Step 10: Fit in the Final Piece: The Resolution
Almost done. Only one more piece to fit into your puzzle of a story: The Resolution. Time to give your readers some breathing room after the chase of the climax. Keep it brief, however. They’ve read the story, road the emotional roller coaster of emotions–fear, anger, love, relief, and more.
Now is the time to tie off loose ends…or not. Some authors make certain that every problem has been resolved, that the characters’ lives are now settled once and for all. I don’t subscribe to that axiom. I want readers to have a sense that my characters will go on living their lives, that they’ll work and live and dream on. Besides, if you write series mysteries, you’ll want your readers to believe that the characters that they’ve learned to love will soon be thrust into another mystery. And they can’t wait to see what they are up to!
On the other hand, too many loose ends and you’ll frustrate your readers. They don’t want to wonder what happened in every area of your characters’ lives. Just like real life, some things are settled now, but others take longer. Let them use their imaginations to ponder what might happen next. Then they’ll be ready to jump into your next book!
Crafting the Last Lines
Like the first line in your book, take some time to craft the closing lines. You want it to linger in your reader’s minds long after she’s closed the book. The closing lines sums up the story, says goodbye, and promises that the story isn’t over.
Here are two of my closing lines:
From Cover Her Body
“She ran her hands over the boulder. This spot, so long her refuge, was only a place, a place where she had been able to draw into herself. She thought she needed to be here to find illumination or consolation. But she had learned that it wasn’t the place, but her own thoughts that soothed her, that made clear what she needed to do. The power wasn’t at this place, or anywhere else, for that matter; it was inside her. And she could reach within whenever she needed to. She fingered a tiny green sprout that had broken through the jagged edge of the tree stump, and turned toward home. ”
From Graven Images
“She folded her hands and raised them to her lips, her heart filled almost to bursting. Benjamin. Her husband. He’d learned from her example. No woman was so humbled as she was at this moment. She stood. “Come,” she said and pulled him from his chair. Tears stood unshed in his eyes, uncertainty plain upon his face. Smiling up at him, she placed his arms around her waist. “I have something to tell you.”
All set now to write your mystery? I wish you my very best!
