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Katniss climbed into bed with Peeta, gave him a hug and he leant in to say:

“You love me, real or not real?” and Katniss said, “Real.”

Time to admit a dirty secret I have been harbouring for a while now – yes, I’m ashamed! I haven’t read the Hunger Games. I know. I know. I’m a YA Fantasy/Dystopian writer, how could I NOT have read the Hunger Games…? It just sort of happened. Lets not talk about it. I’ll fix it…Soon.

Anyway, there we were in the cinema and I leant over to to Mrs. Black and did the unthinkable, whispered in the middle of the film. I said… That right there, that’s the last line of the book. She raised an eyebrow and asked me how I knew. I didn’t have the answer, so I shrugged, “I just did.”

But it got me thinking, how did I know? And what was it about that line that made it so obviously a last line?

After we left the cinema I frantically scanned the kindle app on my phone to see if I’d downloaded it and could check. I had, and low and behold, ignoring the epilogue, there was the last line of the book, exactly as I had predicted.

‘So after when he whispers, “you love me. Real or not real?” 

I tell him, “Real.”

Suzanne Collins – Mockingjay (Book 3)

So I scoured a bunch of other books to find their last lines and not only are there clear things I learnt, but there is also quite an obvious difference in the style and content between the last lines of first and last books in trilogies.

But first, the endings:

The Hunger Games (Book 1 – Suzanne Collins) – Out of the corner of my eye, I see Peeta extend his hand. I look at him, unsure. “One more time? For the audience?” he says. His voice isn’t angry. It’s hollow, which is worse. Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me.

I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.

***

The Testing (Book 1 – Joelle Charbonneau) – I blink as the small room fills wth a voice that sounds like my own and listen as the voice speaks words I don’t want to believe.

***

Angel fall (Book 1 – Susan Ee)- I never realised why a triumph it is to simply be alive. My sister is with us. Raffle is flying. Everything else is secondary. And for now, that is enough.

***

End of Days– (Book 3 – Susan Ee)- My whole world turns into Raffe sensations as our lips explore each other.

***

Matched (Book 1 – Ally Condie)- My words never last long. I have to destroy them before anyone sees them. But. I remember them all. For some reason, the act of writing them all down makes me remember. Each word I write brings me closer to finding the right ones. And when I see Ky again, which I know will happen, I will whisper the words I have written in his ear, against his lips. And they will change from ash and nothing into flesh and blood.

***

Divergent  (Book 1 – Veronica Roth)- Abnegation and Dauntless are both broke, their members scattered. We are like the factionless now. I do not know what life will be like, separated from a faction-it feels disengaged, like a leaf divided from the tree that gives it sustenance. We are creatures of loss; we have left everything behind. I have no home, no path, and no certainty. I am no longer Tris, the selfless, or Tris, the brave. I suppose that now, I must become more than either.

***

Allegiant (Book 3 – Veronica Roth)- Since I was young, I have always known this: Life damages us, every one. We can’t escape that damage. But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other.

But what can we learn from these last lines?

ONE – The difference between book 1 and book 3

The most obvious difference between first books and last books that in a series, is that the first book, although drawing its story to a conclusion, leaves something open.

For example, the Hunger Games says: “and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.”

The key word for me is dreading. It tells us not only that there is more to come, but it is foreshadowing a gloomy future – telling us that there will come a time when she will let go for the last time.

Again, in Divergent (the first book), Tris says:

“I suppose that now, I must become more than either.”

Similarly here Tris spent the previous paragraph rounding every storyline off, but the

TWO – YA Philosophy

There’s this thing in YA books, I don’t know how to describe it other than ‘YA Philosophy’. I think because of the emotional rollercoaster YA’s go through and the fact they are still learning about life, there is always a big emotional truth revelation in a YA novel. An “oh yeah?!” moment when they learn something they will never forget.

It’s a fundamental truth that most adults will likely just ‘get’ intuitively. But here’s the clincher, I think the reason so many adults still like YA novels is because we forget our inner child and the lessons we learnt. Sure, we know them deep down. But we become numb to life because of the monotony of the suburban nightmare and the daily grind. Which means when the protagonist says something philosophical and emotionally fundamental, we are propelled back to our youth and our own “Oh yeah” moments. A poignant reminder that life is still beautiful in its innocence.

