Ambiguous Endings: What say you?

Posted on Monday, June 16, 2008 at 02:59PM by Registered CommenterWriter Member | CommentsPost a Comment
I understand ambiguous endings in novels and films. I'm a fan of them. I write them. And, I've taken some heat for the ambiguous ending in Janeology. So I can understand the reasons an author employs this technique in her art. However, there comes a point when a writer must balance the ending on a scale of satisfaction by asking the question: Are my reasons for creating that ending in balance with a satisfying ending?

Assigning this question to Tana French's formiddable novel In The Woods is tough.

In The Woods is in some ways the literary equivalent of an M. Night Shymalan film (The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village). Dark, ominous atmosphere, thick with possibilities of the supernatural, is as much a character in this novel as any human. This novel begins with the story of three Dublin children who play in the surrounding woods of their neighborhood. When they don't return home, parents start to worry. Police are called. One of the children, Adam Ryan, is found trembling and blood-covered. The other two children are never heard from. Flashforward 20 years where we find Adam Ryan, now going by the name Rob Ryan, investigating the murder of a young girl in the same spot where his friends disappeared decades earlier. The whodunit investigation pulls Rob Ryan and his quirky, but beautiful (of course she is) partner, Cassie, into a full-tilt exploration of any possible connection between the current murder and the past unsolved disappearances - the two cases the novel centers upon.
SPOILER ALERT The issue with this story is that only one of those cases is solved by the end of the book - a fact that had most Amazon reviewers protesting this book purchase. However, their anger is what made me buy this book. I wanted to see if I agreed with their rage and if so, how would I, as a writer, correct the problem. Was there a way, I wondered, to appease their desire for a more conclusive ending while keeping the author's obvious reasons for not including it intact? Answer: Yes. (Of course, I don't know the author's true reasons, but I suspect they have something to do with the ways in which real life events are never neatly solved in 400+ pages.)


The answers to the primary crimes involved in this book are so desired and so sought after, by character and reader, that failing to deliver leaves me feeling like the movie cut off fifteen minutes before it was to end and the theater manager just told me to go home and deal with it. But, I'm still thinking about the story and the characters and all the what ifs. Was that the desired effect of Ms. French's beautifully written debut? I'd love to ask her.

Despite the issue with the ending, this book is still cleverly penned and engaging. French's descriptions are first-class. Her scene setting abilities are refined well beyond the skills of your typical debut author and this is no doubt one of the reasons this tale earned her an Edgar Award. In sum, I liked this book. And in some ways, owing to the spooky atmosphere, I think this might make a better movie than it reads on the page.

So what say you? Do ambiguous endings ruin a story for you?
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Visit www.karenharringtonbooks.com to read an excerpt of JANEOLOGY

You Can't Write That Down

Posted on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 09:59AM by Registered CommenterWriter Member | CommentsPost a Comment

Remember that classic line in Sunset Boulevard where fading actress Norma Desmond insists she will never be replaced by the new talking movies? She says of her ability to use her facial expressions to convey a page of dialogue "See that look? You can't write that down!"

This is what novel trailers do for novels. Sure, the reader still needs the book jacket copy to describe the book. That will never vanish. But novel trailers provide an incredible subtext to the feel and emotion of a story that quite simply cannot be written down.

See if you agree by checking out the super cool novel trailer for JANEOLOGY and then tell me what you think.

View it on my publisher's website:


Or on YOUTUBE -- Please vote or leave a comment!

In related news, here's an article from my publisher about the importance of novel trailers in marketing debut authors. It's very informative!
Happy Viewing,
Karen
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Karen Harrington is the author of JANEOLOGY, April 2008

Crisis Nurseries Assist Moms With Post-Partum Depression

Posted on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 10:08AM by Registered CommenterWriter Member | CommentsPost a Comment

 

At one time, when I was learning about infanticide and its causes for my book, I was mired in depressing research. Now, when I read articles about these tragedies, it is merely depressing. The story is almost always the same. Only names and dates are changed.

A mother killed her x-month old child today.

Relatives were stunned and shocked.

Her spouse/boyfriend said he noticed she seemed more withdrawn lately but attributed it to “hormones.”

This is the xth tragedy of its kind in the U.S. this year.

According to the American Anthropological Association, more than 200 women kill their children in the United States each year.

Homicide is the leading cause of death for children under four.

Eleven women are on death row in the United States for killing their children


Today, someone forwarded this article ( http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=37587 ) to me that included one exception: a solution. A solution for those family members who feel helpless about ways to care for a new mother in crisis.

