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9 Key Elements Of Great Endings For Books And Stories

After a reader finishes a book or a short story, it’s often the ending that resonates most strongly. In some ways, the whole book is about its ending: Everything leads up to the ending, and once it’s over, everything points back to it.

But great endings are hard to do well. They require a writer to have a lot of control over the narrative tension and pacing. They often gather many plot elements together into a singular compelling moment to create a high-tension climax. No easy task!

Here are a few elements that can make for a great ending for your book or story:

The “right” ending. A good ending is in line with what came before it. Consider the deus ex machina technique of ancient playwriting. At the last second, the gods swoop in and save the right people. The end.

These days, that kind of contrived ending doesn’t sit well with readers. The ending needs to be a logical, appropriate conclusion for what came before—not an ending that comes out of the blue.

The unpredictable element. Even though your ending needs to follow the action that came before it, the best endings aren’t predictable. This doesn’t mean you have to write a shocking plot twist; it just means the ending incorporates some element of surprise.

The plot twist. A plot twist ending can be ginormous or subtle, but what’s most important is that it’s not expected. Some writers have reported that the best plot twists “surprise” even them. Other plots twists are scripted from the get-go. Either way, a good twist feels surprising, but it’s also natural, appropriate, and somehow right.

The dark moment. Your characters’ dark moment arrives when all is apparently lost, when the gulf between hero and heroine seems too big, when it’s clear the aliens will win, when the truth makes the world look doomed and bleak. The blacker your dark moment, the bigger the emotional payoff if/when your characters triumph. Read more about character development.

The emotional epiphany/change. Your main character’s eureka moment can make for a good ending if the moment is big enough. The moment can be one of sudden understanding or insight. Whatever your eureka moment, be sure it has big repercussions for your main character, but also for all the characters around him/her.

 

The could-have-changed-but-didn’t dead end. If your book is character-driven (or literary), this ending might be especially useful. In this scenario, your character is given a clear opportunity to turn his/her life around. Everything hangs in the emotional balance. But in the end, the character goes back to his/her old ways.

Comingling happy and sad. Often, the best endings aren’t exclusively happy or exclusively sad. By writing an ending that’s both satisfying and full of complex emotion, your reader will be thinking of your story long after he/she turns the last page.

But, as always, it’s important to know your genre. If your readers expect a 100% happy ending, give it to them (or joyfully embrace the risks you take as a writer and cultivate realistic expectations).

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. After the climactic moment, don’t linger with long explanations of “what happens next.” Once the party’s over, go home. Scenes that follow the climax tend to be low tension.

The Right Ending For Your Book

Some writers find they need to experiment with different kinds of endings before landing on the one that works best for them. So don’t be afraid of trying different endings on for size, and pick the one that feels best. Read more: 5 Common Synopsis Mistakes That Fiction Writers MakeSubmit to Review Board

Writer QuestionsQUESTION: What’s one of your favorite endings, and why?

12 Comments

  1. Judy

    “The Color Purple”, when Nettie comes home to Celie after years of being away, and the two sisters are reunited and take up where they left off by singing the song they used to sing as children.

    Reply
  2. Saleha Chowdury

    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.

    Reply
  3. Anne R. Allen

    This is a helpful post, but are you aware that those big share buttons are blocking the first three letters of every line? It makes your content very hard to read.It may be fine in other browsers, but the buttons block your content in Chrome.

    Reply
    • Writer's Relief Staff

      Hi Anne,

      Thanks for your input. It’s not that the buttons are blocking the blog content in Chrome, it’s the size of your monitor. We’ve made adjustments to accommodate smaller monitor sizes, so hopefully you will no longer have this problem.

      Reply
  4. batmansbestfriend

    I always write knowing the ending. That way everything I write is kept in check…as in “will it lead to…?” you know, the ending I have already decided upon. Now, the exact details are not always known or are known but liable to change, but the big picture is set in stone. That way, as the story takes shape, the details of the ending can change to fit the developing plot, but the concept/big picture remains in place to guide said plot as it goes along. If the ending is that the detective’s partner was the bad guy the whole time…that stays the same as I write…but, the details, such as how the partner deceived the main character…might change. 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). If you know where you’re going you won’t get lost on the way. And, what you certainly will not do is limit yourself. There are many different directions to the ending, you just have to know where the ending is otherwise…well…would you really enjoy the ending to the deceived detective story if it turned out that instead of the partner it was the guy’s dog? Probably not. So, know where you’re going before you pull your car out of the garage. Sure, invent and improvise along the way, but it will all work for the better if you have some direction.

    Everything I know about endings is summed up nicely in this article, thanks.

    Reply
  5. Katie Wilson

    Thanks for explaining these important writing tips. It would make sense to follow your advice and find a book that leaves room for interpretation. My husband and I are looking for a good book to read together over the summer, so we’ll have to consider their interpretation of the novel first.

    Reply
  6. Anna

    This website can help others think of good ways to end a story.

    Reply
  7. Carol Wilson Mack

    Wow this is awesome! Thanks for sharing. Everyone can write a book, but not everyone can produce an amazing one. Whether fiction or non-fiction, it always takes knowledge, experience, passion, and attitude to create praiseworthy literature.

    Reply
  8. Abigail

    I am writing a book for my mother, and I couldn’t find a way to end it. I was very frustrated with it and almost gave up, but then found your website. This website is amazing, and my mother was very happy with the book. Thank you a lot guys! Also I really love to write, and I would love to become an author. This doesn’t really matter to you guys I know, but I just wanted to share my dreams with the internet. Thank you so much!

    Reply
  9. Monique Boyd

    After reading your article, I found out how to put an end to my book. Thank you for sharing your tips.

    Reply
    • Blog Editor

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  10. Jerry Delaney

    I completely agree with what you have written. I hope this post could reach more people as this was truly an interesting post.

    Reply

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