In essence, this is the characters arc – their personal journey but in YA its typically much more emotional than in other genres.

Two basic examples from the Hunger Games:

“Destroying things is much easier than making them.”

“You don’t forget the face of the person who was your last hope.”

***

In the final books, these revelations happen more frequently and more intensely, and Allegiant, the last in the Divergent series, the last line is precisely one of these YA Philosophy moments:

“But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other.”

Two examples from divergent:

“Then I realize what it is. It’s him. Something about him makes me feel like I am about to fall. Or turn to liquid. Or burst into flames.” 

“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” 

***

THREE – Endings are endings for a reason

Endings are endings – so although in lesson one I learnt that in book 1 specifically something is left open, that ‘thing’ is tiny. Because ultimately, the previous paragraphs or chapters depending on how an author has paced their novel, rounds off all the story lines in that book.

YA readers generally are impatient. I know I am, and I love to feel satisfied at the end of a book, which means no unfinished business.

It feels like this is a careful line to tread because a lot of YA books at the moment are trilogies. So you have to leave something open. Generally, although obviously ever author is different, these novels resolve the major conflict, or plot problem, and leave a hook for the next one (see point one).

Interestingly, when I went back and checked the first books, three of the five mentioned the male love interest in the last paragraph – that was the hook into the next book’s storyline. Two didn’t, (divergent and the testing) and both those were about the self growth and journey of the protagonist.

FOUR – Foreshadowing

I talked about foreshadowing recently in 6 Tricks to the Perfect Reveal. One of the things I mentioned was it is never too early to foreshadow. Including, before book two even starts. All of these books are foreshadowing, whether its the reuniting of lovers, a self sacrifice or a war that still needs to be fought. The last line is key to setting up the premise for the next novel.

***

Every genre is different, but what do you find is essential for a book ending?

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I realised it’s because it was predictable. And not in a good cheesy actiony Bond type way. In an, I actually know exactly what’s going to happen kind of way.

For me, it comes down to foreshadowing and the little breadcrumbs storytellers leave for us in order to prep and build us up for the ending they planned, which should… if they have primed well enough, leave us satisfied.

WARNING – if you haven’t seen the film and don’t want any spoilers don’t read on.

ONE – Priming

The whole point of foreshadowing is doing it early. Priming the reader or watcher before they even know what the story is about. That sets them up to accept your ending without them even realising. You’re telling their subconscious what your going to do, whilst keeping their conscious mind in the dark. That’s exactly what Bond does.

The film starts with a phrase up on the screen:

The dead are alive…

A seemingly inoffensive and ambiguous juxtaposed phrase. But actually it’s a clue to the entire film. The ultimate bad guy is someone close to bond who was meant to be dead all along. So this priming makes total sense. It’s a breadcrumb. But the creators go one step further and leave another breadcrumb for you before the film even starts.

The film title – Spectre. Spectres another word for ghost – or a kind of alive, dead person… They get a big tick in the priming box for prepping us nice and early. The lesson I learnt here? It’s never too early to prime. Even the title of a book or film isn’t too early.

TWO – Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs for foreshadowing are essential in any story, but even more important in series. It gives weight to the idea of not publishing the first book in a series until you have written the last – or at least are 100% certain what happens. JK Rowling is like the queen of this in the Harry Potter series, examples include:

The locket they found in sirius’s house in book five which ends up being a horcrux in book six.

Sirius Black – Remember the motorbike Hagrid rides in chapter one of the first ever book? Yeah – he tells Dumbledore it’s borrowed from young Mr. Black – a character we dismiss as irrelevant – until we get to book three…. BOOM.

These breadcrumbs are minuscule, but they are purposeful. Expertly laid out to our subconscious and inconspicuous enough that our conscious minds don’t pick up on them as clues the time. Which means when the big reveal happens we get mind blown wondering how we never saw it coming.

THREE – Misdirection

This is essential. Clever clogs who are paying attention to the detail and looking out for clues to the ending will actively pick up on foreshadowing. You need to misdirect them enough that they are put off the scent but not so much they disbelieve your ending.

