Don't you just love it when a line in a book so good, that you just have to stop reading to appreciate it for a few minutes? Me too. I think that's part of the reason I began writing - to, just once - write one of those sentences.
You can find them scattered throughout books, of course (Jodi Picoult...sigh) But I think they're most often at the very beginning, or the very end of a book. (I wrote a blog on first sentences. You can read it here.) Why? Well, I have to admit, as an author, I spend more time thinking/editing/writing/crafting those words than any other in the book. Are you the same?
Before we talk about how to do that - lets indulge ourselves (okay, we'll wallow) in some amazing last lines, shall we?
“Oh, Jake,” Brett said, “we could have had such a damned good time together.” Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me. “Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
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“Then starting home, he walked toward the trees, and under them, leaving behind him the big sky, the whisper of wind voices in the wind-bent wheat.” In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
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“Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.” Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
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"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."
"There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it, you've got to stand it."
And I have to include what is possibly my fave last line of all time:
"The lesson of the beet, then, is this: hold on to your divine blush, your innate rosy magic, or end up brown. Once you're brown, you'll find that you're blue. As blue as indigo. And you know what that means: Indigo, Indigoing, Indigone."
Great. Now that we all feel like hacks - how do they DO that?
Questions and answers - Think about your story as a series of questions and answers. Underline sentences that put a question in a reader's mind, and circle the ones that answer the question. You know that all the questions have to have answers before you write that last sentence, right? So maybe your last line is a question from the protagonist - about what they've learned?
Summation - maybe the last line is an amazing line, that sums up the book's theme. This is the end of my 'sister story', Days Made of Glass: "Harlie had come to accept that the dreams they'd held were children's dreams. Her dreams now were smaller, and farther out. But they were no less sweet for that."
You may have already written it! Reread your last chapter. It's possible your last sentence is in there - just in the wrong place.
Other thoughts -
Reiterate your first line - Have you read, Water for Elephants? Freakin' brilliant. If you have a wonderful first line, see if it'll work as a last line. Talk about tying up a book in a neat bundle!
Cadence, Cadence, Cadence - As important as the words themselves, a memorable last line needs cadence. See Tom Robbins' example above.
Write the last sentence first - It gives me hives to even type that, but John Irving did it, and he's sold a few books, so...
Emotion trumps all - If it's emotional, it's going to be a winner. After all, the reader is already emotional about getting to the last page, right? Hit 'em where it hurts!
Okay WITS readers - your turn! Share a favorite last line from one of your books - or someone else's!
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What's New with Laura?
Laura, in her normal habitat.
Laura has started a video blog called The Write Stuff, where she discusses writing craft, writing life and the occasional rant (okay, not so occasional).
Last month I did a post on how to build a strong online brand and the two most popular questions surprised me. The most common was: "What do I talk about?" Remember, that's what your 100 word cloud is for. (Click that link in the first line if you don't know what I'm talking about. We'll wait.) And the other big question was "Which platform do I use?"
I'm dividing that last question into the why and the what. There is a learning curve for every new program you use, but that learning curve is shortened if you know WHY you are putting yourself through this learning curve. It's also vital to know "which platform does WHAT."
Yes, they all allow you to be social - they're pretty equal that way - but each platform has distinct audiences and personalities. I'm going to just cover the giants on the social media scene: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest and Snapchat. Hopefully six social platforms be enough for y'all. *snickers*
The goal is NOT to make you tired, and I can already see all my introverts inching out the door. It's okay, introverts, there are ways to do social media without feeling like this guy.
The key is to know which platforms best fit YOU and your personality.
What you should know before starting down the social media path:
What kind of communication do you want?
Back when I worked in the early mobile phone world, we talked a lot about half-duplex and full-duplex communication. Half-duplex is basically "push to talk, release to listen." You couldn't talk and listen at the same time. (Think of a walkie-talkie.) Full-duplex meant you could do both at the same time. Social media follows this model too: some platforms are half-duplex, and some are full-duplex. Some have the capability to be either.
What makes social media fun and what makes it tiring?
The key to answering this question is knowing your own personality, and which platforms will suit it best.
Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat all work really well in that half-duplex mode. You put out content, respond to comments and like or re-pin other peoples' cool stuff. These are platforms where you get to hang out by yourself, but with other people. You don't have to interact in real time if you don't want to. People will still like and follow your stuff, even if you are more peripheral about responding.
But...you must have REALLY cool stuff, and a regular sharing schedule, to get noticed. There is more brainshare and organization that goes into these platforms because people follow you almost exclusively based on your content, rather than on your witty interaction. Your updates have to include well thought out hashtags and stand alone photos or engaging video.
Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are much more full-duplex platforms. People are talking back and forth in real time and you have to respond. If you don't respond to people on these platforms in the form of shares, Likes, retweets, +1's and conversation, eventually they will go away because these platforms demand interaction.
Facebook has everyone talking and responding to one another, in fairly real time. Ditto with Twitter, if you use hashtags to follow communications. You can do this with Google+ as well. There's Facebook Live, Twitter Chats and Google Hangouts. These three platforms reward people who interact regularly and often.
The Social Media Giants
Yes, if you are looking for a job or a business contact, you need to be on LinkedIn, but readers tend to hang out at Goodreads and in the six programs mentioned below.
Facebook
Facebook has more than 1 billion active users each month. Those kinds of numbers mean you have to at least have a toehold there so you can connect with readers. Plus there are groups. Groups are like Christmas to an author. While your page might not reach many people at all, an update posted in a group goes to everyone in the group. That's powerful.
That being said, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. It's hard to give up the coffee memes and cat videos but Facebook is a time-sucking vacuum. You stop in for five minutes and two hours later...*POOF* You just lost your morning.
If you want some quick how-to info on topics like "profile vs page," what type of page, and how to set up Facebook, click here. We've also done some really great Facebook posts here at WITS.
Twitter
From the moment I participated in a Twitter chat with Margaret Atwood, and got to ask her a question directly, I've been hooked. You gain access to people you would never get near in real life. And it's fast - I can catch up in 10-15 minute increments.
Here's a great summary from Mashable: "Tweets are, essentially, the same as status updates or links on Facebook; they're just limited to 140 characters. You can follow anyone and anyone can follow you, and you don't have to do anything to make this happen (unlike Facebook, where making "friends" requires approval from both sides)."
Twitter caveat: information comes at you in a wave until you learn to manage it. Use Twitter lists or a program like Hootsuite so you can visit and get the information you want quickly.
We have lots of perspectives on Twitter right here at WITS. Take a peek at these.
Instagram
Instagram is about visual storytelling. It's primarily a mobile app, meant to let you share photos and video while you're on the go. It's not about links - you can only put active links in your bio - its about visual content and engagement with fans. Instagram is also one of the fastest growing social networks and it can pay off big for writers.
Google is an underappreciated social platform for several reasons. Number one, it’s owned by Google. “Likes,” called “+1’s” in Google+, will help your search rankings. A lot. Your social media posts on this platform act like rocket fuel when someone Googles you: the Google Plus results leap to the top.
Translation: if you are aiming to spend as little time as possible on social media, while still getting a big bang for your time, you should add G+ to your repertoire.
Plus, Google+ integrates with GoogleDrive and has Google Hangouts. That makes it a great place for you if you are holding online seminars or interacting with small businesses. Google Hangouts beat Skype hands down because you can easily screen share and switch back and forth between your computer and your mobile devices without ending the video chat.
Some articles that break down the "why" of Google+ in more detail:
Pinterest is great for you and your followers. While you are organizing your own ideas, photos, and research into various Pinterest boards, you are also giving this valuable (organized!) content to others. Many writers swear their Pinterest boards have revolutionized their research. Dont forget, you can make private boards if you need to keep something on the down low!
Also, as visual content becomes more and more essential to any social media strategy, Pinterest is an important tool. This virtual bulletin board is a huge driver in getting people to your website and increasing visibility that leads to book sales.
Think of Pinterest as an online catalog, but with way more opportunities for interaction.
Snapchat
Do you need to cater to a younger demographic? Are you comfortable producing graphics and visual content? (Remember Laura Drake's Canva post?!) Snapchat might be the tool that helps you engage your audience in a new and creative way. With Snapchat, you can create images and short videos for your audience and customize your message with text and graphics. It also gives you the ability to monitor which users are viewing your messages.
Snapchat content only lasts 24 hours. Some people see Snapchat’s “24 hour” shelf life as a disadvantage, but it can be a bonus opportunity to repurpose your content.
You can get really creative. Save your Snapchat story as individual videos, or photos and share it on your other platforms to lure people over to your Snapchat account. Snapchat allows you to click on your "ghost icon" at the top and get a Snapcode that you can share to your newsletter list or your Twitter following.
Moz.com has a wonderful Beginner's Guide to Social Media. I'm not a beginner and I still picked up tips. Plus, the infographics are excellent and you can download the guide as a PDF.
