Writing a satisfying ending - part three

A great story — one that causes a strong response in your reader — often has an ending that creates a significant impact on the reader. The final pages aren't a mere summation of events or the inevitable conclusion of a story, but provide the reader with striking images in their finales that stay with them for years to come. They ensure the book has a sense of closure (or a perfect cliffhanger, if a series is in question) that will make the readers reread the story all over again. Excellent endings will surprise the readers, even ever so slightly, as they provide the conclusion to the story in a way which subtly defies the reader's expectations.

Here are some methods you can use to come up with a great ending to your story.

Method 1: Deciding the End

Step 1: Identify the parts of your story.

Your story will have a beginning that introduces your characters, setting, and conflict. The middle of the story will include rising tension, complications, and your characters' reactions to the conflict. Finally, the end will detail the resolution of your conflict and the aftermath. Your ending should come when the main character reaches or fails to reach their goal.

Step 2: Commit to one final event or action for your story.

Your story may have many exciting important events, but you need to choose one good scene to encapsulate your story's resolution. Make sure this scene makes sense as a final moment of the story and allows you to neatly tie up your story threads. Finally, your end scene needs to hold significance for your characters so that the reader is left with that feeling.

For example, you might end your story with a scene that presents the aftermath of a major decision that resolved your story's conflict.

Step 3: Figure out the main conflict in your story.

Most story conflicts will either be person vs. person, person vs. nature, person vs. society, or person vs. themselves. Your final scene should resolve this conflict, whether your characters get what they want or not. This resolution should have an impact on your reader in order for your story to be effective. Ask yourself these questions to figure out which type of conflict you're using: Are the characters in your story fighting against nature? Against each other? Against themselves (an internal or emotional battle)?

Method 2: Explaining the Journey

Step 1: Write out a reflection about the significance of the events of the story.

Consider why these events matter. What should the reader take from your story? What themes, ideas, or arguments are you trying to portray? You don't want to tell your reader these things directly, but you need to show them through the events, actions, and dialogue in your story.

Step 2: Ask the “So What?” question.

Reflect on the importance or relevance of your story to the reader. Why should a reader care about your story? Is there an important message you're trying to convey? An encouragement to others to chase their dreams? Imagine yourself telling your story to someone, telling them all the hardships your character has to go through to achieve something and the person asking, "So what? What is so special about this story? This character?" If you can answer this question, then review your story to see if the sequence of actions you have chosen would lead a reasonable reader to your answer.

Step 3: Use 1st-person narrative voice to present ideas from the narrator's perspective.

A 1st-person perspective allows a close telling of the story because the speaker is involved in the events. Whether the “I” in the story is you (the writer) or the voice of a character you have created, you can simply speak directly to the reader. However, keep in mind that the story should stay very close to the character who is telling it, recounting only information they would know.

Step 4: Use the 3rd-person narrative voice to tell your story from a distance.

You can have another character or a narrator (or more of them!) convey the importance of the story. This allows you to inject more of your own interpretation into the story because there's some distance between the characters and the narrator.

Step 5: Write a “conclusion” section for your story.

How you write your conclusion will depend on your genre. However, all good story endings share one element: they leave the reader with something to think about. Your reader should come away from the story thinking about the important themes of your story and its significance. If you are working on a sci-fi novel, then the conclusion might be an entire chapter or two. Don't end with common cliche endings, which will disappoint your reader.

Step 6: Identify the larger connection or pattern to the events in your story.

Consider how the events flow one after the other, creating a narrative arc. Thinking about your story as a journey—where you or your main character ends up in a different place, somehow changed from the beginning—will help you see the ways in which your story has its own unique shape, and will help you find an ending that feels right.

Method 3: Using Action and Images

Step 1: Use action to show (not tell) what is important.

We know that stories full of action, whether written or visual, appeal to all ages. Through physical action, you can also communicate the larger meaning and importance of your story.

For example, if your story ends with the heroine saving the village from the dragon, you could have a warrior giving over his prized sword to her. Without even having any dialogue, you still show the reader that this is significant.

Step 2: Build your ending with description and sensory images.

Sensory details connect us emotionally to the story, and much good writing uses imagery throughout. However, by using rich, sensory language to paint word pictures in the final part of your story, you will leave the reader with depths of meaning.

Step 3: Create metaphors for your characters and their goals.

Leave clues in your story for the reader/viewer to build an interpretation. People enjoy stories they can “wrestle” with and think about after reading. You don't want to make your story so confusing that a reader cannot make sense of it, but you'll want to include figurative language that is not so obvious to understand. By doing so, you will add interest and significance to your work.

Step 4: Select a vivid image.

Similar to using action or sensory descriptions, this approach is particularly useful when telling stories within an essay. Think about the mental picture you'd like to “haunt” the reader with—some visual picture that can capture what you feel is the essence of your story—and leave that for the reader at the end.

Step 5: Highlight a theme.

You might be working with a number of themes, particularly if you're writing a longer story, such as a history-based essay or a book. Focusing on a specific theme or motif through images or the actions of a character can help you create a structure that is unique to your story. This approach is particularly useful for open-ended stories.

Step 6: Echo a moment.

Similar to highlighting on a theme, you can choose a particular action, event, or emotional moment from within your story that feels most meaningful, and then “echo” that in some way—by repeating the moment, by returning to it and reflecting or expanding on it, etc.

Step 7: Return to the beginning.

This strategy means ending your story by repeating something you introduced in the beginning. This is commonly known as a “frame” or “framing device,” and it can offer shape and meaning to a story.

Method 4: Following Logic

Step 1: Review the events of your story to see how they connect.

Remember that not all actions carry the same importance or connection. You'll use different actions and events in your story to convey different themes and messages about your story and characters. It's important that every event you include is relevant to your story and its ending. However, they do not all need to be completed or successful, as your character will likely experience failure.

Step 2: Ask yourself: “What happens next?”

Sometimes when we get too excited (or too frustrated) about a story we're writing, we can forget that events and behaviors, even in a fantasy world, tend to follow logic, the physical laws of the universe you're imagining, etc. Often getting to a good ending is as easy as reflecting on what would logically happen in a situation. Endings should make sense based on what has happened earlier.

Step 3: Ask yourself: “Why are these events in this order?”

Review the sequence of events or actions in the story, then question actions that seem surprising in order to clarify the logic and flow of your story. If the events are hectic and the connection between them is weak or, even worse, non-existing, the readers will get lost in the labyrinth and won't be able to follow your train of thoughts. There can be some dead ends, but not too many, as you will surely test the reader's patience this way.

Step 4: Imagine variations and surprises.

We don't want stories to be so logical that nothing new happens in them. Think about what would happen if a certain choice or event were slightly changed--and definitely include surprises. Check to see if you have included enough surprising events or actions for your reader. Your readers will be bored by a character who wakes up, goes to school / work, comes home, and goes to bed. Let something new and surprising happen. Something out of the ordinary.

Step 5: Raise a question based on where the story has brought you.

Review what you have learned from the events, evidence, or details you have arranged. Think about—and then write about—what is missing, which problems or concerns are still not addressed, or what questions arise. Endings that reflect on questions can invite the reader into deeper thinking, and most topics—if pursued through logic—will lead to more rather than fewer questions.

Step 6: Think like an outsider.

Whether it is a true story or imagined, re-read your story from an outsider's perspective, and think about what would seem logical for a person reading the story for the very first time. As the writer of the story, you might feel particularly excited about an event involving one of your characters, but you should remember that a reader outside of your own head might have a different feeling about which part of the story is most important. Having some distance from your story will help you consider it more critically.