The example in Spectre, which for me wasn’t quite enough, was the opening scene. The opening phrase ‘the dead are alive…’ rolls into onto screen and then is replaced by a scene of the Mexican festival Dia de Muertos  a festival for the dead. Knocking us completely off track making us think thats what they meant by the dead are alive.

In Harry Potter, JK Rowlings biggest method for misdirection is the time lag between her dropping the breadcrumb and then actually revealing its use – usually long enough for us to just forget about it so she can yank it back into the story in the nick of time.

FOUR – Big Reveal

It might sound obvious, but… if you are going to lay down breadcrumbs you actually need to use them. If you don’t the subconscious has an uncanny habit of making your conscious mind feel like strings have been left untied. The result? Readers feel like your story is unfinished.

It’s worth making a note of every breadcrumb you leave as you go, I put them in my editing map.

FIVE – Show, don’t tell the foreshadowing (spoiler alert)

K.M Weiland has an excellent post on this, I urge you to go read it: Did You Know “Show vs. Tell” Matters in Foreshadowing Too?

It wast until I was researching for this post and I read hers that I discovered the other reason why the foreshadowing in Bond didn’t work for me.

The guy that’s the architect for all Bond’s pain (Franz Oberhauser), is the kid of the man who took Bond into his family and effectively adopted him. How do we find this out? Well, aside from the one photo were shown bits and pieces of throughout the film, we’re told, by Franz himself when he admits to killing his own father, and Bond’s adoptive father.

I shrugged and was like, yeah…and? I wasn’t emotionally invested. I found myself asking why this wasn’t set up more in Skyfall? It didn’t need to be much because we learn bits about his childhood in the film, a simple reference to Oberhauser would have been enough – perhaps if I watch the films back to back I might find it. But even so, there wasn’t enough back story in Spectre showing me how Bond felt about his father or Franz for that matter and certainly not enough for me to feel Bond’s pain at the loss of his adoptive father.

Franz was all like ‘oh we were kind of brothers because my dad said we were, and he liked you more than me, so I killed him and tried to ruin your life.’

Um. Really? Not convinced.

SIX – The Spy Method to Foreshadowing 

So how do you actually foreshadow? Well, the devil is in the detail of furrowing away and hiding like a spy. Anything you foreshadow needs to be small details and the key is to make it inconspicuous. Here’s a list of suggestions I gathered from my research:

Emotions –

A characters apprehension – that gnarling sensation in the pit of their stomach – they know somethings wrong but they don’t know what.

A characters concern – a mother telling a child to be safe because the boogey monster might get them, and the child waving the mother off with those fateful words ‘I’ll be fine’.

Pre scenes + Prologues –

I read a lot of writing advice that says don’t do a prologue, but actually a purposeful one can be incredibly useful, it also has the same effect as JK uses – its misdirection is in the art of you forgetting the early things you read as its so long till the reveal.

Name that event

Naming a significant event in the stories future is method of drawing attention to it especially if it’s the inciting scene in the book that drives action. A prime example in the Hunger Games is the ‘Reaping’

Loaded Guns

You could literally show a loaded gun in a draw or on a table – seems insignificant at the time, until later its the gun that kills the villain, or wounds the protagonist. But it doesn’t need to be a gun. It could be drugs, poison, a weapon, or even a character like Sirius in the first chapter – as long as they seem insignificant at the time, they will expertly sneak into your readers subconscious read to give the wow factor.

Loaded guns can also be missing – Maybe you checked a draw and the gun was missing, or your asthma inhaler was missing right before a marathon run.

Character Dialogue and Thought

Characters think. A lot. It’s how we get to know them. Characters also tell themselves lies. Like:

As I approached my childhood home my stomach furled into knots. I told myself if was just hunger because I’d missed breakfast. But as that familiar acrid scent drifted across the street the memories I’d been suppressing for so long began to surface.

Prophecies

Similar to prologues in the sense they usually come early in a book or book series. The word of warning here is not to use them as a tool to just fix your ending this can lead to cheesy cliches Your prophecy needs a purpose and to be integrated as part of the world you have created. It needs to be believable and credible and therefore have a justifiable reason for existing.

Symbolism, Omens and Weather 

Pathetic fallacy – i.e. playing with the weather – you know, when it like gets all dark and cold and thundery, and you’re all like shiiiiit summat baaads about to happen?!

