"And then a meteor hit the Earth and everyone died. The end." Writing Endings

[BellaLestrange87]

So... endings. They're one of the most important parts of a story (for those of us who actually get there  ) and also one of the most difficult.

 

So... what makes an effective ending? Closure? Leaving it open for a sequel? Killing everyone off and watching as your readers cry? (staring at you, Rose) Having a nice happy ending?

 

What kind of ending do you prefer to read? Happy? Sad? Or a mix of both?

 

What's the most difficult part of writing endings, in your opinion? How tempting is it to give in and be silly like my topic title (that I shamelessly stole from the topic of the near-same name on HPFF)

 

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[1917farmgirl]

I have nothing productive to add to this conversation.  I just had to say that not only is this the best title of a thread EVER, but I've actually considered using this ending at least 46.7 times.

 

My life is sad.

[Stella Blue]

Before I begin, I just want to say that the title of this thread IS, almost exactly, something I've used as the end of a (parody) story.

 

As for what I like in endings, my favorite type of story ending is bittersweet. Or something that just keeps you thinking about the characters long after you finish. Happy endings are nice but they tie up so neatly that I don't find myself still thinking about it later. And sad endings just make me sad. But when it's a little of both it kind of breaks my heart and melts it all at once and maybe that's not healthy but those are my favorite types of endings

 

And honestly, the most difficult part of writing endings for me is just getting there. I'm an abominably slow writer.

[Margaret]

In general, I prefer endings that are neither completely happy nor completely sad. They just feel more realistic. In life, we don't really have one particular day when everything works out or ends horrifically.

 

It also depends quite a lot on the story though. The ending needs to fit with the tone of the rest of the story. It annoys me if a story has shown the main character dealing with major problems and then ends with something going right - they fall in love or the villain is defeated or whatever - and suddenly they forget everything that went wrong during the story. This might work if all the problems are due to the villain's existence or misunderstandings with their boyfriend or girlfriend, but if the villain has killed numerous friends and family members, the fact the villain is now dead or in prison isn't going to make everybody forget the people who died.

 

Yeah, I've gone off on quite a tangent but I guess I'm saying the ending should fit the tone of the rest of the book. A completely happy ending can work for lighter stories, like a story about a 1st year student adjusting to life at Hogwarts or a romance story. A completely disastrous ending can work for a story where the problem is really too big for the characters to deal with effectively.

 

I also like Victoria_anne's comment about the ending giving you a glimpse at how the future will be for the characters.

 

What I find most difficult about endings is just writing the last few sentences. I generally know what I am working towards, but it can be hard to write something that really sounds final but not abrupt.

[Guest Tanda]

Before I begin, I just want to say that the title of this thread IS, almost exactly, something I've used as the end of a (parody) story.

 

I actually thought at first that you made this thread because it does sound like you 

 

Ha ha ha, I also felt the same way!

 

Thanks to Kevin (CTF game at Gryffindor Tower), I had a chance to read Kristin's "And then a meteor hit the Earth and everyone died" story. 

 

 

I prefer endings that are neither completely happy nor completely sad. They just feel more realistic. In life, we don't really have one particular day when everything works out or ends horrifically.

I can understand what you say, Margaret. I remembered your and Leonora's story. 

 

For me, I like bittersweet. Neither completely happy nor completely sad, I agree with Margaret. The sad story exists in RL, but I wish there is always hope, people can rise again.

 

I'll try writing a sad story based on historical events, the people endured the sad things, they wouldn't tell their stories, that were so hard. They  survived difficult times, these are so painful that they can't tell them to the others at all. So we, writers, at least, can write bright things after hard things.

[scooterbug8515]

Endings to me are ambiguous things.  Each ending I've read has it's own unique mark like the stories themselves.

 

Somethings I like a poignant ending that leaves me thinking and reflecting.  Other times I want the happily ever after.  I like good conclusions, great lead offs and I even like the ones that are sad and make me cry.  I even like the questionable endings.  Endings are wonderful and beautiful if done right.  (This is why I generally hate epilogues as 90% of the time they ruin the end/story but I won't go on that rant here.)

 

So I try to reflect my love of endings in my own writing.  I probably tend toward the closing thought/statement.  Like my Rabastan story him getting what he wanted but not in the way he expected, or my Remus one shot where he finally gets what he wants and his friends end up musing over it reflecting the title of the story.  Or even my novel ending with a concluding thought that ties up the story but alludes to there being room for others.  While that is my habit I know I plan to write an ambiguous end to my chaptered fic where you the reader get to decide what happens.  Overall, I don't go for canned ends of one feeling or the other, I try to let the characters and the story dictate the end.  I keep writing till the muse says enough.

[TidalDragon]

I think the kind of ending I like and what makes an ending effective both have the same answer for me - it depends on the story. Most of the endings I haven't liked or have seen as ineffective have suffered from: (1) incongruity with the story as a whole, (2) being too abrupt, or (3) a weak and/or poorly-explained deus ex machina (or in a disaster scenario - all of the foregoing).

