Finding Ways to End the Stories We Start

Ever read a book that just stops in the middle of nowhere? It’s as if the author ran out of things to say. In some cases, that’s all that’s required to explain it.

As an author, I can attest to a few other reasons why an author might not think to wrap up a story with an orderly, conventional closure.

Those reasons?

• The author didn’t want a conventional ending
• The author isn’t aware of conventional endings
• The author isn’t aware that readers look for orderly closures
• The original story was too long, and the author chopped off the excess.
• The story was too short, and the author filled it out.

“No Conventional Endings For Me” author

Defiance is this author’s mantra. They blaze their own trail. Conformity is filth. Cliches and stereotypes are seen as signs of evil. Well-rounded closures are the work of the devil.

But it’s not always defiant writers who avoid them. Lazy ones do it too.

Or: “What Do You Mean by Conventional?”

Not every writer knows what closure is, much less how to write one. It doesn’t require super intelligence to build a proper ending, but it takes persistence to get it right. The trick is for the writer to put themselves into the reader’s eyes and mind and take it from there.

What about the “Readers Don’t Actually Look For Closure” author?

Oh yes, they do.

It’s human nature to seek a nicely wrapped-up story ending. It gives purpose to the stories. Endings don’t have to conform to a “And they lived happily ever after” or “Love conquers all” or “The moral of the story is…” structure; it just has to feel like a logical conclusion — readers like the wrap-ups to be nice and orderly.

“I Had To Cut It Down” Author

Enthusiasm drove this author. They gave birth to a giant. They discovered their baby weighed in at a whopping 220k words and knew it was overbaked. Instead of reworking the book (let’s face it, 220k is tiring), they took the easy way out and chopped off 110k at the back end. This forced a sudden truncation of the narrative, causing readers to fall off a giant cliff on the last page.

“It Has an Ending, But I Had To Add More To It”

Some authors know exactly what they want to write before they start. The book writes itself. It’s a breeze, but the story ends too soon. It’s short by 25k. This writer has to tack on more stuff to make the grade, taking the story in a completely different direction, leaving readers lost at its close.

While writing my first novel, the word count changed many times, but I was mindful of crafting an exceptional ending, whatever that ending would become. At the time, I looked at the endgame rather simplistically. Someone would get their comeuppance, and someone else would sleep better at night. Eight years later, I changed my mind about that based on something I overheard in a bookstore.

A reader told a bookstore owner that they chose their books based on the words on the first and last pages.

This wasn’t the only time I heard that.

Eight years gave me time to hear everyone’s opinions. Overhearing conversations in stores was best of all, as I wasn’t the speaker’s intended audience. I heard raw accounts of readers’ book-buying habits by standing around the shelves. Thousands of dollars of valuable advice landed at my feet for free. All I had to do was shut up, listen, collect the information I heard and then interpret their results.

I think I figured it out.

Story endings should be written to suit two different audiences. The first satisfies general readers who expect story endings to be wrapped up in a nice, tight bow (think romance stories). The second caters to book buyers seeking clues from the book before buying it. It’s further research. They want to see beyond the synopsis.

I hear you. There’s more to selling books than writing so-called perfect endings. It says nothing about titles, cover graphics, fonts, back-cover synopsis, narrative quality, like/hate characters, story structure, distribution channels, agents, reviews, social marketing, and such.

You’re right. It doesn’t. It wasn’t meant to excuse or exclude them. They are equally important links in the publishing chain.

Today, I’m talking about story endings. The focus of this post is purely on writing the closing pages of a book. How do we finish a story properly?

Think of it like a rollercoaster. The ride doesn’t end at the peak of a loop or halfway through a tight twist. The rise and fall are the thrilling parts of the journey. It’s what makes that journey worth riding. There must be just enough of the thrill to satisfy, but it must also land the reader at the right and logical time.

The reader should return safely to the land of reality, comfortable knowing they’ve been thoroughly entertained while immersed in fiction.

I wrote fifteen different endings for SEETHINGS; the last one was made to suit the formula mentioned above. Given the book’s dark genre and the creepiness of its narrative, I wrapped it up with an unsettling hook. Its story resolves itself, but the characters’ futures are in doubt. An uneasy status quo looms between right and wrong.

There’s also one small piece of the puzzle that’s been left out of its conclusion. I did that on purpose. It’s designed to frustrate …and it’s meant to do it in a big way.

There’s salt left on this piece of bread.

-Michael