Season Three Episode Seventeen

The (he)art of writing finale’

Seeing as this is the last Ring Psychology here at Stumblebum Studios it seemed fitting to talk about endings. However, as I sat down to write this final column I found myself doing anything but. Getting distracted, working on other things, watching a movie, watching television. Doing anything as long as it meant I could put off writing this column for another hour. The reason is that I’m not ready to write this ending yet.

The ending, in my opinion, is the most influential part of a story. It may not be the most important, but it’s the one that lasts. It’s a moment of immense power. When you get to the end of your story, you have the opportunity to leave your reader with something that will stick in their mind for a long time. You can have a teary eyed, walk into the sunset kind of ending. You can do the twist ending, where you flip everything upside down with your final few words and leave your reader scratching their head.

Those are both good styles of endings but the one I’ve chosen to use here today is the one that, admittedly, is probably the least satisfying. This is the non-ending style of ending. Think “Empire Strikes Back” or “Fellowship of the Ring”. The screen just fades to black on a common moment and you go “wait, is that it?” These endings are most often used when the work you just completed is part of a bigger story. And that’s the case with Ring Psychology.

Stumblebum Studios has been an amazing home for this column. But as those of us who have ever moved know, it is possible to find a new home out there somewhere. Ring Psychology, for now, is over. But, it’s not ending. In one form or another I’ve decided that I’ll be returning this or a similar style column to the internet. It may not happen tomorrow, but just as the jedi eventually returned, so will this column.

And really, as anti-climactic as it may seem, that’s about all I have to say. It’s been an absolute pleasure writing this column and if one single person out there got one single bit of inspiration or help from something I said, then it was all worth it. I can’t thank my readers enough for coming back weekly and I hope that you’ll follow me now as I and my friends here at Stumblebum take the next step on our creative and personal journeys. Stumblebum will still be here, we’ll still update and most importantly, we’ll still be making amazing comics and stories.

As for me, just take a minute to bookmark my livejournal and you’ll be fine. I update it quite often and that’ll be the place where you can learn what I’m up to with my writing. Also, I’d be thrilled to talk with any of you about writing or creating, so if you ever find yourself with a problem, an issue or just an itch to talk writing then please don’t hesitate to email me at freejenkins@gmail.com. I check it obsessively and I’d like nothing more than to hear from some of you out there.

So for now, that’s my story. Or at least, the end of this chapter. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to turn the page and see what comes next. Until then this is A.C. Hall, saying goodbye for now.