Effective Endings

Greetings from the Hermit WRiter.

I have published 37 novels. The endings of my earlier books are nothing like my recent writing, but I still liked them. After coming to love my characters, I never want to tell them good bye.  They have more story in them, so I often leave the reader with a hook for the sequel. The missus has turned on me and said, "That's all!"

A reader's disappointment is reassuring, when they want more.

Here are notes about how one expert feels about endings. For me, it's a balancing act to resolve enough of the main character's issues to settle the reader's mind, without ruining it by overly explaining too much.

Purpose

1. Give the protagonist a choice between two specific, alternative courses of action (one tough/easy)

2. Force the protagonist to choose

3. In choosing, the character must take an irrevocable action (physical action)

How

• Climax must satisfy the plot

• Deliver emotion

• Be logical to plot and characters