Warnings, advice, black cats, metaphors, similes, any literary tool you use to describe one thing but really mean another can be used to symbolise or foreshadow something else.

The white dove that flies past at the end of a battle scene, beauty and the beast’s red rose – red and roses representing love and the falling petals foreshadowing the impending doom of staying as beast forever.

So whilst bond used the right foreshadowing techniques, it failed to impressed  me as they were too easy for me to pick up. Or maybe it’s because I know the techniques so was looking for them? What do you think? Do you know these techniques? Does it ruin films for you?

What are your favourite examples of foreshadowing? What tips and techniques can you share for effectively foreshadowing? Let me know in the comments below.

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The wife has always had a penchant for Disney. I on the other hand barely watched them as a child, preferring to have my head stuck firmly in the pages of dusty old books. Disney came up in conversation again recently – having pushed a small human out – and the fact she wanted to have a large collection of disney films ready for the boy to watch. Sky had a few on demand over Christmas, so we sat down and stuck The Little Mermaid (TLM) on.

I sat, aghast for the entire film. How has disney been able to produce films that are quite simply an abomination. People – and by people I refer to the murky world of ‘parents’ – seem to rave about disney and how good their films are…. Good?

Good – sure, if you count a hideously antifeminist, despicably amoral story that has nothing even remotely like the ethics or values I want my son to grow up with.

I hate to be a mermaid basher so I will start with a positive. Race equality – TLM is a great story about how love is equal across any race, Mermaid loves a human, different races, love conquers all blah, blah, blah, Great – this is a moral I can not only live with, but as a lesbian, actively promote and encourage. I want my child to know they can love whoever they want, no matter their race, creed, gender or otherwise.

The Film:

Issue 1: Ariel falls in love with the prince. – So wrong. She spontaneously falls in love with someone she has never spoken to and mostly just perved on, in a fairly stalkerish way from afar.

Would you encourage your kid to do this? I doubt it. I can already see the injunctions and restraining orders being slapped all over him, because a stupid film told him real love happens by stalking someone for two days. Ok, I am being facetious but you see my point. I would also like to point out I am not suggesting that I don’t believe in love at first sight. More that you need to have a reality check in real life, even if you do fall for someone instantly.
Issue 2: Ariel wants to change herself to be with him.

I hate to go all feminist ranty on you. Actually, I don’t hate it, I love a good feminist rant. In fact, any sort of rant. I digress – BUT don’t we have enough antifeminist-bullshit pressure to conform to the ultra skinny, rib protruding, size of a seven year old, bulimic-anorexic, vomit inducing ‘celebrity look’ society the media loves, without having it force-fed subconsciously to our infants. UGH. No woman…. Actually no man either, should ever have to change themselves to be with someone. Is it just me? Or do we spend hours of our lives giving advice to our perpetually confused friends on their relationships, and why it’s not ok for them to allow their partner to nag them into suppression?

Issue 3: The prince starts to fall for Ariel but then deserts her instantly for a disguised Ursula over something so shallow as her voice! He decides to marry Ursula immediately having spent all of no time getting to know her…

Where do I even start with this. It is not ok to teach my child that they can desert a woman (or man) based solely on a characteristic. Thats akin to suggesting it’s ok to leave their partner if they get fat, or a scar, or a disability. I mean SERIOUSLY. And then to marry the other woman because of that same characteristic, after what 2.5 milliseconds of time spent with said woman… sure thats an outstanding idea. I am positive all parents would approve of their kids doing this.

Issue 4: Instead of Ariel taking her pride and moving on she pandas to the prince and chases after him. 

This makes me want to claw my face off in frustration and resort to excessive amounts of alcohol. How low must her self confidence be to chase after a guy who only likes her because of her voice and will desert her as quickly as he met her for another woman simply because she lost that characteristic.

Issue 5: After all that the prince goes back to Ariel dumping Ursula and THEN kills Ursula just for good measure.

Now I just feel awkward. No one wants to date a psychopath, and lets be honest, the prince is looking more and more like a psychopath; with emotions unnecessarily fickle, and an assumption that it’s ok to off your ex…

Despite the fact I am resolute in knowing TLM is morally wrong, it’s not like theres anything better on the market. I think I may have to go investigate the other films!

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