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Wynelda-Ann Deaver

All Good Things Must Come to an End?

What makes a great ending? This question has been dogging my writing since I decided to kill off my heroine in the story I wrote for Nanowrimo. The issue crystallized for me while reading the final chapter of a novel recently. The novel had many things going for it: a great voice, funny, likeable characters, good pacing, and an engaging plot line. The ending, however, fell flat. On its face.

Splat.

So, I've been wondering. What exactly are my requirements for the conclusion of a story?

1. Whether happy or tragic, the end of the story should pull together the loose ties that have been scattered throughout the novel.

2. The ending should feel true to the characters and story. This one is tricky, because the set-up needs to come in the body of the text. If a prim and proper young lady suddenly lets loose, buys a motorcycle and curses out her boyfriend, the reader needs to see the small steps that lead our heroine to this point.

3. By the time the reader has read the last sentence, a sense of closure should be attained.

4. It does not matter if at the end of the road the reader is crying or laughing: there has to be a sense that nothing else could have come of the story. It should be satisfying.

So, where did the story I read fall flat? I've heard that you can learn as much about writing from reading a bad novel as you can from reading a great one. I never quite believed that. Of course, I'm of the belief that time is too short for bad books. This time, though, I'm going to have to go with common wisdom. I did learn something from this book. I learned what I, as a reader, expect from an ending. (If you're curious, it was number 2 above, followed closely by number 4 which is a by-product of not preparing the reader.)

By coming to the conclusions I did above, I now know some of the things that I need to do with my Nanowrimo story and several short stories that have been languishing because I am bad at endings.

Although, I have to admit, the ending for the Nano story is really good. Nothing else could have come of the story. BUT (and there is always a but in learning), I need to build up to the conclusion. No matter how much I, the writer, love the ending, it has to make sense to the reader. In order to get there, I'll be editing with an eye towards the climax and the aftermath that comes from it.

As for the name of the book that disappointed? Life is too short. Go out and write your own masterpiece.