Endings to stories: don’t make them too long. Once the goal has been reached and the purpose of your story fulfilled, tie off loose ends quickly or simply leave them to your readers’ imaginations. You know the story of Cinderella? It finishes with the heroine riding off into the sunset with her prince. Have you ever wondered what happens to her nasty step-family? Me neither . . . we don’t care, because the story was about Cinderella – the only thing that matters is that good has triumphed over evil and she has her prince!
In the same way authors don’t have to spell out everything to their readers – one sign of a good writer is knowing what can be left out. Allow your readers to sigh in satisfaction as your hero revels in their success at the end of your story – then leave them on that high note as they close the book.
Trust that helps! We go into beginnings and endings of stories in more detail in the Write for a Reason course – do take a look at the course details if you think you could use a bit of extra tuition – I’d love to be able to help you further in your writing. 🙂
Janet