.Quote
Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser. ~ Vince Lombardi
Wish I'd Said That
Not as important as the first sentence of a novel, never the less the last sentence is often what the reader remembers. Think of it as a dessert after a great meal or a good night kiss. The last sentence gives the author a final opportunity to emphasize the novel's theme and message.
Melville's "Call me Ishmael." The first line of Moby Dick is a classic, but consider the poetry of the last line. "Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago."
John Le Carre ended The Little Drummer Girl with this:"Her tears were half blinding her, and she was hearing him from under water. I'm dead, she kept saying, I'm dead, I'm dead. But it seemed that he wanted her dead or alive. Locked together, they set off awkwardly along the pavement, though the town was strange to them. (You have to read the exciting climax which preceded this to make any sense, but you can still get the feeling of the woman's emotions.)
In God We Trust, all others pay cash - Jean Shepherd ends a book I didn't want to end. "I peered into the gloom at the grimy Mill traffic. Dammit, it's gonna be hell getting a cab around here. Oh well... I waited briefly at the light and then turned left, toward the bus stop." Can't you visualize the scene?
The most famous of all last sentences needs no introduction. "Frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn."
follow by a few lines with the actual last line, "...Tara!...Home. I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!"
I wish I'd said that.
Work in Progress
I have finished the first draft of Two Miles High and Six Feet Under. My live-in editor has finished the first edit (Thank you Diane). I will make the corrections and rewrites, and then wait for the reactions of beta- readers.
Palindrome (Banned in Boston)
A slut nixes sex in Tulsa.
Comments
If you have any New Year's resolutions that you want us to remind you of in July, please enter them in the Add Comments box below or in the contact us page in the menu above.
Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser. ~ Vince Lombardi
Wish I'd Said That
Not as important as the first sentence of a novel, never the less the last sentence is often what the reader remembers. Think of it as a dessert after a great meal or a good night kiss. The last sentence gives the author a final opportunity to emphasize the novel's theme and message.
Melville's "Call me Ishmael." The first line of Moby Dick is a classic, but consider the poetry of the last line. "Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago."
John Le Carre ended The Little Drummer Girl with this:"Her tears were half blinding her, and she was hearing him from under water. I'm dead, she kept saying, I'm dead, I'm dead. But it seemed that he wanted her dead or alive. Locked together, they set off awkwardly along the pavement, though the town was strange to them. (You have to read the exciting climax which preceded this to make any sense, but you can still get the feeling of the woman's emotions.)
In God We Trust, all others pay cash - Jean Shepherd ends a book I didn't want to end. "I peered into the gloom at the grimy Mill traffic. Dammit, it's gonna be hell getting a cab around here. Oh well... I waited briefly at the light and then turned left, toward the bus stop." Can't you visualize the scene?
The most famous of all last sentences needs no introduction. "Frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn."
follow by a few lines with the actual last line, "...Tara!...Home. I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!"
I wish I'd said that.
Work in Progress
I have finished the first draft of Two Miles High and Six Feet Under. My live-in editor has finished the first edit (Thank you Diane). I will make the corrections and rewrites, and then wait for the reactions of beta- readers.
Palindrome (Banned in Boston)
A slut nixes sex in Tulsa.
Comments
If you have any New Year's resolutions that you want us to remind you of in July, please enter them in the Add Comments box below or in the contact us page in the menu above.