Sometimes you know how you want to end your novel and you think to yourself, “How do I get from A to B?” But even if you have an ending in mind, it may not always work out that way.
Your characters have something else in mind. Your outline may change. You may decide to go a completely different direction as you write.
So, how exactly do you write your ending? Well, that’s something you have to decide as you get to it.
Tie up all loose ends.
This is a must no matter what kind of ending you have. Whether you have a sequel coming up or you’re finishing a standalone book, you must answer all questions that book posed. Sometimes you can get away with leaving a few unanswered questions if it’s part of a more elaborate plot for a series, but you don’t want to leave your readers hanging.
Throw in a twist or cliffhanger.
Going along with the previous point, if you’re writing a series, a trilogy, or whatever, feel free to leave a subtle cliffhanger or throw in a twist at the end. You don’t have to reveal something huge, you can always save that for the next book and throw your readers right back into the action. But something small that will leave your readers feeling satisfied, yet eager to start the next book right away, should suffice.
Go back to the beginning.
I always find it cool when the author brings the story full circle. Something happens at the beginning, they go on a long, treacherous journey, and then they end up right where they started. Yet, they’ve changed. They’ve grown. They’re better (or worse) people than they were before.
The end… Or is it?
You can take this one of two ways – you can throw in a twist like what I mentioned above or you can leave an open ending. Be sure to answer all questions and cash in all those plot points, but you can leave your readers feeling satisfied yet imagining what would happen next. They can infer where the characters will go from there. That way the story will last for a long time.
It all depends on your plot and genre.
There are way more ways to end your novel, but it all depends on you, your story, and the genre. Still, some ways to end your novel that seem “wrong” can be “right” and some ways that are supposedly “right” can be “wrong.” It’s really up to your readers to decide.
But you can’t please everyone.
How do you typically wrap up your novels? Are they any other ways you can think of? Let me know in the comments below and we’ll chat!
Twitter | Bookstagram | Pinterest | GoodReads | Double Jump