Here’s a quick guide to the bare minimum you should be posting for each network:
Blogging once per week
Posting on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn three times per week
Tweeting ten times per week
Pinning 20 times per week
See what I mean? That's a golden common sense article. All the tips are that clear.
What are you favorite places to hang out online? Which platforms would you rather never see again? Do you need more information on something I mentioned? If so, let me know down in the comments and I'll flesh out another post!
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About Jenny Hansen
By day, Jenny provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. By night she writes humor, memoir, women’s fiction and short stories. After 18 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.
I recently spent a good six months struggling to make progress on my next novel. The sole reason: I couldn’t hear what my writer’s intuition was telling me.
In an effort to solve the problem, I returned to craft, seeking solutions in plot, characterization, and timelines. All of my efforts produced a whole lot of nothing, so I put the story away for awhile. I took walks. I slept well. I tried other things. Nothing worked.
Finally, as luck would have it, my yearly vacation came up. I spent two weeks hiking, walking the beach, and soaking up the atmosphere of the great Northwest. When the vacation was over, I realized what my writer’s intuition really wanted: for me to get going on the non-fiction book I’d been planning for about a year.
I hesitated. As a full-time freelance writer, I didn’t have enough time to work on both books. I feared leaving my novel behind for awhile would kill the story, but I couldn’t deny my muse’s wish. When I returned from vacation, I dove into the non-fiction.
The clouds parted and the sun came out. I wrote one chapter after another at breakneck speed. Rather than feeling frustrated and discouraged, I started to enjoy writing again. I had my creative mojo back.
Wouldn’t you know it, after about a month of this, I was driving home one night and bam!—a new idea hit me for how I could approach my novel. I tried it out on the first chapter, and then compared the old to the new. The new was much better. It was going to work! As I wrapped up the first draft of the non-fiction book, I returned to the novel newly inspired and motivated.
Lesson learned—the writer’s intuition is always right.
What’s difficult are two things:
1) how to hear what it’s saying, and
2) how to trust it.
10 Things That Mute the Writer’s Intuitive Voice
No matter if you’re a plotter or pantser, you likely use your intuition for at least some things, like developing characters, plots, and settings, and when planning the next steps in your writing career.
In today’s hurried and noisy world, though, it can be hard to hear what your intuition is really telling you. The lines between what the mind thinks, the heart wants, and the intuition knows tend to blur, and it becomes more difficult to distinguish one from the other.
In my case, my mind wanted me to finish the novel by the end of the year, and my heart desperately wanted the story to turn out well. Meanwhile, my intuition was lingering on the periphery whispering about the non-fiction book. Looking back now, I realize I did hear it, but I hushed it by saying, “Not now, I have to finish this first!”
My tunnel vision prevented me from really listening to what my intuition had to say.
There are a number of other things that can drown out that quiet voice you have inside. Here are a few of them:
Busyness: To-do lists often loom large in our thoughts, squeezing out that little space where intuition lives. You may have a vague sense that it’s trying to tell you something, but you rush on to the next thing and the next thing, never pausing long enough to listen.
Distraction: Television, games, social media, Internet, books, yard work, home improvements, ski club, etc.—these can all be distractions that keep you from tuning into your intuitive wisdom.
The heart’s desire: If you really want a certain outcome, that desire can drown out what the intuition is suggesting you should do instead.
Strong beliefs: If you believe strongly that things should go a certain way, you may subconsciously ignore your intuition’s suggestions. Say you strongly believe you should get a traditional publisher for your book. You may then ignore your intuition’s suggestion to self-publish, or vice versa.
Other voices: Your intuition may be telling you something that goes against what you’ve been told by experts in the field, or by other people you respect. That can lead you to ignore your intuition, for surely these other folks know better.
Logic: You may be used to approaching problems with logical and rational thought rather than by using your intuition. In some cases, your intuitive nudges may seem completely illogical, causing you to ignore them.
Fear: You may sense that your intuition is guiding you in a direction that frightens you. It may be urging you to do more signings or to try public speaking, for instance. If these things make you nervous, you may ignore your intuition’s suggestions.
Denial: You’ve muted the volume on your intuition because you don’t like what it’s saying. A good example: Your publisher wants another romance book, and you’re sick of writing romance. You try anyway, as you don’t want to lose the contract, but your heart’s not in it. Your intuition tries to tell you it’s time to do something else, but you turn down the volume because you don’t want to hear it.
Stress: Stressful life events produce powerful emotions that easily drown out the intuitive voice. You may fall victim to knee-jerk reactions and poor decisions made when you’re not at your best.
