizzles out leaving you wondering why you cared. Even predictable but well written reveals or events are preferable to me than none at all.

Here are just a few books with (spoiler free) endings I’ve loved or hated:
Continue reading “8 Best and Worst Fictional Endings”

RELAUNCH DAY! Meet The Girl Behind The Blog

Come celebrate my birthday & blog relaunch! Find out what we have in common..

WELCOME READERS!
Today is my 30th birthday and the RELAUNCH of my blog AnAverageLife.org
Originally this site began as a place to blurt out my thoughts now and then. I had no schedule, no prepared content and no direction. It was fun but as I invested more and more time into blog hopping and Twitter I realised I wanted to put more effort into my own little piece of the internet.
There are some beautiful, inspiring and interesting blogs out here and the same can be said for the creators behind them. The support and encouragement in the blogging community is astounding and I’d like to contribute.
The first thing I look for in a blogger is common ground or an interesting voice. So to kick off a week of celebratory birthday/relaunch posts here’s 30 things about me…

  • I cannot ride a bike.

  • I start a new job on 3rd Sept

  • My hair is naturally curly in a half-assed way.

  • I was almost stung by an enormous jellyfish as a child. 

  • I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder in 2014

  • I have a puppy, Watson the English Cocker Spaniel

  • I’ve lived in the same town all my life.

  • I have specific table sauce habits. Mayo with carbs, dairy or poultry but never meat, bacon excluded (everything’s good with bacon right?). Ketchup is for red meat and battered fish only.

  • My mothers family moved to the US in 1987, one year before I was born.

  • I spent the last 5 years addicted to Rockstar energy drink. On 14th May I quit caffeine. So far so good.

  • When I was 19 years old I interrupted the filming of ‘Burn After Reading’ in Washington DC. A rather large bodyguard stepped up and asked me to be quiet after my third yell of ‘NAN! LOOK! I can see George Clooney!’. Nan had been busy flirting with a nearby policeman on horseback. She claims it was a distraction technique…

  • I am very very slowy writing my first novel

  • I really dislike Queen. Everyone always gasps at that. I’ve tried but it’s just everywhere all the time. Of course I make an exception for We Will Rock You, that song has the power to motivate a sloth. But if I’m subjected to Bohemian Rhapsody I’m apt to get snappy.

  • I read an average of 8 books per month, my goal is always 100 books a year.

  • I cannot stand romance novels or films. As a side line to a story sure, but as the main plot? Nope nope nope.

  • I do not have nor want any children.

  • I am a Potterhead

  • My eyes change colour.
  • When I was 18 I had a terrible addiction to eBay shopping

  • My father and I have a Christmas tradition. I hide one sprout in his dinner every year, hoping he will finally eat it. He always finds it and puts it in my hair, my shoe, my wine glass and other assorted places!

  • I fell slowly and deeply in love with my best friend.

  • I’ve learned (and since forgotten) how to play the clarinet, piano and guitar.

  • I dont like steak.

  • I love to travel. I aim for at least one new destination per year.

  • I have 6 tattoos, each with symbolic meaning

  • I struggle to make a good first impression in social situations.

  • I got a mortgage in 2016, just me, myself and I. It’s my proudest achievement.

  • In college I owned 32 different pairs of converse shoes
  • I can and do eat entire tubs of Ben and Jerry’s in one sitting
  • I am quite probably the most clumsy person you would ever meet.

Did you find our common ground? Don’t give up just yet if you didn’t, there’s still tomorrow. Now head on over to twitter to enter the giveaway on @Anaveragelife88 🙂

 

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