Image Credit: Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos though some are direct from Pixabay.
A story of whatever length has to have an opening which hooks the reader in but the closing line must deliver on the promise of the set-up at the start of the tale. Weak endings leave a reader feeling cheated (aka the “why did I bother reading that” scenario and no writer wants that).
Dreams – A Weak Ending – Only Worked The Once
The reason why the “It was all a dream” scenario hasn’t worked for anyone other than Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is because when he did it, that idea was new and took readers by surprise. It then went on to be used so much it became a cliche (just think of the famous US soap opera back in the 1980s who had a lengthy “dream sequence”. They were derided for it – understandably so too. It was felt the writers boxed themselves into a corner and used this as a weak “get out”).
And, thinking about it, a dream as an ending is weak. Readers want reasonably logical conclusions to the stories they read, even if the setting is in the most fantastical place imaginable. The Lord of the Rings is an excellent example of getting this right.
Yes, you have magical creatures, you have fantastic battles etc., but the story is all about what happens to the Ring of Power and the ending shows us what does happen to it. (I refuse to believe that’s a spoiler after all this time). The important thing is that the promise in the opening to the story is fulfilled in its ending, as should happen.
It is vital for a writer to make their last line suitable for their story and to have as powerful an impact on the reader as possible. If a reader feels let down by a weak ending, they’re unlikely to read other works by the same author. You can see why. You wouldn’t risk disappointment a second time, would you?
Types of Ending
I would describe these as:-
Linear ending to a linear story. Pride and Prejudice – you know early on that somehow Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy have to get together. It’s a question of finding out how Jane Austen makes it happen. A straight A to B story but the B here does deliver on the A and that matters.
A circular ending which reflects on what happens at the beginning. There is still change. The character has to have learned something to make them a better person or to develop a relationship with someone but they are generally still in the same location as they were at the start. What has changed is them. An A-B-A+ story where the plus is the change to the main character.
A twist ending. Classically used for crime stories, this surprise ending shouldn’t be a surprise as such. A reader should be able to go back through the story and spot clues so they can see the twist was logical and is appropriate for the story.
I love trying to guess who the murderer is in crime tales. Sometimes I’m right. Sometimes I’m not but it is fun to go back through the story and figure out why I guessed wrongly and why the murderer is who they are. Naturally as a writer I pick up on what the writer has done here to be able to pull off that twist and I find that useful too.
For my twist ending tales, I usually write the twist first and then work backwards to get to a logical starting point. I will often use spider diagrams to work out differing possibilities and go with the one I like best. It is the one that has the most impact on me (and it is likely it would have the same impact on a reader).
I’m in good company working on the B to A principle rather than the standard A to B. Agatha Christie did it too and, from what I last heard, her sales seem to be still doing rather well!
Classic Story Endings
There are some classic story endings.
- Reader, I married him. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
- After all, tomorrow is another day. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
- It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. (And probably the best known line in the book. It is also proof that a story doesn’t necessarily have to have a conventional happy ending either).
I’m sure you can think of plenty others. The best ones are memorable and they have powerful emotional impact. Those last words from Dickens – well, you would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by them I think.
What an Ending Should Do
- Complete the story appropriately.
- Ensure all loose ends are tied up and the story is “ready” to end.
- Have a powerful impact on the reader. The reader needs to feel there could not possibly have been any other ending for this tale.
- Make the reader want to read more by the same author!
Endings I Prefer
I have a soft spot for humorous writing so love a funny story to leave me smiling.
Crime stories – I want to feel the murderer has been brought to justice (this is part of the reason for the huge appeal of crime tales. We know so often in life justice isn’t done. It can be in fiction).
Romance stories – I don’t read many of these. Pride and Prejudice is about as far as I go here but I do want the relationships between the characters to come to a happy conclusion and both of them to have contributed to working out their issues. I loathe soppy heroines.
This is why I adore Elizabeth Bennet, she wasn’t afraid to turn down Collins or stand up to Darcy. I must admit I loathe Fanny Price from Mansfield Park. Same author (Austen) but two different leading ladies and I’ve always felt Ms. Price was far too soppy for her own good so though there is a happy ending here, it doesn’t convince me as I am not convinced by the character.
Fantasy stories – there should be an underlying plot to be fulfilled as in The Lord of the Rings. Is the quest fulfilled? What was achieved? Did it end well?
Conclusion
I always like good to triumph over evil in fiction. There should, for me, always be a note of hope in the ending of a story, even when that note is as simple as the murderer not getting away with it.
So over to you then. What would you say works for you as a story ending? Have you any particular favourites to share?
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
Never miss out on another blog post. Subscribe here:
Isn’t the starting line of Tale of Two Cities equally famous?
Apparently J L Rowling had the final line of the Harry Potter in her mind before she had written the previous five books!
Perhaps, Chippy,and it is a stunning opening. Also reminds me of the joke. Which papers did Dickens write for? It was the Worcester Times, it was the Bicester Times! That one is a favourite gag in the writing conference circuit, understandably I think.
Not surprised about JKR. That does make a great deal of sense and it meant she knew her end goal and could work steadily towards it. I suspect a lot of series writers do something similar.
Love that joke. Consider it stolen 🙂
I have chosen very sad endings
Betrayal -‘The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.’
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Where the narrator links the American Dream to Gatsby’s love for Daisy, in that both are unattainable – ‘So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past’
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Despair, defeat – ‘But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother’.
1984 by George Orwell
Not a satisfactory ending. Punishments by fate were not reliable sources of wisdom for Creon. – ‘wisdom is good, reverence for the gods is necessary, pride is bad, and fate is inevitable’.
The chorus in Sophocles’ Antigone.
Good choices, David. I think Animal Farm is the saddest though. There is so much truth there (and I’ve always admired anyone who, like Orwell, irritates the far left AND the far right).
Recently, I listened to a podcast of an interview of someone who escaped from North Korea. She said that it was reading Animal Farm that made her realise how bad the regime in North Korea was. (Obviously, she read it after escaping!)
I can imagine that, Chippy, I don’t know what the most banned book in the world is but it would not surprise me if Animal Farm was fairly high up on the list.