The solution: Crisis Nursery Centers

Here’s what the Sacramento Crisis Nursery center featured in this story says of its organization:

"The Sacramento Crisis Nursery offers a safe haven for children 5 years old and under whose families are facing a crisis. The nursery provides both emergency daytime care and overnight stays for up to 30 days.

Many of the clients who utilize the crisis nursery's services do not have extended family in the region and feel isolated in their situation ... "We think a parent is a hero to children when they can identify that they need support and help," Roy Alexander [Chief Financial Officer of the Sacramento Children's Home] said.

The crisis nursery would like to reach out to new mothers and groups that deal with postpartum depression. "We encourage mothers if they feel like they really have the blues and they're concerned about their ability to continue to take care of their child that they'll call us very quickly," said Alexander.

Can I get an Amen?

Amen!

For me, I am thrilled today to not only emphasize the need for families to be vigilant in observing and helping mothers suffering from post-partum depression or other illnesses that might cause a mother to harm her child. Today, I can also offer information that might save a life.

Here’s a link to a list of all known centers nationwide. Share it.

http://www.wku.edu/~darbi.haynes-lawrence/crisis_nursery.htm

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Karen Harrington is the author of JANEOLOGY: the story of one man's struggle to understand his wife's sudden descent into madness and murder. April, 2008
www.karenharringtonbooks.com

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING...A NOVEL TO BE PUBLISHED

Posted on Saturday, November 10, 2007 at 02:10PM by Registered CommenterWriter Member | CommentsPost a Comment

Hello. My name is Karen Harrington and I am about to be a published novelist.

If that sounds like an introduction for a support group, then, well, it kinda should. There should be a support club for all writers – aspiring and published. Who else are we going to run and tell about sentences like “Seeing Jane the way you do, Tom, is only for you now. To ask anything else is like asking New Yorkers to see planes headed toward buildings without suspicion.”

That’s from my novel, JANEOLOGY, a story about a man struggling to come to terms with why his seemingly gentle wife, Jane, snapped and drowned their toddler son. The scene is about Tom’s attorney trying to get him to understand that the public only has two labels for mothers who kill: mad or monster. And it was much more fun sharing that with you fellow writers than my two labradors. They just don't get metaphor. Which is why we need a support club.

Here’s how I officially became a member of this club.

I liken it to first finding out that you are pregnant. (If you are in the category of people who cannot get pregnant, bear with me. This has applications for you, too.)

Okay, you have been trying to conceive…a published novel for months, if not years. You imagine how your life will change. You imagine the mere joy of holding a hardback book with your name on it in your hands. An ISBN number, for gravy’s sake!

Then it happens.

THE THINGY IS BLUE!

Or in my case, the phone rings.

I was mopping my kitchen floor on a Wednesday. My kids were watching Sesame Street. It was an ordinary, if not boring, day in my household. The phone rang. I let it roll to voice mail. Nobody interesting called me during Sesame Street. Then, I listened to the message.

“Hello, do I have the right number for Karen Harrington? Please call us about your submission.”

I called back immediately and had to leave a voice mail.

I took a shower, wondering at all the possible scenarios. Surely, a publisher would not call me with a rejection. No stranger to the rejection process, I was hardened to receiving a let down. This might be a cruel let down. No. No one would do that. It could only mean good things.

Two days go by. Excitement. Doubt. Excitement. Doubt.

Then, I barely come through my door from picking my daughter up from pre-school and the phone rings.

I put down the backpack and the lunch box. “Hello? Yes. Yes, I can talk now.”

“Is JANEOLOGY still available? If so, we would like to publish it.”

Background noise: “Mommy, Molly is tearing my spider!!!”

“Should I call back Ms. Harrington?”

“No! No! This is great.”

Mommy, the spider has no legs!

I shut the door to my office. Let the spider fend for himself. After all, mommy is trying to get published and his legs can be taped together later.

“Okay, I would like to email you the contract. If all goes well, it will come out in Spring 2008. We think it’s a great summer read. Congratulations.”

I leap from my office with pronounced joy and dance with my girls. Not knowing why we are celebrating doesn’t keep them from dancing. That's the wonder of being a child.

“Someone wants the book mommy wrote. JANEOLOGY!” I shout.

“You wrote Johnny Appleseed!”

I double over in laughter. Yes, mommy wrote Johnny Appleseed. Why not.

So that’s how I learned I was going to be a published author, after years of rejection, stacks of various manuscripts and a good case of carpal tunnel.

Not that I'm complaining. It was a lucky conception for sure. And when JANEOLOGY is born next Spring, I hope you’ll check it out. If you liked Carolyn Parkhurst’s THE DOGS OF BABEL, you’ll enjoy JANEOLOGY.