How To: Write a Good Ending

I cannot tell you how many times I have read something I absolutely adored only to be left with a bad taste in my mouth afterwards. Every single good quality of the book gets shoved to the back of my mind thanks to the terrible ending the story had. Of course, ending a story is one of the hardest parts. You want to leave your audience happy they read, watched, or listened to your story. Follow these 5 rules and you are guaranteed to have a good ending.

Side Note: These rules do not necessarily apply to ending a book in the middle or beginning of a series. These apply to the ultimate ending of the story.

1. Always leave the audience wanting more.
Despite the fact your story is over, if you tie up every loose end, your audience will move on with their life instead of continuing to think about your story long after it ended. This is not to say that you should end with your character dangling over a cliff or some nonsense, but the story should end before every single problem is solved. All major plot points should be tied up, but the character should still have some challenges awaiting them after the story. For example, you might finish a distopian novel by toppling the corrupt government, but not discussing how they rebuild their world or you could end a romance novel with the new couple preparing themselves to meet the parents but not showing them meeting the parents. In other words, leave a little mystery in your wake.

2. Do not leave the audience confused.
If you need to take a couple paragraphs more to explain a plot point, go ahead and do it. One of the worst types of endings is the kind that leaves you going, "wait what?" Make sure you settle all major plot points. The audience should be completely aware of what has happened to the character throughout the story. Like I said before, don't end with your character dangling off a cliff. Show how they get back onto the cliff. And unless your story calls for it, do not quickly sum it up because you do not feel like typing out the actions. By that I mean, don't say something like "Then Kristy climbed back up and everyone was ok."

3. Don't force a happy ending where one does not belong.
It's true that if given the choice between a happy or sad ending, most people would choose happy, but as seen in every book you read in high school, sad endings sell. Your goal is to make your audience feel something. The emotion you choose doesn't matter as long as it is directed at the story and not at you. You want your audience mad that Chelsea chose Scott over Brody, not mad that you screwed up the ending. I cannot tell you how many books I've read and movies I've watched whose endings left me underwhelmed because they had been completely forced. It's not always logical for the two characters to end up happy together and that's ok. That being said, don't force a sad ending either. Let your story decide.

4. Give your audience some closure.
If a dear character died at some point in the story, make sure to address that and let the other characters move on so the audience can do the same. Do not simply assume that the audience knows a funeral happened. Mention it and say how the character felt better having attended or whatever needs to be said. Your audience cannot be left still grieving or your story will automatically become disliked. Sad is ok, depressing is not. Also make sure any terrible jerks that need to be dealt with are handled. You don't want to leave your audience wondering "what about that jerk form the beginning that did something bad and vanished forever?" All characters need closure.

5. Do whatever your story needs.
Every story is different. Maybe you want your audience to go away knowing exactly how your characters ended up. Maybe you want your story to end with explicit narration. Maybe you don't want some sub plots to get tied up because that's the magic your story needs. Do whatever you need to do to end your story with the same quality, if not better quality, work that you used in the rest of the story.

I have never met anyone that told me endings were the easiest parts for them to write. I know that when I write I cycle through multiple ending options before I get there as my story evolves and my characters change. Some people go into writing with an ending already in mind and it never changes. But whether you write your ending at the end or the beginning, make sure it's something to remember.