The end of a novel is one of the most difficult parts to write. You must tie up your plot and characters, but you can’t leave the reader with anything to look forward to.
In order to do this, you’ll need to know how best to end things on a high note or at least not a low one. Here are some tips that will help you get there:
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Plan your ending ahead to avoid rushing. |
| 2. Ensure the ending is consistent with the story’s tone. |
| 3. Tie up major plot points and character arcs. |
| 4. Consider the emotional impact you want to create. |
| 5. Avoid introducing major new elements at the end. |
| 6. Provide closure to subplots and secondary characters. |
| 7. Balance resolution and leaving room for reader interpretation. |
| 8. Consider the thematic resonance of your ending. |
| 9. Use pacing to build tension toward the conclusion. |
| 10. Consider the reader’s emotional journey throughout the story. |
| 11. Experiment with different types of endings. |
| 12. Seek feedback from beta readers on your ending. |
| 13. Don’t shy away from bittersweet or ambiguous endings. |
| 14. Make sure the protagonist’s growth is evident in the ending. |
| 15. Review your ending for consistency and satisfaction. |
Don’t Get Too Sentimental
Don’t get too emotional. Don’t let your characters get too emotional, either. This is a mistake I see a lot in unpublished novels and stories the writer wants to be sentimental or philosophical.
And so she lets the character wander off into one of those dark places for too long, creating an awkward scene that just doesn’t fit with the rest of the book. Sometimes it’s best to leave these things unsaid.
Leave out any scenes where characters stand around talking about how much they love each other or how beautiful everything is (unless you’re writing something very specific).
Remember that a good novel does not make you feel warm and fuzzy inside; it keeps moving forward towards its conclusion without getting sidetracked by sentimental detours into maudlin territory.
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Don’t Tie Up Every Loose End
You’ve been writing for a while, and you’re finally ready to end your novel. There’s only one problem: You have so many loose ends to tie up! How will you make sure every last one of them gets tied?
Don’t worry about it. It’s okay if some questions go unanswered. It’s better that way sometimes if every question is answered, then the story becomes predictable and bland.
Plus it can be unrealistic (of course Indiana Jones would survive), which means no one will want to read it! So don’t worry about tying every single loose end into a neat bow; instead, let some things remain unresolved.
So your readers can make their conclusions about what happened next without being told exactly what happened by an omniscient narrator or character narrator who knows everything but chooses not to share any information with the reader.
Don’t Forget To Do Some Last-Minute Polishing
Read through your manuscript one last time.
Check consistency, including the format (for example, all caps or no caps), spelling and grammar, word choice, tone and voice, sentence length, and structure.
Make sure your writing is consistent in terms of formatting (if you use quotation marks or italics for emphasis).
Check for typos and grammatical errors such as missing letters in words that should be capitalized or small punctuation mistakes like a comma where it shouldn’t be used.
Check that your formatting is correct: double-spaced lines with single spacing in between paragraphs are good; centered text can also work but only if it’s done with care and taste (and not by using tabs).
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Don’t Let Your Conclusion Lag
This is a common mistake for many first-time novelists. They spend a lot of time in the middle of their story, but when it comes down to writing the ending, they struggle to find anything interesting or meaningful enough to say about what happened in those final chapters.
The result? An ending that feels flat and disappointing compared with all that came before it which can be especially frustrating if you liked certain characters or plot twists!
A great way around this problem is by writing at least one draft of your novel without knowing how it will end;
This way, you can keep building up tension until the very last page without having any idea as to where things will go next (this method also works well if you’re struggling with other parts of your book).
Don’t Ignore The Possibility Of A Sequel
The first book in a series is hard enough to get right; the second book is even harder. You need to be able to create a world that remains consistent, but also explore new parts of it. You need to keep your main characters fresh while still keeping their personalities true.
And you have to do all of this while making sure the reader feels like they’re reading a complete story with an ending that wraps up everything they care about but leaves them with enough questions (and just enough answers) so they want more.
But don’t worry! It’s not as hard as it sounds if you follow these tips:
- Make one change per novel
- Use an existing character or setting as inspiration for each new plot line
- Toss in some humor and romance if things get too dark
- Use tragedy to heighten pathos
In a novel, tragedy can be used to heighten pathos. You see this all the time in Shakespearean tragedies: Hamlet is a prince who’s lost his father and mother, but he doesn’t know for certain that his uncle Claudius murdered them.
So he spends much of the play trying to find out what happened and then exact revenge on Claudius for doing it.
The best way to use tragedy as a tool for creating pathos is by making sure that your reader knows exactly where things went wrong for your protagonist by the end of the book and why they went wrong.
If you leave us with questions about what happened or how it happened, we won’t feel nearly as sad when our hero dies (or fails). We’ll just be confused or disappointed not feeling anything at all!
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Try For A Bittersweet Ending
A bittersweet ending is one where the main character has a lot of good things, but also some bad things to deal with. This isn’t the same as a sad ending, nor is it the same as a happy ending. It’s like this:
If you read a book and then die, you’ve had an unhappy experience.
If you read a book and then live happily ever after, that was probably pretty neat! But if any character dies on page 1 or 2 in dramatic fashion (and they never come back), I feel cheated somehow like I didn’t get my money’s worth.
If you read a book and there are no villains or tragic deaths but everyone still faces challenges throughout their lives? That can be super satisfying too!
Be True To Your Characters
Be true to your characters. If a character is supposed to be a coward, don’t make them suddenly act like Rambo. If they’re afraid of heights, don’t throw them on top of a tower.
Make sure the actions are consistent with the story. If you’ve got a plot twist planned and it involves your main character shooting an elephant in his living room, make sure that’s what happens!
