Ending on a High Note

I mentioned in my last post that readers and writers seem to either like Prologues or not like them at all. The same thing could be said about Epilogues. If you read my novels, you know I use them, mostly because they're important to my own feelings of closure and satisfaction for my stories. Like prologues, epilogues are meant to be outside the story, separated by time or place, and told from a different perspective or point of view from the rest of the story. There are a number of uses for the epilogue, but one of my personal choices is to use it to suggest the future. Because I write almost entirely in series, this is especially important to help give the reader a sense of satisfaction at the end of the current story while pointing to or providing a hint about the next story in the series.

It's common for many authors to use the epilogue as a kind of summary, and there's a creative way to do that without stumbling into the trap of allowing it to be trite or dull. It can be a "wrap-up" without wrapping it up too neatly, especially in the case of  a series.

However it's used, I believe an epilogue should be fresh, to the point, and brief. When it's over, it's over. Don't kick a dead horse and all that. In addition, be careful not to treat it as a sewing basket. Don't dump all the loose ends of the story here and pull off a "miracle ending" or a deus ex machina. Tie up those dangling threads before the epilogue so your readers don't end up tripping over them.

As is the case with prologues, the intent and purpose of epilogues need to be different for different genres. An epilogue for a thriller will vary from that of a character-driven historical novel, and a romance novel epilogue will take a different tone and focus than you'll find in a mystery. Also, an epilogue should blend well with the novel itself, even while stepping outside the story to add and enhance.

I suppose it's fair to say that my epilogues usually end on a "high note." (Could be the musician in me, and in fact, many of them do have a musical scene or something to do with music.) That doesn't mean  that every single plot thread is neatly resolved and tucked away never to be seen again. As I mentioned before, it's important in series writing to provide a fair measure of satisfaction while pointing toward the next book and the future. Some of my epilogues can probably be said to have a bittersweet flavor. The ending might be satisfying--but not without a hovering cloud because of past events.

I like what John Gardner said about endings in his book, The Art of Fiction:

"A novel is like a symphony in that its closing movement echoes and resounds with all that has gone before ... It is this closing orchestration that the novel exists for. If such a close does not come, for whatever theoretically good reason, we shut the book with feelings of dissatisfaction, as if cheated."

I try never to cheat my readers. The Amen that I whisper to myself at the close of each book isn't so much a feeling of "The End" as it is a prayer for blessing on those who make it that far. (And a prayer of thanks for the goodness of the God Who continues to bring me that far.)

BJ