Writing Problem: The Ending Is Completely Anti-Climactic
Problem: The Ending Is Completely Anti-Climactic
Solution: Endings can be dramatic. Endings can be a little ambiguous. Endings can be bittersweet. Endings can be simple surprises. Endings can be unique and unresolved. Endings can reverse motives, reverse perspectives, or reverse fortunes. Endings can be complex webs that tie up every single loose end. Whatever the author's preference, endings shouldn't read as if the last 10 pages were cut off.
But knowing how to end a story is not an isolated challenge. To end a story properly and effectively, the author must know how the story begins, how its characters evolve, and how these dynamics transform over the course of narrative's varying points of tension and conflict. Recall, how does the story begin and why? How, specifically, do the characters evolve? And what compels them to do so? Where and how do the story's internal and external conflicts converge? Endings follow a few essential rules: endings require context, endings must be plausible, and endings must connect to the narrative's key elements.
Writing Resources:
Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)
How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)
Story Climax Examples: Writing Gripping Build-Ups (Now Novel)
How to End a Novel: Writing Strong Story Endings (Now Novel)
Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They Aren't the Same Thing) (September C. Fawkes)
Utilizing 3 Types of Death (September C. Fawkes)
10 Signs Your Plot is Weak (and How to Fix it) (September C. Fawkes)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)