 

So what is the most difficult part of writing an ending? For me, obviously, it's getting there But in all seriousness, I usually find that the right tone or mood of the ending is what comes easily to me - what comes harder is the scene and scene length to get that across most effectively. You don't want the ending to be too short, where people's response is "That's it?" or too long where people's response is "It should've ended here...or there...or maybe there." You also don't want the ending to be in the wrong place. Sometimes a story revolves around a team chasing a title for example, but the story isn't really about the title itself so ending on the last play or the immediate post-game is not necessarily the right ending. For me anyway, those are the tough choices and the toughest things to get right even after you've decided.

[WindingArrow]

I just love how you are SPECIFICALLY looking at Rose... Because I would, too. Also, the title. <3

 

I like a variety of endings. Normally happy, but when they need to be sad, they just need to be sad. Most often, I like uncertain or bittersweet endings that leave an opening for a sequel, which is how a lot of my stories end because they all have sequel planned because... My AU is a life eating monster... But aside from that! When writing the ending, I really have to think about what is best for the story- what will make the most sense, what will have the biggest impact on the reader. When I read a good story, it almost always makes me cry regardless of the ending. Tears of happiness, tears of sadness, tears of frustration. My own endings have to make me do the same- at least while writing it. After that, I just cackle.

 

The uncertain endings, though, usually mean there will be a sequel and then that ending depends on how much crap I've already put my poor characters through...

[hedwig1751]

I LOVE happy endings, for a fic (probably fluffy and humourous) that I'm really attached to. But I won't say no to a ton load of angst . If it's a completely angsty story, then obviously it'll have quite a sad ending, which I'm not opposed to either. I'm one of those people who write either REALLY angsty things or REALLY happy and fluffy things, so...yup. But I love reading realistic fics too, since they keep me grounded

[PinsandKneazles]

I like happy, open endings. Just in case I want to write about the characters again, some day

[hotel california]

i think what makes an effective ending very much depends on the story (and perhaps the reader), but i know that, in most cases, i prefer some kind of closure. if it’s meant to be part of a series, then closure in the sense of the specific plot(s) for that book is a-okay with me - i just need finality somehow in most of the things i read. i can’t deny that leaving things open can be really great for more ~poetic~ pieces; however, reading that kind of material tends to be a matter of mood for me, anyway. so it usually works out.

as for the types of endings i prefer to read… a deviation from most of this thread, but i prefer happy ones by a billion miles  the way i’ve always seen it is: life is hard enough, you know? i want happy endings in most of my fiction. but i also want them to be realistically happy. if the characters have suffered the nth degree for the entire book/fic, and the work to make them happy hasn’t been done, but that’s what you get at the end… no thanks. if there’s a few spots of wish fulfillment, though - i mean, i’ll take it, y’know. i can see that as happy and somewhat open-ended for fic writers/friends to discuss how the characters deal with the realistic trauma afterwards (or how they’ve been dealing/dealt with it, depending on how/where it ends). essentially, i tend to either want fluff, or hope that you can get to a good place after shitty things happen.

of course, sometimes i want to read something that ends bittersweetly, or something heavy that doesn’t necessarily have a ‘good’ ending, or i want an ending befitting of a piece regardless of happiness level. i just almost never want to read a sad one, or one where everything goes terribly wrong for the characters i’m rooting for. it sours things for me, honestly. if i wanted to see that, i’d just tune back into my own life 

and the most difficult part of writing endings is Getting There, because otherwise i don’t really have trouble with writing endings!

[HeatAndChills]

Reading? I tend to prefer the classic "happily ever after" ending.

But in my writing, I tend to veer more towards the ambiguous ending. That's largely because I like to recapture the canonical dynamics of my ship (Marcy & Paul from Cabin Fever) in my writing. In the canon, they didn't live very long after their relationship began, which left a huge degree of ambiguity as to whether or not they would've worked as a long term couple. I think that's part of what makes them so fascinating, TBH - their relationship is almost an entirely unexplored mystery that the canon left us all wondering about.

Unlike Cabin Fever, I'm not in the habit of killing my characters off before the end of the story (well, not usually). But I do like to maintain that air of mystique when I come to the end of my stories - leave the reader to imagine for themselves what the future might hold for my characters.

Although, as my headcanon of Paul and Marcy has been fleshed out, I must admit I'm finding myself more drawn towards more conclusive endings for my Marcy & Paul fics. On first watch of the film, you get a fairly inconclusive impression of Marcy & Paul's potential for a long-term couple, but the more I've watched the film, and the more familiar I've become with the characters, it's hard to remain indecisive about what the future could've held for them. I fell like I'm starting to know them so well, I can now reliably predict how well they could've worked together.