Endings

Working on the end for Prisoners of the Wailing Tower has made me think about endings in general.

Every story has to have an ending. Happy endings. Sad endings. Obscure endings. Endings with a twist. Villains-die-at-the-endings. They might give the reader a sense of contentment, or conversely make them question what they thought they knew. This story is complete. Now the reader can embark on another.

Different genres have different expectations. So for instance, a confused outcome might work for a science fiction novel with an abstract premise. A horror novel could well end with many characters dying. However, these endings would never be accepted in a general Romance novel.

Even more, for a series, the finale of the final volume answers all the questions throughout the saga, and ties everything up neatly. (Or maybe not so neatly.) If the author has any underlying themes, now is the time to bring them home.

Since I know that many of you are writers, I’m curious to hear what you think is most important in order to achieve a successful ending. Even if you’re in the middle of your first book and haven’t finished it yet, that’s okay. Let me know what you think!

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