WRITE-BYTES BLOG

WRITE-BYTES BLOG
…a resource for writers 
April 21, 2023
By Linda S. Gunther
The topic this week: HAPPY OR PHILOSOPHICAL ENDING TO YOUR BOOK?

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HAPPY OR PHILOSOPHICAL ENDING TO YOUR BOOK?

What is the best approach for ending a memoir or novel? This is a universal question most authors struggle with, usually during the middle of the first draft and most definitely when about two-thirds through the story.

For me, once I turn the corner to the final third, there’s a little bird sitting on my shoulder and tweeting in my ear: “Okay, brilliant author, so how ya gonna end this thing?”

Go away, I think and roll my eyes. Let me just see where my characters take me. But that birdie doesn’t leave my shoulder. I have to face the music and think about my ending.

So, when should the writer decide the ending? I guess it depends on whether you’re a “plotter” or a “pantser.”  That translates to whether you tend to plot out your story from the start (plotter) or instead you more or less write by the seat of your pants (pantser), let it ride until you get close to the end? Truth is, I’m almost always a combination of these two styles. Plot a little, write a lot. Plot a little more and write a lot more.

So, what are the essential ingredients for readers to feel satisfied with the story’s ending?

In my research on this topic, I looked at some of the ‘greatest of all time’ authors to understand just how they end their stories? Were there similarities in approach?

Let’s take a look at examples from the GOATs. Here are five examples of ending lines to some highly regarded novels:

The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)

 ‘“Rest assured, our father, rest assured. The land is not to be sold” But over the man’s head, they looked at each other and smiled.”

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

“I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the valley of Panjsher on my lips. I ran.”

The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)

 “At that, as if it had been the signal he waited for, Newland Archer got up slowly and walked back alone to his hotel.”

 The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)

“She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously.”

I picked out the five above but I reviewed over one hundred and fifty closing sentences. What I noticed is that several great authors end stories with either a philosophical message or a physical action taken by the protagonist, a metaphor for their emotions. For me, the ending lines often evoke a wispy, floaty sometimes eerie sentiment. What the narrator has seen, observed, experienced comes together in those final lines. The reader is drawn in one last time to sit in the shoes of the narrator.

There are, of course, varied perspectives from authors on how to end a good book. And some of these ideas may overlap with one another. The following list features a handful of recommendations from the GOATs:

JUST END IT (Once the conflict is resolved, the climax has passed, the protagonist has changed, the writer needs to identify the EARLIEST point upon which the reader is satisfied.)

SYNTHESIZE AND SUM IT UP (This is where the reader is left with the message the author wants readers to take with them as they leave the world the author has created.)

LEAVE OPEN QUESTIONS (The ending can teeter on adding more suspense leaving readers to speculate for themselves on what happens next in terms of the threat.)

CHOOSE RESOLVED or UNRESOLVED (A resolved ending answers all questions and ties up loose ends. The unresolved ending asks more questions than it answers, and leaves the reader yearning to know more. There is some resolution but there are doors left wide open.)

END WITH PURPOSEFUL AMBIGUITY (Authors who want readers to reflect on the meaning of their story may opt for this approach. The reader will likely leave the book with “what if” questions and linger in their own thoughts.)

SURPRISE WITH THE UNEXPECTED (An author may, at the last possible moment, offer up a “twist.” This path is a little risky and must be handled with care so the reader is not infuriated or feel cheated.)

It’s up to writers as to which road to take IN THE END but always wise to consider the array of options.

Highlights in bold italic above capture the core of this blog post!

Stay tuned for next week. Look for this BLOG every FRIDAY which will l be posted at 9 a.m.

Next week’s WRITE-BYTES post will be titled HOW TO FINISH YOUR BOOK.