PSA: My buddy at the used bookstore in Austin told me my book reviews spoiled the ending, so now I write two versions | Alternate Ending Ideas - Librear
PSA: My buddy at the used bookstore in Austin told me my book reviews spoiled the ending, so now I write two versions
About 10 months ago I was in this little book club that meets at a cafe in Austin, and after one meeting my buddy Marcus pulled me aside and said my plot summaries always give away the ending. He was nice about it but it stung because I never even noticed I was doing it. So for the next 6 months I tried something different. For every book I bring up, I write two endings in my notes app before I talk about it: the real one, and a made up one where things go the other way. Sounds silly but it really changed how I think about endings in general. Now when we pick our monthly book I actually pitch my fake ending to the group and we vote on which one sounds better, and half the time we all agree the made up one is stronger. Last month we did this with a mystery novel and 7 out of 9 people picked my version over the actual author's. Has anybody else tried rewriting an ending you hated just to see if you can do better?