{"id":677,"date":"2016-12-21T15:48:34","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T15:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/?p=677"},"modified":"2023-02-02T22:42:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T22:42:10","slug":"making-ends-meet-how-to-write-a-good-ending-to-a-story","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/making-ends-meet-how-to-write-a-good-ending-to-a-story","title":{"rendered":"Making Ends Meet: How to Write a Good Ending to a Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
If there\u2019s anything writers struggle with even more than\u00a0beginnings<\/a>, it is endings. Imagine you\u2019ve captured your reader\u2019s attention, kept her following you for the entire journey, and now all of your hard work comes down to one final scene that will make or break her reading experience. Yikes!<\/p>\n Here are some tips on approaching your story’s ending.<\/p>\n Good endings make sense; evoke emotion like contentment, anger, sadness, or curiosity; shift the reader\u2019s perspective; or open her mind to new ideas. They do not confuse or cast the whole story as a hoax. Good endings bring the hero\u2014and, more importantly, the reader\u2014to some kind of destination (even if it\u2019s a trap).<\/p>\n Good endings highlight for us how the protagonist has changed from the beginning of the book. If the protagonist is the same person as he or she was in the beginning, then the story is lacking a crucial dimension of\u00a0character development<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wrapping up loose ends.<\/strong>\u00a0I’ve already said that endings wrap up a hero’s journey, but don’t forget to wrap up any other loose ends lying around. Endings are also the place to make sure that any plot holes left open and characters left unaccounted for are explained – it’s not something you want to discover\u00a0after<\/em>\u00a0publication.<\/p>\n Test readers matter.<\/strong>\u00a0Where possible, always have a brutally honest beta-reader on your side. They can tell you if your ending brings the story to the right kind of conclusion. There’s nobody better than an honest reader to tell you if your ending is obvious or downright terrible.<\/p>\nWhat’s in an Ending?<\/h2>\n
Some Ending Types<\/h2>\n
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Tips for Writing Your Story\u2019s Ending<\/h2>\n