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Struggling with endings

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zclesa

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I am really having the problem above. I can come up with good, fresh concepts, conflict, craft, voice etc for a story.

But I struggle to find endings to both short stories and novels: I find in short stories, there is not enough "room" for a good ending. Or I am not sure if I am saying too much or too little, or even if the ending is satisfying.

In novels sometimes as well, I know where I want to go, but don't understand what readers would prefer.

I find my writing is usually too melodramatic or understated and confusing at the end. And worst of all, I get writer's block for how to end what could be some amazing stories and novels otherwise. I have too many short stories which are half-written because I can't get to a satisfying ending.

Any tips? Or resources? Articles, books, inspirational things I should read or watch? My genre is "literary fiction". Many thanks.
 

stephenf

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Hi
I know this will not help much , but yours is a common problem .

Short stories are not are not a shortened novel. To write a short like that will be too ambitious and the end result will struggle. It is not unknown for some well establish writers not to be able to write both well . Not a big fan of Ernest Hemingway's novels , but he wrote some of the best crafted short stories . I would suggest you read some of his to see how it's done

An enthusiastic start to a writing project can easily slow down and run into the sand of self doubt and worry . You can put things to one side . I personally prefer to press on to the end, even if it's a bad one, in the knowledge you are writing the first draft , not the end product .
 
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blackcat777

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Commenting on novels (I can't write shorts to save my life) -

I agree with powering through to the end, even if you think it isn't what it should be. One quote I heard somewhere and remind myself of often is, "You can fix what's written, but if it isn't written, you can't fix it." So you are a million times closer to being where you want to be, simply by allowing yourself to write crap if you have to.

Conversely, I struggle with the beginnings. When I'm writing, sometimes I just infodump full force as a placeholder, so I know what has to be where, even if I'm not sure how I want to shape it yet.

I'm about 90k into a giant fantasy thing and knew I'd have to trash the first six scenes. I wasn't sure how to deal with that mess until last night. I rewrote the beginning completely, but there were important details from every trashed scene that I incorporated that made the opening what it is now. So definitely go there and write something - you can always make it better!

Sometimes you have to write things and feel yourself out. Maybe the action is wrong, but the emotion is right. That's a little piece of something right. Keep trying.

Sometimes it helps just to TALK with someone else about it, too.

Another thing I like to think about with endings is symmetry - how are things exactly the same at the end as the beginning? How does what happens at the end reflect on the beginning? I feel most satisfied when I can pull all of my plot threads together and make the story come full circle.

In novels sometimes as well, I know where I want to go, but don't understand what readers would prefer

I think Romance is the only genre where you have to worry about reader expectations concerning the end of a novel (HEA).

My general life-changing craft book that I recommend (that does deal with endings, as well as fantastic beginnings and middles and a million other things) is The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. I saw it recommended all over these forums and I was so happy I picked it up. Best book ever. IMHO, if you can carry your emotional arcs through to completion, the rest of the story can't be far behind.
 

talktidy

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Oh, boy, this rings bells.

I am an amateur, so take the following with a huge pinch of salt, but I believe I have got better over the last few years by focusing on the endings of my projects before I write the first chapter. I think that's how I am able to keep slogging away at my current piece, even though I have parted ways with my outline on more than one occasion.

Are you a pantser or an outliner? Unless the whole notion brings you out in hives, it may help if you outline. There is nothing stopping you from trying out several endings. If you are anything like me, the practice helps.

Have you had any beta feedback?

You say you are not sure what would best please readers but IMHO I think you should forget readers and write for yourself first and foremost. Write endings that please you. Also, I think chucking a project in a drawer and leaving it untouched for several months helps one see issues, including better endings, when previously it’s been a case of can’t see the wood for the trees thing.

Good luck.

PS I am really interested to see what the more established hands on this forum have to say, because, with endings, I still need all the help I can get.
 

Kolta

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Write endings that please you. Also, I think chucking a project in a drawer and leaving it untouched for several months helps one see issues, including better endings, when previously it’s been a case of can’t see the wood for the trees thing.

Seconding this.

I find my writing is usually too melodramatic or understated and confusing at the end.

Could it be because you're trying too hard to hit the perfect note, that you keep going either too low or too high, or all over the place?

OP, I think overthinking readers' reactions to your stories is contributing to your block. If you're uncertain if an ending is satisfying, you're probably not taking your own preferences into consideration as much as you should. If you have to question whether it's satisfying, then it's not. You're not happy with how things have been resolved. You might be better off putting other readers out of your mind for now as you write and try listening more closely to your instincts. And trusting them.
 

SteinbeckisGod

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Personally, I see a good ending as like a ribbon on a birthday present: you've already made this nice gift, now you need something to tie it all together. Something to make it complete. A good ending does exactly that.
 

zclesa

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Thanks everyone- it's good that I'm not alone. I did have a short story published last year by Litro: https://www.litro.co.uk/2016/06/throwaway-things/ but the ending was the hardest part. I hope I struck the right note. I am a complete Pantser, which makes the ending more difficult. I will definitely check out Hemingway's shorts and Donald Maas' book. Feel free to comment on the story Litro published (good or bad) and how it ended. Thank you for all your help. And Happy New Year to you all.

X
 

DanielSTJ

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Sometimes you have to write things and feel yourself out. Maybe the action is wrong, but the emotion is right. That's a little piece of something right. Keep trying.

