Create An Unforgettable Ending to Your Story
Just as the first pages of your story are crucial for grabbing and holding your readers’ attention, the last pages of your book are equally important to ensure your story has an impact.
How you finish your book will determine how well your story resonates with readers. And a great ending can leave your audience thoughtful, inspired, and eager for your next piece of literature.
But for new authors, it can be hard to craft an ending that perfectly sums up the preceding events, thoughts, and journeys that have propelled your story forward.
Are you in the process of outlining your book, and are getting stuck on those last few chapters or pages? Then consider the following tips to help ensure that your story lingers with your readers, long after they’ve put your book down.
One of the best ways to ensure a good ending is to provide plenty of build-up. A great story doesn’t just tie-up neatly at the end due to a bit of luck or a hard-to-believe plot twist. It requires time to progress and develop well before the last chapter arrives.
So before you start writing, make sure you have your ending in mind, and lead up to the finish gradually. By doing so, you’ll create an ending that’s both plausible and satisfactory, no matter what twists and turns occur along the way.
Chances are, your favorite books had an ending that was unexpected. A touch of surprise goes a long way in making sure your work is memorable, and doesn’t simply follow a standard progression or formula.
So throw in a little something that the reader doesn’t see coming, (that still aligns with the overall plot). This will ensure that the end of the book is just as gratifying as the beginning.
Whether you are writing from a first-person perspective or have a wide cast of characters, change is crucial for a story. How your characters change will show how they have achieved their objectives, (or how they have fallen short). And it will show a steady development that ends with a different or new perspective.
So when finishing your book, be sure to address how your characters have grown and what they have learned. And finally, show how they are different than they were at the start of the story. This way, you can have a story that both progresses smoothly, and reaches a definite and rewarding ending.
This is especially true if you want to follow-up your first book with related stories in the future! It’s OK to leave some questions unanswered. Or leave some leeway for the characters to move forward, have new adventures, and learn a little more. That’s how life works, after all! Your own story is continually growing, changing, and leading to something different!
So let your audience speculate a little about what comes next, while creating enough of an end to satisfy them with your first story. With a clever lead into what the future may hold, your readers will be left both happy with your ending, and ready for more.
Want even more tips for getting your story out of your head and onto paper? Join me in Dallas, TX in June to learn all you’ll need to know to write and publish your story – in just 3 days! See what the Book Bound Workshop has to offer for you to become an author in 2019!