Take a long walk. Think on it. Sleep on it. Jot notes about it. Let your subconscious work on it. Play what-if games. Be outrageous if you must. Force that ending to sing. Make it unforgettable.
This goes without saying. But I say it anyway, why? Because too many beginners think it appears sophisticated to leave things nebulous, or they want to save something crucial for the Epilogue.
Avoid that mistake. Modern readers raised on television and movies like chronology—beginnings, middles, ends. They expect the end to do its job. Well, terrific. All that does for me as a novelist is to remind me that I have one job, and I recommit myself to doing it again every time. Invent a story world for my readers and deliver a satisfying experience for them. They have invested their time and money, believing I will uphold my end of the bargain—and that means a beginning, a middle, and an end.
There are no wrong ways to categorize endings, but for the purposes of this article, I prefer to speak from the point of view of planning. To do this, I want you to consider five types of endings for your book before you start writing. You may end up with an ending that encompasses traits from more than one of these, but they are a good starting point for planning. Also known as a happy ending. In Complete Resolution, all questions are answered, all loose ends are tied up, and all subplots are resolved.
This type of ending is commonly used for standalone novels of all ages and genres. If a question is raised, it must be answered. For example: Pride and Prejudice has a Complete Resolution.
All loose ends are tied up, all couples are together, and all questions answered. The readers are left feeling satisfied that every problem has been resolved. As stated above, endings for individual books in a series usually leave something open in order to lead into the next step of the bigger story.
A good rule to keep in mind is to tie up subplots while leaving the main plot open to lead into the next book. A few examples are natural disasters, being uprooted to a different city or country, or entering a new family. The main focus of a Changed World ending is how your main character responds to their new situation.
Luke and the rebels have defeated the empire and redeemed Darth Vader, and the galaxy has been irreversibly changed by these events.
As the end, we see a scene of celebration, showing that the main cast is happy about this development, but there is still a sense of much to be done ahead to adjust to this new reality. The Changed Self ending can be considered the counterpart to the Changed World ending. In this type of ending, your character goes through more internal than external change.
This type of ending can also be referred to as the Circular ending. But I prefer to focus on the change in self because I feel that places emphasize on the more important aspect of the story, which is character transformation. When planning for a Changed Self ending, make sure to consider the impact the events in the book have on your character. For example: My book Headspace has a Changed Self ending. In it, the main character, Astra, returns to her home after the events of the book.
She finds that her house still looks the same as she left it several months ago, except now the daily, minute things of life seem unimportant because her perspective has changed. Slice of the Future endings give the reader a peek into the life of your hero or those your hero left behind further down the road. The reason I single out this type of ending is because planning for this kind of ending is a little different from the others.
Slice of the Future gives perspective on the events that took place in the book. In most commercial fiction, what takes place within the book is a relatively short event that encompasses anywhere from a few hours to a few years.
Some readers very much enjoy Slice of the Future, while others prefer for it to be left up to the imagination. Not only that, epilogues are often viewed as undesirable for commercial fiction by agents and publishers, so you may want to consider how essential this peek into the future really is for the story. If you want to plan for a Slice of the Future ending, try to consider the overall mood of your book.
A comedy would be better served with a happy, bright future, while a tragedy would fit better with a future that is melancholy and perhaps bittersweet. By matching the mood, you can at least give your readers a consistent experience. Fan reactions to these endings have been mixed, ranging from very positive to terribly negative. Deciding on the type of ending you want helps give your book an overarching direction to follow. The dark moment. Read more about character development.
The moment can be one of sudden understanding or insight. If your book is character-driven or literary , this ending might be especially useful. Everything hangs in the emotional balance. Comingling happy and sad. Leave room for interpretation.
Some great endings are open-ended. When you leave your ending open, you get people talking, thinking, and looking for answers. Tie up loose ends quickly. Scenes that follow the climax tend to be low tension. Some writers find they need to experiment with different kinds of endings before landing on the one that works best for them. Animal Farm — Animals are looking like human and human are looking like animal. I think this is great ending. It is suggestive and amusing and well suited ending wuth the main book.
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Thanks for your input. I always write knowing the ending. Now, the exact details are not always known or are known but liable to change, but the big picture is set in stone.
Even the entire scene where the reveal happens can change. At one point it happens in a coffee shop in New York City and at another point during the writing process it takes place in a Buddhist temple in Tibet.
And, depending on the story, it could even take place on Mars at another point. The partner being the bad guy and revealing it in some grand way does not change though…just the when, where, how of the big reveal the details.
And, what you certainly will not do is limit yourself. Probably not. Sure, invent and improvise along the way, but it will all work for the better if you have some direction. Thanks for explaining these important writing tips. It would make sense to follow your advice and find a book that leaves room for interpretation.
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