{"id":1006,"date":"2019-04-16T09:05:29","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T09:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2022-05-30T15:41:19","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T15:41:19","slug":"how-to-end-a-story","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/how-to-end-a-story","title":{"rendered":"Fixing Split Ends: How to End a Story Perfectly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Some writers know what their ending will be right from the start. Others discover it in the course of writing the story, because even if you have an outline, things change. You get a better idea, or a character becomes more interesting than you expected. But not knowing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/making-ends-meet-how-to-write-a-good-ending-to-a-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">how to end a story<\/a>\u00a0in a way that satisfies you (or an editor) is why many people abandon stories. What keeps going wrong?<\/p>\n<p>Even well-known writers abandon stories sometimes\u2014the feel for the story disappears, or something else seems more urgent.<\/p>\n<p>Some stories are more like exercises\u2014and don\u2019t aim to be polished, finished works.<\/p>\n<p>But if you have stories that you feel are interesting and well-executed (up until the end) and this keeps happening, let\u2019s look at a few things you can do to break that no-ending barrier.<\/p>\n<h2>Identify the Problem, Then Troubleshoot:<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Problem:\u00a0<\/strong><strong>You got through all the things you wanted to do in the story or novel, and now there\u2019s nothing left to say.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>A fairly common problem in writing stories is that the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/what-is-conflict-in-a-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">conflict<\/a>\u00a0isn\u2019t visible enough. In fact, sometimes it\u2019s hard to identify a conflict, because the focus has been on character.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Suggestions<\/em><\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Look at what your character had to face in the course of the story and ask why and how and what changed because of it.<\/li>\n<li>Heighten the difficulties and their implications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h4><strong>Problem:\u00a0You got to the big climactic scene and you haven\u2019t a clue what to do now. What should happen?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Sometimes you can\u2019t figure out what to do because nothing was really in jeopardy. You\u2019ve given the main character a problem, and you\u2019ve got to the point where the problem drives the action, but what you don\u2019t have is how this matters to the character.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Suggestion<\/em><\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stop worrying about action and imagine the emotional components that brought your protagonist here. What does this conflict do to your character\u2019s way of life?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h4><strong>Problem:\u00a0The ending is in line with the conflict, it all makes sense, but it doesn\u2019t have a punch.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>You\u2019ve avoided doing anything risky or unpredictable, so it\u2019s no surprise that the ending is soft. I\u2019m afraid you\u2019ve got to shake things up completely in order to make this come alive\u2014and the first thing to do is to&#8230; change the main character. You might have been coasting here because you haven\u2019t forced yourself to actually imagine someone with different needs from your own.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Suggestions<\/em><\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Imagine someone totally unlike you, who wouldn\u2019t make the same choices you would make.<\/li>\n<li>In the first big branch of the story, force your character to choose a dramatically different path from the one you gave him or her. Surprise yourself by figuring out why someone would do that different thing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Problem:\u00a0Everyone says: very nicely written, nice story; sorry but we\u2019ll pass.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is similar to the above, only this time the story is good but forgettable\u2014when they put it down they really don\u2019t have anything to hold on to.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Suggestions<\/em><\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shake up your story.<\/li>\n<li>For example, about one-third of the way in, have a catastrophe happen\u2014it can be personal or atmospheric, small or large, but what it does is create a background problem that your foreground problem has to play itself against. This automatically ramps up your story, and it forces you to reconcile both large and small issues at the end.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h4><strong>Problem:\u00a0No one believes the ending. Which is weird, because it actually happened.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Never think that what actually happened makes for a convincing story. You\u2019ve trapped yourself here by falling prey to determinism. The story doesn\u2019t work because there was no free will.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Suggestions<\/em><\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Go back one or two decisions in the plot, and change it. Whatever actually happened before you get to the end, change it.<\/li>\n<li>Make yourself think about what\u2019s going on and why; then write what that character would cause or do.