Inattention: The intuitive voice is quiet and subtle. If you don’t make a point to tune in carefully, it’s very easy to miss what it’s telling you. In fact, it takes practice to become better at hearing your intuitive voice.
The writer’s intuition is critical for guiding us forward in our work and our careers, but it’s extremely easy for that voice to get lost. We must practice listening more carefully, and trusting what we hear.
7 Ways to Better Hear What Your Intuitive Voice is Telling You
I could write a whole other book on this topic, but for now, here are a few suggestions. The main goal is to create space in your head, heart, and environment to allow the intuition room to come forward.
Get away: We often think that an afternoon in the park will do the trick, but sometimes, that’s not enough. Americans are not good about taking their vacations, especially for more than a few days. But sometimes the only way you can thoroughly relax and hear what your muse wants you to do is to get away from it all for at least a week.
Listen for repeated, random thoughts: The intuition speaks quietly, but regularly. If you don’t listen the first few times, it will keep nudging you. Listen for messages that you continue to hear whispered over and over again. These thoughts often have a “pop up” character to them—they pop up in your head when you’re thinking about something else.
Let go: Other thoughts and emotions jam up the communication lines between your intuition and your ears. If you’re attached to one desired outcome, you’ll have a hard time hearing what your intuition is saying. Judgment also stops intuition in its tracks. Try to spend some time during a walk or meditation period where you allow yourself to let go of all expectations, hoped-for outcomes, desires, judgments, etc., and just listen to what your intuition knows. Practice by simply playing the game—for 30 minutes, let go of everything you think your story or your writing career should be, and wait for your intuition to tell you what should come next.
Listen to your body: The body is a great source of information unless you’re tired, achy, stressed, bloated, or whatever. Take some time to eat good foods, rest, exercise, and get yourself into better shape. When your body starts feeling better, you may notice intuitive nudges through gut feelings, waves of emotion, tingling on your skin, or a sense of excitement. When these physical symptoms occur, take a moment to stop and ask yourself what they are telling you.
Invite your intuition in for a chat: This method can be extremely effective if you like using your imagination. Sit quietly and invite your intuition to come in for a chat. Imagine a room where you sit across from each other. Feel free to ask questions to get the conversation started, then listen to what your intuition says. You can also do this in writing. Write your question down, take a moment to listen, and then imagine yourself transcribing what your intuition says in answer.
Drive: A car can be a very effective place to isolate yourself. Take a Sunday afternoon and go for a drive. Keep it quiet inside—no music or audiobooks—and head out into the country. Allow your thoughts to go where they will. After awhile, you may hear your intuition whispering in your ear.
Journal: If you use your journal simply to record the events and thoughts of the day, you’re likely to stay in your head without reaching the realm of the intuition. If you free write while allowing your thoughts to go where they will, however, you may stumble upon some unique findings. This type of journaling can be really effective, because it provides a record of your intuitive nudges, which you can refer to at a later date. This can also help you learn to trust your intuition.
Can I Trust My Intuition?
I mentioned that listening to your intuition is not enough—you have to be able to trust it. That’s not always easy. Messages from the intuitive voice are often fuzzy, garbled, or present only in feelings and sensed words rather than in clear, indisputable directions. That makes it harder to trust what we’re hearing or sensing. We have to take a leap of faith.
To get better at it, practice listening, and when you hear a message, take a small step in the direction it leads you. Most of the time, you’ll find that the action feels right. If you’re concerned, take baby steps forward and see what happens. Keep a journal of your results, as it will provide you with evidence when you need it.
It’s not always easy and it’s not always clear. I’ve been at it for years and still stumble, as evidenced by my story at the beginning of this post. Writers need that little voice, though, both for their work and their careers, so it’s certainly worth the time and effort.
As the great poet William Butler Yeats said:
"People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind."
How do you work with your writer's intuitive voice? How have you learned to trust it?
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About Colleen
Colleen M. Story is a novelist, health and wellness writer, and motivational speaker specializing in creativity, productivity, and personal wellness. Her literary novel, Loreena’s Gift, has been recognized with five literary awards, including first place in the Idaho Author Awards, solo medalist in the New Apple Book Awards, and Foreword Indie Awards finalist. She’s authored thousands of articles for a variety of health-centered publications, and ghostwritten books for clients in the health and wellness industry. As a speaker, she enjoys helping writers and other creative artists break through mental barriers and tap into their unique creative powers. She is the founder of Writing and Wellness, a motivational site for writers and other creatives. Find more at her website, or follow her on Twitter.
