I’ve talked about openings frequently here, but what about endings? The last novel I finished I felt like I was chasing after something great to wrap it up with. But it never materialized. I finished it properly, but it wasn’t with a bang.
How do you like to finish your stories? Do you wrap them up nice and tidy? Do you leave loose ends? Do you finish short stories differently than novels?
Tell me how you work out the final paragraphs of your stories. I’ll post comments along with my own thoughts on Sunday or Monday. Jump in even if you haven’t commented before. We’re all friendly here!
I try to have an ending figured out before I even write the story; sometimes I have the final sentence in my head or written down. I think it should be wrapped up in a satisfying way to the reader that makes sense. But what if you’re thinking about a sequel? Then it shouldn’t be all wrapped up and tidy. There should be some unanswered questions that leave the reader asking for more.
I feel like every one of my endings is different, but I always try to leave the story off as if the characters continue on afterwards. I think this tends to be stronger in my short stories, though early feedback on my novel says it feels like “to be continued” at the end as well.
I’m pretty much all over the map on my endings with the one constant being that I usually think they need work. I have the least amount of practice writing them. Sometimes I have an idea ahead of time, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I get to find out my endings as I go, sometimes I don’t. I like what Sheri and Holly wrote. I’d love more advice too!
The ending is typically what I have first in my head. It is what excites me about the story. I then walk it back to the inciting act that will lead to that ending. I don’t write the ending first, but I think about it and plan it so much that it is pretty hard wired into the story when I reach the final chapters while writing