Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) shares
his secrets to ending a succesful book series.
1. Use up all your good ideas. "Collect all the notes you've made on index cards, and put all the good ideas you haven't used yet in the last volume because you can't say you'll put them in the next book. I had a sign over my desk that said 'Now or never.'"
2. Kill off at least one person. "I just think death always makes a nice ending, except maybe to my life. Well, I definitely plan on dying later. I just haven't worked out the details."
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5. Have something in mind to do when you are done.
He has clearly taken his own advice. The last -- and thirteenth -- book in the wildly popular "Series of Unfortunate Events" series was released on Friday. The End (HarperCollins) is in bookstores now.