TOTALLY agree with this. This is the way that I do my endings. You have to feel it out. If you're a dreamer, like I hope most writers are, you can sometimes see the shore from the ocean. It is there, in you, deep down. You just need to get to it. Writing is the vessel that carries you there.
 
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blackcat777

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It's also okay to end up a few beaches south of where you wanted - you might find some funky seashells or beach glass along the way. ;)
 

zclesa

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To follow BC77's analogy, I have written some stories in which the ending was better than I had expected. It does go that way. But only through "pantsing".

I want to get some more short stories published which have a "social conscience" and theme as well as a story. Whenever I try to do that, I struggle to stay under word count and come to a satisfying ending. I want to be published in Agni etc. Maybe for those, I'd better choose an innovative angle and the ending may just come.

Where have your stories been published? Happy to see links to give me inspiration.

Thanks for all your help!
 

Layla Nahar

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I know where I want to go, but don't understand what readers would prefer.

Only think about what's right for the story, and go there. Writing with the intent to create 'what readers prefer' is a good way to squelch the 'true' story. IMHO.

I have a similar problem. I'll have a vivid, interesting character pop into my head, but I just fail to get any clue as to what the events (a story is a series of cause/effect related events leading to a person's attainment of (or failure to attain) a visible goal - visible in the sense that you could capture it on film - graduating from college, signing divorce papers, throwing The Ring into the cracks of Mt Doom and the like) are.

I have only been able to finish a story when the Visible Goal arrived in my head pretty much at the same time as the character... I feel your pain here...
 
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Woollybear

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Hated my first ending. Hated the whole process of writing an ending. Did not expect it to be so hard. So Hard. Finally understood why people say they have unfinished books.

I wrote it, as like a page of awfulness, so that I could say I had the draft done.

It was awful.

But, amazingly, every revision has improved it and now it is the best part of the story,

Just write it. Let it be bad. Really bad, horribly awful, will-never-show-anyone bad.,

Then make it incrementally better, with each pass.
 
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Metruis

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I too have been struggling with endings these last whiles. I've found some slight solace in finishing things: the final episode of a TV show, the final chapter of a book, the final battle of a video game. I've ended a handful of things, though I've never made it through far enough to editing an ending into something good. The endings aren't perfect, but once I'm that close, I desperately push myself to it, so that I have something to step back and observe.

Now that's another story, but my advice is to write an ending, no matter how bad, just so you have something to begin. At least, even if it's terrible, you will know one thing you don't want. Which is closer to knowing what will work.

If you have trouble knowing what your ending should be, start unpacking from the story's goal, how to answer whatever question you've set out, what emotional moments may need to be resolved, etc. There will be something that makes sense, an answer to the story's mystery, a satisfying way to see the characters off, whatever. You just might need to approach it from another angle. Or several angles. Don't worry about it, you could be writing several options to revise instead of sitting there going "aaahhh but I don't know how to end it."
 

Hbooks

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I think endings are a struggle for a lot of people. I know they are for me. I greatly struggle with how to end chapters, too. One thing that helps me is to just get a draft on paper even if it's imperfect, and then to go back and change from there. I also look at books I enjoy and really analyze the craft of what the heck do they DO at chapter endings to try to have some patterns I can emulate in my writing.
 

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I have the right answer, not even close. The only time I've had endings feel right is when things just clicked. Like, I aligned the ending with the beginning, or it answers something that was asked in the beginning. I read somewhere that the best stories end where they began. At least to the point they tie into one another. I had a beginning scene of two people smoking cigars, then the end they finish the cigar. I don't know, something cool that signifies this is it, goodbye.

But, those rarely come about for me. I'm struggling to write a single short story now. So, maybe I'm not the right person to answer this question.
 

georgeet

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Right now I believe there is too much emphasis on a snappy, clever, romantic, etc. ending. I have read acclaimed stories that were really poor but had a sweet or clever ending which is not acceptable. I like endings that have a twist to the meaning of the story that seems obvious once you have read it: The end of a quest results in a new viewpoint, not an end.
 

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I wrote four endings to my current WIP, none of which I'm entirely happy with it. My main beta preferred one of them much over the others, so I chose that. If I ever get it sold, I'll see what the editor says...

But like others have said, just write, even if you're not happy with the results, you'll find something to go forward from.
 

Motley

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My endings tend to just peter out and leave something ambiguous, which annoys quite a few people from what I've read. I struggle with short stories; everything wants to get longer. It's probably because I can't come up with a "just for now" type of ending that short writing needs, I think. I want to solve everything. Definitely taking suggestions here into account, so thank you all from me too!
 

Laura15

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I have exactly the same problem with endings, which is why I have so many unfinished stories on my laptop. My short stories just tend to peter out too, as I can never think of an ending that packs enough of a punch. The only way I've found to deal with this (although I'm certainly not an expert, as I still suffer a lot with this problem!) is to try out a few different endings, and see which one works the best, if any. I hope this helps, although other people have given some great suggestions here that I may try myself!
 

Lady Ice

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I get this as well- I think it's partly an inability to let go. You're drawn into this world of the story and ending it is like saying goodbye.

For practicing short story endings, as well as reading short stories, watch a couple of Tales of The Unexpected (which were themselves adapted from short stories). You may not like every ending but note down why you did or did not like the ending. A good ending doesn't have to be a big showy scene- it can be understated and simple. What matters is that it fits with your story. I always think that with a really good story, you are initially surprised by the ending but then looking back on it, it seems so obvious. The satisfaction comes not just from the surprise but from how well the ending fits.
 
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