The Most Overlooked Important Element of a Story - The Ending

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How many times have you thoroughly enjoyed a story but despised its ending? Yet, many authors and creators don’t seem to worry too much about how they are going to end their story. This is particularly a problem with series that go on for years. Whatever the reason, it is hard to deny there is a glut of shows, books, and movies with unsatisfactory endings. Perhaps it’s because of the notion that an ending will “write itself” once the rest of the story is in place.

I would like to talk about writing endings. I’ve been formally educated in the art of creative writing and follow many writing advice blogs, and I’m always struck by how infrequently writing endings is mentioned. Everyone just assumes the right ending will come naturally, even though an ending needs to be just as carefully thought out as every other important aspect of a creative work. Why? Because the ending is the last thing you leave your viewer/reader/consumer with. When done correctly, it leaves your audience feeling satisfied with the work, perhaps even elated or deeply touched. When done wrong, however, it can even negate the impact of the rest of the story, leaving an audience to only remember the sour note at the end.

Here are some things to consider when thinking of how you’re going to end a creative work, whether you’ve already written the rest of the story or are just beginning an outline.

How You Want the Story to End

You’re the author, it’s your story. How do you want the story to end? Generally speaking, there are four kinds of endings: happy endings, bittersweet endings, downer endings, and ambiguous endings, with lots of flavors in between.

Happy endings are pretty self-explanatory and classic, and they seem to be sort of out of favor at the moment for being “too unrealistic.” However, when executed just right, a happy ending can make your audience feel elated that the characters were able to overcome the horrific obstacles that stood in their way.

Bittersweet endings are somewhere in between happy and downer, and are possibly the most popular type of ending. Worried about your ending being too happy or depressing? I recommend some sort of Pyrrhic victory ending or a middle of the road one, where characters only get some of what they want.

Downer endings are also pretty self-explanatory. You must be careful with these, however, as they can alienate and depress your audience if not done well. Even downer endings must be satisfying to be appreciated.

Ambiguous endings can be a lot of fun, but should probably be used sparingly. Audiences are used to closure, and having no closure can irritate them. On the other hand, some of the best endings in fiction are ambiguous, and sometimes you may not want to provide a concrete answer.

How Your Audience Expects the Story to End

This one might be the least important because your fans (if you’re lucky enough to have some) aren’t writing the story, you are. But it is certainly something to consider. If you don’t know your audience, I highly suggest you figure it out quickly, or else marketing the work, either to a publisher or on your own, is going to be very difficult.

A good author can write a balanced ending that will remain true to their vision while still satisfying readers. And in some genres, certain types of endings are more or less expected, and your audience will be disappointed if you don’t deliver. People don’t read romance novels to see every single character to die a tragic death at the end. Children’s literature and YA don’t tend to have downer endings, either. If you’re trying to be groundbreaking in your genre, fantastic, but make sure you know what you’re doing. Otherwise it’s going to be a mess.

What Kind of Ending the Narrative is Leading Up To

This is probably the most important consideration you need to make when planning and writing an ending. You’ve written your entire story, now what kind of ending makes the most sense based on what you’ve already put on the page? If you’ve already planned out your ending in advance, make triple sure it still works well with the completed story. Narratives and characters change throughout the creative process and pre-planned endings that aren’t adapted rarely work.

I personally love stories where an author can write an ending that ties everything together. Seemingly unimportant events, conversations, or characters become critically important (these all need to be adequately foreshadowed, however). Character development, prior events, and logic all have a very important role to play when you think out an ending to your story. Try and think of all the ways the scenario you’ve created could play out, and pick the best one.

What Kind of Ending Your Characters Want/Deserve

You may want one ending, your audience may be expecting another. But your characters have a say in this as well. Most authors claim their characters come alive for them and I’ve found that to be very true.

It’s obviously important not to put too much stock in what your characters want or deserve. Sometimes the character you love as if he or she were your own child has gotta go or the impact of the story is weakened. On the other hand, it can be downright unsatisfying for your audience if your characters don’t “earn” the ending they deserve. This can work the other way too, as I’ve seen works where a character doesn’t do anything to earn the ending they get and thus the ending comes off as a giant deus ex machina. So be careful.

So I’ve Thought About All These Things, Now What?

Now you decide on an ending for your story. I believe it’s very important to think about every possible way your story could end so you can choose the one that works the best. Even if you’ve had an ending planned from the beginning, or you think there’s only one perfect ending, I still encourage you to think of other alternatives to make absolutely sure it’s the best one.

I know you’ve heard it everywhere, but practice really does make perfect. Read/watch/play a lot and see what kinds of endings work well in the types of fiction you’re creating. Or if you want to go bold, do something completely unexpected. Just remember what I said about audience expectations above. It’s a risk that could pay off, or severely hurt you.

Remember, whether your ending is happy, bittersweet, a downer, or entirely ambiguous, it must fit with the rest of the story. That’s the most ironclad rule of all.

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