This month on JPC Allen Writes I’ll be posting about how to write an ending for your novel. Endings for novels are tough to write, and if the writer gets it wrong, the ending is what readers remember more than any other aspect of the plot. So what are the fatals flaws the ruin a novel’s ending?
The fatal flaws that hide in plain sight
The fatal flaws are the beginning and middle of your novel. The purpose of the beginning is to introduce and establish the plot, characters, and the main problem the protagonist faces. The middle takes the beginning and explores and complicates the plot and characters. If you don’t have a strong beginning or middle, their flaws will be reflected in your ending.
The purposed of the ending is to echo points introduced in the beginning and explored in the middle. It’s also supposed to resolve the problems established in the beginning and complicated in the middle. If your beginning or middle falls down on these basic components of story structure, your ending will be not be compelling, meaningful, or memorable.
Flaws in the beginning of the novel
If you haven’t taken the time to establish who your characters are, what their personalities are like, and how those aspects affect the plot, the ending won’t have much meaning. The major characters will seem remote, and readers won’t be invested in them. So their victory in the end will read like a news story. Nice but something that happened to strangers on the other side of the country.
If the beginning doesn’t establish what’s at stake for your protagonist, or the ramifications of achieving or missing his goal, then again the ending is hollow.
Making clear who the characters are and what the stakes of solving or not solving the problem are goes a long way to enriching your ending.
Flaws in the middle of the novel
The middle is the bulk of your novel. You have the space to explore your characters and how they will solve their problem. You also have the space to throw complications in their path as they pursue the problem. An ending won’t be satisfying if the problem is solved too easily. Take the time in the middle to deepen relationships and make the happy solution to the problem less and less possible. Both of those techniques will invest readers in the characters, making them root for their success at the finish.
If you find your ending is boring, hollow, or dissatisfying, reread your novel. The flaws that are ruining your ending are probably staring you in the face.
Here are more tips on writing endings for novels.
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