The Importance of the Ending

Share

For freely offered writing Resources go to RuthFordElward.com


Whenever you finish reading a book or a short story, what reverberates powerfully is the ending. It is the part of a story that is usually retained in our memory and creates a big impact on our impression. If you do it right, it is the type of ending that makes the reader continue to ponder what it had to offer for many days, even driving them to discuss it with others who’ve read the book.
A lot of people would agree that the entire book is usually gauged based on how the ending is presented by the author. The events in the beginning and the middle culminate towards the ending.


Over the years there have been many psychological studies which have proven that the human mind tends to remember beginnings and endings and that the information given in the middle becomes a bit muddled. Given this fact, then, it is of paramount importance that these two elements in your work be as dynamic and powerful as possible.


Many find the ending difficult to execute. This occurs for a couple of reasons.
First, if you are writing a full length novel, then you’ve spent a long time getting to know these characters and you may be slow to say goodbye to them. It may be a subconscious unwillingness to let them go and their story to conclude.
Secondly, the ending may not be an easy task for a new writer because it ‘seems’ there should be more added into the book. There may be an inherent fear that you haven’t put ‘enough’ into the work.


A writer has to have complete control over the story, especially when it comes to pacing and the delivery of key points within the story.
The trick is to bring together different plot elements into one absorbing and compelling event in order to create a tension-filled climax. This is definitely no easy task, but if the book is to have a life of its own, you must find a way to end the work, and give the book ‘life’.





You can use some of these elements to create a magnificent ending to your story.


• A good ending should be consistent with the culmination of events that came before it. Some writers attempt to use the deus ex machina approach where at the last minute; a seemingly impossible problem is resolved through unexpected intervention.
Nowadays, this
type of manufactured ending does not easily sell with most readers. The ending has to be logical with an appropriate conclusion based on what has been presented to the reader.


• Although your ending needs to be in sync with the event or events before it, a good ending should not be predictable. This means that your ending should incorporate the element of suspense, something that the reader does not expect.


• You can also go for the now-popular plot twist. This type of ending can be delivered in an intense or subtle fashion.
How ever you decide to convey your ending, what’s most important is that it should not be something that is highly predictable.
Some writers claim the finest plot twists can surprise even them. A good twist should be delivered naturally and make the reader feel surprised when delivered.


• Create a dark moment for your main character. The darker it is, the bigger the emotional payoff the moment your protagonist triumphs. The situation should be so dark it is almost impossible for your character to succeed whatever his goal may be.


• You can also build an ‘aha’ moment for your main character. It can be an event regarding a sudden insight or understanding.
Whatever it is, your characters ‘aha’ moment has to have huge repercussions to him and all the other characters around him.