A Sense for Endings by Gabriel Valjan

 

What advice would you have for emerging writers about writing satisfying endings? Pitfalls? Things to avoid? Tips?

 

Because I’ve been asked to talk about Endings, to look at the tail of the story and no other moving parts, such as character development, dialogue that otherwise contributes to a ‘satisfying read,’ I’ll attack some common complaints.

 

·      The ‘OPEN aka ‘CLIFFHANGER’ ending

 

It’s okay if it is meaningful and you’re writing a series, but what is left open should be something about the character or a relationship between characters that will continue in the next installment. Give a sense of closure for every major character (unless as I stated, you leave it open for a reason).

 

What is not okay is to leave a major element of the plot, the Why for the last 200 pages, dangling.

 

·      The ‘LOOSE THREAD’ ending

 

You’ve created Frankenstein. You harvested what you thought were the best parts and assembled a story, but you forgot the stitches after the operation. Your reader will see it and yell malpractice.  

 

·      The ‘SO PREDICTABLE’ ending

 

A predictable ending is not terrible if you read cozies, where the genre expectation is predictability. At the other extreme, noir glimpses and delves into the darkest darkness, so readers expect the worst decisions and outcomes. Readers know what to expect in romance, and so on.

 

What is not okay is to ignore genre expectations. To do so is not a wink or a tweak; rather, it violates the contract the author has with readers.

 

 

·      The ‘SERMON’ ending

 

Don’t explain the ending. Respect the intelligence of your readers and let them sort through the clues, herrings, and arrive at the conclusion.

 

·      The ‘TOO CUTE, TOO COMPLICATED’ ending

 

This is sometimes a sign of a novice writer who feels Cute or Complicated is the mark of a clever imagination, or is still insecure about their writing chops. I’ve seen writers try too hard with red herrings. They’ll twist the McGuffin into a pretzel when they should use the KISS Method.

 

If Plot is a series of events, the outcomes should feel logical and organic. Plot can be linear, as in Cause and Effect, or circular, as in we return to where we started but there’s a fundamental change. All of it should make ‘sense.’ The ending should reconnect in some way with the premises you built the story upon.

 

·      The ‘ROADRUNNER & TURTLE’ ending

 

To rush an ending is to arrive at the last page like the famous cartoon roadrunner and ignore Wiley Coyote. The opposite holds true, in going too slow, as if Cecil the Turtle were driving. In both cases, look to balance exposition and dialogue since too much description slows the reader down and they won’t know a clue from a herring, and too much talk doesn’t give the reader time to breathe and process information.

 

·      My ‘PORKY PIG’ ending

That’s all folks. Nobody mentions this these days, but trust your instinct, that muscle or intuition you developed from decades of reading. If it doesn’t feel right to you, it won’t to your reader.