The Trouble with Writing Endings

Kristen Twardowski discusses the problem many writers face—deciding when to end your story. Tolkien, for instance, had such a difficulty ending the Lord of the Rings that the last half of The Return of the King is an almost excruciating account of Bilbo’s return home, and more, and even more. Peter Jackson, thinking the movie should follow suit, makes viewers sit through almost half an hour of bed jumping and superflous weddings.

Here’s my rule of thumb: Every story/novel should follow a basic arc. The set up prepares readers for the climactic moment of the story, the moment without which the story falls apart. The set up should comprise the bulk of the story. The climax ties the central threads of the story into a single event (or moment). The cigarette (denouement, falling action) recounts the fallout from the climax. It shouldn’t introduce new story elements or turn the page to an entirely new chapter of the story. If your cigarette is longer than your setup, you will leave your reader’s unsatisfied. Oh, and by the way, the cigarette is for them not for you,


My point is, as long as you remember what the three elements do, you will find it easier to bring your story to an end.

Ask yourself if what you want to include, sets up the climax, is an element of the climax or is a direct consequence of one of the two. If you can’t answer yes to at least one of those questions, leave it out no matter how much you want to include it.

Your story’s over.

Put it to bed.

1However, under no circumstances should your reveal be “they were dreaming the whole time,” or “they’re dead” (Matthew Fox and the writers for Lost). It’s cheap, lazy and the sure sign of a rank novice.back

Kristen Twardowski

Paul Gauguin, “Portrait of a Young Woman. Vaite (Jeanne) Goupil),” Ordrupgaard, via Wikimedia. The trouble with writing endings is that endings don’t actually exist. Not really. Instead there simply comes a moment when we stop telling the story.

Knowing when to stop has always been hard for me. In my head, I can’t help but carry the narrative on. What happens to the hero after she defeats the evil king? What happens after the protagonist gets married? What happens to the soldiers who were part of the losing army? What happens to the rest of the universe when the brightest star in a galaxy explodes?

There is always an after. And an after the after. And another after after that.

But the writer still has to stop telling the story at some point.

Where we decide to place the ending changes the meaning of a narrative. Does the tale…

View original post 98 more words