<\/li>\n<li>Another way to handle this is to switch the characters\u2014have \u201cwhat actually happened\u201d happen to someone who wasn\u2019t there. That should force you to rethink the narrative arc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h4><strong>Problem:\u00a0You can\u2019t get a good last line.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>What was your\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/story-opening-lines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story&#8217;s opening line<\/a>? Go back and look at it for a while. Where does that first line suggest the story is going?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Suggestions<\/em><\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In some cases, the first line or paragraph contains the idea for the last line. (This is especially true for short stories.)<\/li>\n<li>In other cases, you should pick up on a metaphor or image that mattered to your protagonist in the course of the book.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>How to End a Story: More Tips and Tricks<\/h2>\n<p>Most of the time, you\u2019ll figure out how to end a story. But what if you have a solid story but no good ideas on how to wrap it up? Nothing works in your head or on paper; you\u2019re stymied. Are there any tricks that can help?<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Return to a Backup Point<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>If you just can\u2019t get it to work, go back a few paragraphs or even a page, throw that out, and start again.<\/p>\n<p>Try not to re-read the part you\u2019re about to abandon. You may have written yourself into a corner. (This can also work if you\u2019ve stopped in the middle of a story, rather than the end.)<\/p>\n<p>It can help to start in the middle of a paragraph, or in the middle of a piece of dialogue\u2014someplace where you can pick up on the action or dialogue. Then see where it goes. You may find that the new version takes you in a slightly different direction.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Write past the End<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>If you know what you want to do, but somehow it just doesn\u2019t feel like an ending (too abrupt, too inconclusive, etc.), then just assume that really isn\u2019t the ending.<\/p>\n<p>Keep going. See where it really stops. You can try different directions: what happened next, how a character viewed what happened next; what unexpected consequences resulted, etc. Picture characters or setting a week later, a year later, a decade later\u2014does that suggest anything?<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Work on Your Closing Line<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>If you\u2019re stuck trying to get that last paragraph or that last, brilliant line, maybe you can pick up on a symbol or image you\u2019ve used in the story. It can be a tree, a place, a song, a sound\u2014something you may have used without thinking about it too much.<\/p>\n<p>Or it\u2019s something you can go back and develop (and you may find that it adds resonance, too, to the story you\u2019ve already written). Use a recurring image to develop the character\u2019s epiphany or the resolution of the story.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Create Closure<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>You can also use circularity to bring your story neatly to a close. If you opened with a character driving, for instance, to his\/her plot device, you can close with a car scene and some enlightenment that goes with it.<\/p>\n<p>In Khaled Hosseini\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Kite Runner,<\/em>\u00a0both the first dramatic scene and the closing scene of the novel involve children flying kites: different children under vastly different circumstances.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Add an Aftermath<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>You can conclude with general consequences after the conflict is over\u2014the world is better; the world is worse.<\/p>\n<p>You can even demonstrate how easily the world got past the private tragedy in a story. In Kafka\u2019s \u201cMetamorphosis,\u201d after the grueling experience of Gregor Samsa\u2019s transformation resulted in his death, the family is rejuvenated. The ending contrasts the new sense of life they now have, outside the constricted apartment where Gregor lived his insect life. They begin to see their futures again, symbolized by the health and vitality of their daughter (her actions are in contrast with their son\u2019s rigid insect body): \u201cAnd it was like a confirmation of their new dreams and excellent intentions that at the end of their journey their daughter sprang to her feet first and stretched her young body.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Change Some Choices<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Finally, be aware that stories that refuse to end properly may reflect a problem earlier in the story. Perhaps you went in the wrong direction and now the concept is falling apart. Perhaps your character needs to do something different, or the big conflict is the wrong conflict. You may have chosen the wrong\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/point-of-view-definition\">point of view<\/a>, the wrong voice, the wrong central character. What can you change about the story itself that would make you interested in it? What annoys you about the story? Remove it.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Don\u2019t Know How to End Your Story? Keep Thinking!<\/h2>\n<p>Maybe you won\u2019t always know your ending right from the start, but if you approach it thoughtfully, you\u2019ll find it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[12,16],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1006"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}