Close Topic Options

The Beginning, Middle Or End?

The start of any novel, if written well, can grab your attention, but as the story builds up to the middle you become engrossed. For some people only the End is important and most enjoyable... how is it for you?

End Middle Beginning The

I find the beginning to be most important. If the story doesn't get me involved, then I don't stick around for the middle, or the end...

The Beginning, Middle Or End? UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

There is a view today that unless the beginning is action-packed and grabbing it will not sell. And yet many top-selling books break this mold (The Lord of the RIngs and The Wheel of Time Series (95-page prologue on book 10 of the latter!)).

All parts are important; if any one of them fails it can destroy the whole effect I think. The intro should set the scene and set up the character and his hurt; the middle should take us through the conflict to the end where that hurt is resolved.

If I'm looking to buy a book I probably look at the title, blurb and first page - so in that sense the cover and first few pages!

Dubhdara.

End Middle Beginning The

If I have trouble staying awake through the first 25 pages, I'm done for. Not that it has to be action-packed, but the writing has to be clear and interesting enough to continue. Garbled sentences, or inanities, just turn me right off.

IMO
Roz

End Middle Beginning The

For me, it has to be the end. Even if the beginning is slow, I make an effort to stick with it hoping that the end is worth the pain. Or if the beginning is great, I would hope the end is just as great if not better. If the end is disappointing, then I feel let down. Yes, the end of a book is the most important to me.

The Beginning, Middle Or End?

To me, the beginning and the middle are more important than the end. If the beginning isn't good, I will quickly lose interest. If the middle doesn't hold my interest, or if it takes a turn I really don't like, then I will eventually put the book down here as well. By the time the end comes, I am already fully committed to the book.

Incidently, if it is a really good book, I will hate the end, just because it is the end.

The Beginning Middle End

tena said:

I totally agree! A great book with a great ending is just so sad. I sometimes will turn right back to page one and start all over....

Roz

The Beginning Middle End Sciences Education Art Writing & UFO

Me too, me too! That is how I felt about Gerald Lunds The Work and The Wonder. I KNOW there were 9 books in the series. But when I finished number 9 I felt so empty. No more to read. I sort of feel cheated. *What ~ is this ALL!?*

The beginning can be a little slow, but the middle better have enough to hold my interest or the book gets put in the give-away box right then and there.

Another thing I do is if the book isn't thick, I won't even pick it up. It has to be a minimum of two knuckles thick. I know that is so silly, but when I want to read, I want to read longer than an hour. For each of the 9 books of The Work and The Wonder ~ it took me exactly 5 days to read each one. They were hard back and borrowed from a friend, so I took extra special care not to break the spine of the book or to smudge the pages, or muss up the cover jacket. And with me crying at every chapter, that slowed me down a bit too.

I'm not weird, I am Unique!