How do you usually end your stories?

[TheCrystallineEntity]

Are the endings Tolkien-ish, long, ponderous reflections on the whole story?
Are they Brandon-Sanderson-ish, building up to a big mega-twist in the last ten pages?
Are they somewhere in the middle?

 

[Miseo]

My stories tend to end tragically but bittersweet.

In the story I'm currently working on, a villain protagonist named Zahariah is trying to undo the mistakes he's made (for his own sake, not for others). And although he himself never succeeds in doing it, he opens the door for someone else to. And so he dies, having never been able to protect anyone he loved, never accomplishing any of his goals, never getting a happy ending for himself.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

Mine are usually either a satisfying sort of happy ending, or a 'how could you end it like this?' bittersweet ending.

 

[skip.knox]

I have a grand total of four completed stories. Can't really see a pattern.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

I only have two, so probably don't know what I'm talking about.

 

[Michael K. Eidson]

The stories I've published so far have all been shorter than novel length. I generally ended them when there were no surprises or big secrets left. There might have been unanswered questions, but the answers aren't that important or that interesting.

My WIP, being the first in a planned series of novels, will contain material on which its sequel will be based. Still, the main plotline will have closure, since I'm planning for each book in the series to stand on its own.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

The end of the first two books will be swift, they have sort of endings that promise continuation, while the third in the trilogy will take semi-Tolkienesque bittersweet trip returning a man near-dead to his first love... the final closure of the story's loop, literal and symbolic.

In general I'm out when the story is over... even at the end of the world in X number of books, heh heh.

 

[oenanthe]

um. I have written a couple of dozen short stories and five novels, and there's no pattern.

 

[Penpilot]

A dash of surprise, a part of inevitable, and stirred with choice that's easy and tough at the same time.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I haven't noticed a pattern. I don't finish projects often.

But, everything I've written so far has had a fast-paced, wickedly twisty climax followed by a contemplative chapter-long denouement. Last book's ending was bittersweet-ish (but it kinda needs a sequel, so it's not the END end).

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

Mine just sort of...end, without too much after the climax.

 

[TheCatholicCrow]

[video=youtube_share;B7f_GmvWpl0]https://youtu.be/B7f_GmvWpl0[/video]

 

[TheCatholicCrow]

Just kidding ... it really depends on the story (and genre). I try not to adhere to patterns. A happy ending isn't always the best choice, but if everything ends the same, your readers will already know what to expect (which may not be a good thing if your goal is to keep them guessing ... I think the exception would be romance where it's expected the couple will get together / end up happy)

 

[ChasingSuns]

So far it's been a mix for me. I guess they're usually bittersweet in some way or another, but it all depends. That's for short stories though. Considering that I'm still working on my first novel, I haven't really had a chance to see any patterns there yet

 

[Christopher Michael]

My, general, rule is to give a Happy Ending, but not a Happily Ever After. I've put all of my characters through hell, in a couple cases quite literally. Happily Ever After isn't going to happen when someone's been that damaged.
As for specifics? It depends on what I'm writing.
Is it part of an ongoing series, like the Dresden Files or James Bond books? Not that I've done that yet, but I know what I will do when/if I do. Those books are stand-alones, so I need to end with a completely satisfying conclusion that neatly ties up all the threads.
Is it part of a limited series of novels all dealing with the same story? Like Book 1 of 3, or whatever? That's even easier. Give a satisfying conclusion whilst (for all but the last books) only tying up the minor threads. Leave so many questions open that your readers have to read the next book.
Is it a completely stand-alone novel? Then you need to tie it up completely. No open threads to nag at the reader.

But those are generics. I tend to wrap up a story, not always a book but always a story (no matter how many books that story takes), with the protagonist damaged but victorious. I don't do "bad" endings where the protag loses, or is broken beyond repair, or where absolutely everybody on their side is dead. I have nothing against that type of book, it's just not my interest as a reader or writer.
I do tend to have a love/romantic through-plot that gets wrapped up in the end. I like the layering of struggle that it provides the protagonist- especially when I can have the protag at the point of having to decide between their S.O. and a larger group.

 

[Gryphos]

I've found that my short stories tend to have less happy endings. They usually end on some note of terror or tragedy or something like that. Not sure why, though.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

[video=youtube_share;B7f_GmvWpl0]https://youtu.be/B7f_GmvWpl0[/video]

Not gonna lie, I laughed out loud.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

^All of the characters end up dead at the end of my first book...Yet I still managed to give them a mostly happy ending.

 

[writeshiek33]

I never know but whatever i do I try to to make the ending worthy of has come before. So far 1st story with a twist.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[K.S. Crooks]

I like ending my stories with seeing the characters back in their everyday lives. This includes how the events of the story have changed them and what it may bring in the future.