I’ve written and critiqued a fair number of short stories in my time and one of the things that is notoriously difficult to get right is the ending. The ending has to be strong. It has to resonate with the reader and leave an echo that lingers with them long after they have finished reading, and it has to pull everything that has gone before into perspective. Very often it is the ending that really makes a short story work, or alternatively can let it down completely.
But the need for a strong ending applies equally to longer works of fiction, and this is where I’ve been struggling with my WIP. So far I’ve written three endings, but they all feel a bit weak.
The story ended on a note of high drama and it left me exhausted. For a while I left it as it was, but as I started to get feedback from my beta readers it has become clear that I need some sort of epilogue – a final scene to bring it all together and provide closure for my traumatised MC.
I talk about endings when I run my writing workshops for kids, and we discuss the different sorts of endings you can have. I ask them about what books they have read and what sorts of ending they like. Their answers always fascinate me. So I need to make this ending just as memorable, just as powerful. Other authors manage it. I can too.
And I think I have an idea ….
I'm struggling with the final chapters of my WIP too - I seem to have too much epilogue stuff, because I haven't wrapped up enough plot strands earlier in the book. This novel writing thing is HARD...
ReplyDeleteIt can be so difficult to get it right, can't it. I think the more we write the more self critical we become. :-)
DeleteEndings for me make the best short stories, something that pulls the rug from out of your feet with such force you go headlong out of the window. I've definitely read books with weak endings, some even ended in such a way that it all led to nothing.
ReplyDeleteExcellent analogy :-) A weak ending can be such a disappointment. A real let down. :-)
DeleteYou're so right Kate. Getting the ending right is so difficult. Even for a staunch pantser like me I do believe I know the beginning, middle and ending when I start a new story, the problem is the story can meander off in another direction as I'm writing so the ending is often different to how I envisaged it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. Sometimes a much better ending suggests itself along the way and you just have to go with it :-)
DeleteShort stories because of their length do require tight endings. I think writing short stories requires more discipline than writing a novel- good luck!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, that's why they're such good practice.
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