Story Elements That Are Important to Me

I've been thinking a lot lately about the elements of books that I think are important and how I want to incorporate those elements into my own writing. Here are some of my random thoughts.

• Beginnings—I want a beginning that catches the reader’s interest in the first paragraph.
• Endings—I often find that books hold my interest until about 2/3 of the way through. At that point, the story becomes weak. I want my story to remain strong until the finish. I am also put off by books that wrap everything up in neat little packages at the very end, providing answers to all the reader’s questions that have accumulated throughout the book. Such conclusions are not realistic. I want to write a book that leaves the reader saying, "No, it can't end here!" I want the reader to have big questions at the end that can be discussed with others who have read the book.
• Chapters—I like books that have cliff hangers at the end of every chapter, making it difficult to put the book down.
• Characters—In real life, I believe that most people (with the exception of some truly evil beings) have both positive and negative characteristics. Often it's a matter of individual opinion as to what's good or bad. I would like for my characters to show these complex, but realistic qualities.
• Points of View—Individual characters might see the same event from different perspectives. This might be accomplished by alternating chapters, each from a different character’s point of view. Another way would be to devote larger sections of the book to different characters, with each section telling the same story from one character’s viewpoint at a time.