Types of Endings
"Don’t write endings, find them," novelist Thomas Williams used to say. Endings grow from beginnings and reveal themselves through clues within the story, characters or ideas. One way to learn about endings is to observe the different ways authors end a story. Here are a few types of endings.
The Loop Ending
The loop ending ends at the same place it begins and is probably the most poular way to end a story. Some children’s books to illustrate this are If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger, and Barefoot on the Underground Railroad by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Does your story want to end the same place it began?
The Surprise Ending
A good surprise ending is not an accident but is planned for by a skillful writer. You can trace the clues by re-reading the story and looking for clues the writer planted. For example, a good mystery story must have a surprise ending but you have to have some clue about the real villain or the reader will feel tricked. Is your story one that wants to throw the reader a curve ball in the last inning? If so, try writing a surprise ending like these books: Earthlets, Her Majesty, Aunt Essie, The Paperbag Princess.
The Summary
And to round off tonight’s newscast, here are the highlights once again. A summary ending repeats the main points of a story trying to tie together any loose ends. This type of ending works well in speeches that are trying to hammer home a point or snowballing stories like Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham or songs like The Twelve Days of Christmas which snowball along to the end.
The Happy Ending
Most fairy tales have happy endings (depending on whether you are a wolf-lover, of course). A happy ending such as the one in Cinderella leaves the reader with no feeling of sadness. Like a good warm blanket, it covers us from the cold of life. Does it want to end happily, or would it be stronger and more real if it ended sadly?
The Mysterious Ending
A mysterious ending leaves a lot to the reader’s imagination. This is the kind of ending that leaves a big question mark in the reader’s mind. Do you want to keep the reader guessing? Try writing an ending like Lois Lowry does in the book The Giver.
The Sad but True Ending
When we read that Charlotte dies at the end of Charlotte’s Web we are sad. But it has to end that way. Try saving Charlotte and the story loses its power. It becomes a lie. I call this the "sad but true" ending. Does your story need to end sadly? Does your happy ending have a false ring? If so, you may want to write a sad but true ending. Other books include: Bridge to Teribithia, Where the Red Fern Grows, and A Taste of Blackberries.
Adapted from What a Writer Needs by Ralph Fletcher