Make sure they’re consistent with the setting. Is this taking place in Victorian England? Then maybe no one will carry guns there (and if they do, they should be using them).
Does everyone speak English? Then no one can speak Japanese or French unless there’s some kind of reason for it (like if they were born somewhere else).
And finally: think about whether or not these actions are true to each character’s personality as well as anyone else’s in your novel who would notice them doing something weird/dangerous/dumb/stupid/unbelievable…you get my drift!
Be True To Your Genre
The best way to be true to your genre is by not being too clever, original, or different. It’s about finding your comfort zone and staying there. You’re writing a novel, after all, not an essay or short story.
If you don’t know the rules of your chosen genre – and it doesn’t take long before they become second nature – then you risk making mistakes that will either make your book unreadable or prevent it from ever being published in the first place.
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing science fiction, romance, or detective fiction: each has its conventions of plot development and characterization; each has certain rules which must be followed if the reader isn’t going to become confused about what’s happening in your story;
Each has its style of dialogue (some authors are better at this than others); each has its expectations regarding how time flows within its pages (do characters age? do they age quickly? do they never age?).
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Write A Life-Changing Ending, If Possible
Let’s say you’re writing a novel. You’ve got the plot and characters, but now it’s time to think about how you’ll end your story. If possible, try to give the reader a sense that their life has been changed by the story.
The ending should be a culmination of everything that has happened in the story one last hurrah for all of your characters’ struggles and triumphs!
But how do you make sure an ending is satisfying? It’s not enough just to tie up loose ends; your reader needs closure if they’re going to walk away from your book satisfied (and feeling like their life has been changed).
Here are some tips for ending well:
Try not to overcomplicate things; keep things simple so readers can follow along easily without getting lost or confused (no inscrutable, cryptic endings!)
Don’t try too hard to be clever; sometimes simplicity is best! But don’t forget humor either it can lighten up otherwise dark moments so people won’t get bored reading through them too quickly before finishing up on page 300 when there are still 150 pages left…
Or worse yet, give up entirely because they feel overwhelmed trying to understand what might happen next without any warning beforehand! 🙂
Write A Satisfying Ending, At Least
Your ending should be satisfying, but not necessarily happy. A good ending will be a natural extension of the story you’ve told, but it won’t necessarily tie everything up neatly with a bow. A great ending may surprise readers in some way.
But not so much that they can’t see its logic or identify with it. Your novel must end on an appropriate note for its tone and content, which is why you should make sure to end on an upbeat note if your book has been heavy or dark throughout.
Don’t Try To Be Clever About The Ending (Or Anything Else)
Don’t try to be clever. Don’t try to be cute, ironic, funny, profound, or poetic. The point of the ending is not to show off how smart you are it’s just there to help the reader feel like they’re done with your book and ready to move on with their lives.
It should also remind readers of all the things they liked about your novel (and, hopefully, why they picked this book up in the first place). If readers aren’t enjoying themselves by now it hasn’t been long enough since you started reading;
If that’s true for them then there’s probably not much hope for them finishing at all so don’t worry about wrapping things up too neatly in case nobody cares enough about what happens next!
A Period At The End Of An Unfinished Sentence Won’t Cut It As An Ending
A period at the end of an unfinished sentence won’t cut it as an ending. An ending should be a complete thought, action, and feeling. The best way to understand this is to think about what you might say on the phone when you’re speaking with a friend or family member:
“So, I’m done with this novel. I need some advice/feedback/critique because I feel like it’s missing something.” They don’t need to hear that you’re done with your novel they’ll assume it if they want to know more details about its completion.
And even if they did want to know more information about how far along in the process you are (the answer would probably be very far since most people don’t say things like “I’ve finished writing my book”).
There’s no need for them to know that either since all they have access to are these few words from the end of a conversation; not everything else that led up until this point!
The temptation might be strong here when considering how long we’ve worked on our novels and how dedicated we’ve been during those times and rightfully so!
But if we take some time away from thinking about ourselves (which isn’t always easy), then perhaps we’ll find some inspiration towards pursuing other goals outside of completing our novels because maybe…
We just want someone else besides ourselves (or other writers) telling us what needs improving. You never know unless you try!
Writing a novel is a journey of constant learning and growth. Gain insights from someone’s experience with 10 Things Learned About Novel Writing, and discover valuable lessons that can guide you through your own novel-writing process.
Conclusion
We hope these tips have been useful. And if not, at least it’s good to know we have so much in common with other writers who are struggling to get their novels done. We at CopyBlogger understand that writing a novel is a process and we know you can do it!
Further Reading
Creative Methods for Writing a Book Ending: 10 Ways: Explore innovative approaches to crafting compelling and memorable book endings.
How to End Your Novel So They Come Back for More: Learn strategies for creating satisfying conclusions that leave readers eager for your next book.
12 Ways to End a Chapter: Discover various techniques to conclude chapters effectively and maintain reader engagement.
FAQs
How important is the ending of a novel?
The ending of a novel is crucial as it leaves a lasting impression on readers and can determine their overall satisfaction with the story.
Should the ending tie up all loose ends?
While it’s important to provide closure, some degree of ambiguity can also be effective in sparking reader imagination and discussion.
Can a surprising ending be beneficial?
Yes, a well-executed unexpected ending can leave a lasting impact and make your story memorable to readers.
How do I avoid a rushed or unsatisfying ending?
Planning your ending in advance and ensuring that it aligns with the pacing and themes of your story can help you avoid rushed conclusions.
Is foreshadowing important for a satisfying ending?
Foreshadowing can enhance the impact of your ending by making it feel earned and connected to earlier elements of the story.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.