In a post on Writer Unboxed, Ellen Buikema examines six ways to bring your story to a satisfying conclusion.
- A Resolved Ending. A resolved ending wraps up all your loose ends. It might not be a happy ending, but you’ve answered all the questions and settled all the matters in dispute.
- An Unresolved Ending. The unresolved ending leaves questions open, and may raise more questions that your story answered. Possibly a good choice for a series, since you want your readers to pick up the next one.
- The Expanded Ending. Otherwise known as the epilogue, an expanded ending lets you jump forward in time, show what happens to your characters in the future, or add a different perspective to what we just read.
- The Unexpected Ending. “The trick to pulling off the big surprise is that in hindsight you knew it would have to happen,” Buikema writes. “This should not come out of this air.”
- Ambiguous Ending. If you want to let your reader interpret your story, the ambiguous ending is a good choice. While your characters may have reached a conclusion, they may not know their next step, allowing your reader to fill in the blanks.
- Tied Ending. Also known as the full circle ending, a tied ending brings your story back to the beginning, with subtle differences showing how your characters have grown, Buikema explains.
Buikema examines a few of these options in more detail and shares a link to 100 Ways to End a Story.
