"Happy" Ending

I was asked, a few days ago, how to write an ending to a book.

As you might imagine, that's not an easy question to answer. Every book is different, every book requires something different for an ending.

However, there are a few things that I think you should keep in mind when it comes to writing the ending of your book, no matter what genre you're in (well, fiction genres anyway).

First off, it's important to remember that you never want to tie a neat little bow at the end and complete every single plot line. Why? Because it's too neat and tidy, leaves nothing to the imagination, and makes your reader feel as though too much is final.

In this day and age, it's always best to leave something to the imagination. Readers want to create something of their own within your work. They want to believe that they live in their world you've created, and that they're a part of this story (yes, even in the horror genre). If you finish everything, if you complete every single facet of the story, then oftentimes your readers will feel cheated, and are forced to believe that you didn't want them to be a part of the story.

And the truth of the matter is that we writers want every single one of our readers to be a part of the story, whether they want to be in it or not.

For my own writing, I've developed a system for the amount of storyline I tie into a neat little bow, and the amount I leave open for my readers to decide.

Am I going to tell you that formula? No.

Why? Because I believe every writer needs to determine their own formula.

What I can tell you is that it's never fifty/fifty. More or less than fifty percent needs to be resolved, and more or less than fifty percent needs to be left open, but never exactly fifty percent of each.

Leaving it half and half is one of those quirky things that readers easily pick up on. Maybe not if they're absently reading your story, but we don't want to think that anyone is absently reading your work now do we? *wink*

Play around with it, try different things, and figure out the amount that you want to complete. You never know, if you leave enough open you might just find yourselves with a sequel on your hands.

Those are always fun, let me tell you.

[love]

{RD}