Endings
Have you ever read a book that started with a bang but ended with a whimper? The hook was great. The plot sucked you in. You loved the characters. And then…
Nada.
Endings are almost as important as beginnings. If the beginning is weak, they won’t read your book.
But if your ending is weak, they won’t read your next one.
That may not be a problem for that occasional person who only has one book they wish to write. But it sure is a problem for the rest of us!
So how do we do it: write an ending that leaves the readers not regretting the time they invested in the world we have spun?
The key is to balance the two factors that we all yearn for in an ending: satisfaction and surprise.
Satisfying and surprising. Too much of the first and the book is predictable, boring. Too much of the second one, and the story is unsatisfying.
So how do we get an ending that is satisfying yet surprising to a nice degree? There are many answers, but here are two helpful ideas.
Satisfying
Satisfying: weave beginnings and endings
Have you ever read a column by humorist Dave Barry? He has a formula that he uses for many of his columns. He starts with subject A. He meanders into subject B. And then end, he suddenly brings up subject A again in such a way as to tie A and B together.
The result is almost always very satisfying (and often quite funny, but I digress.)
I recommend you look Mr. Barry’s columns up online.
Dave Barry Endings
As fiction writers, we can do this, too.
When you get to the end of your story, go back and look at the beginning—the first chapter or two. Read it though again. Note what subjects you touch on. Then look over your last several chapters.
Look for things you introduced early on that you can touch on in your last chapter or so.
Look for things you mention in your end game that you could introduce early on. Does the dog save the day? Can you mention the dog in Scene One?
Does the hero stop to enjoy a sunset in the opening chapters? Can you show his reaction to a sunset in the last few scenes, showing the distance he has come by noting what is the same about the second experience and what is different?
Follow up on threads. Notice ideas you introduced. Did you touch on them again in the middle? Can you refer to them again at the end? Perhaps mentioning how the character has changed?
All this leads to a satisfying reading experience.
A note for people writing serials. Many of us have threads that span multiple volumes. If you introduce a thread in one book and it will not be resolved until another book, make sure you note this at the end. Otherwise, the readers will assume that you forgot and the story will feel unfinished and unsatisfying.
It can be something really quick: and we still did not know who had stolen the painting. Or Roger had failed to find the dragon today, but there was still tomorrow. Even the shortest mention will do wonders—to keep the readers from feeling as if they are suddenly standing on thin air.
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