Has this happened to you? You’ve found the perfect book, a true page-turner that you can’t put down. Happily you read until you come to the end, and… well, it’s awful, to put it nicely! And it completely ruins the book.
Recently my friend and fellow Humble Fiction Cafe (HFC) writers group member, Linda Lindsey, offered an outstanding class on endings. I couldn’t possibly go into all the details covered at that class, but I wanted to share with you the six common types endings we discussed in Linda’s class.
- Explicit ending – This is the ending that wraps everything up and answers all the questions. This ending will frequently tell what happens to each of the major characters, and is usually very satisfying in its completeness. Particularly well suited for novels (over short stories), when using this ending, it is especially important to watch for plot holes and missing clues. Example: Watership Down by Richard Adams.
- Implicit ending – If you like an ending that is strongly based on interpretation, then you like implicit endings. These endings are more common in short fiction. An example is The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clark.
- Twist ending – As the name implies, this ending is unexpected or twisted. As a writer, everything you’ve led your reader to believe gets thrown out at the end, and is replaced by a new revelation when well done. If done poorly, your reader will feel cheated. The TV show The Twilight Zone was known for it’s twist endings.
- Tie-back ending – This ending ties the end of the story back to clues planted in the beginning. The example provided in the endings class is the short story entitled The Star by Arthur C. Clark, where the story opens with what the main character’s conflict is and ends with why.
- Unresolved ending – In unresolved endings, the main conflicts are left unanswered, such as in The Lady, or the Tiger by Frank R. Stockton. The reader is left to ponder the outcome. Cliffhanger endings would also fall under this category.
- Long view ending – These endings tell what happens to the characters a significant timeframe into the future. An example is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, which ends telling who married whom, who had kids, etc. out into the future.
The other interesting detail I learned about endings is that in most genres, readers expect a happy ending. Exceptions are stories based on true events or horror. In looking over the stories I’ve written, I don’t always end on a happy note. While I don’t want to reveal the ending to Hope and Faith, I am curious to learn your take. Do you prefer stories with happy endings? What is your favorite type ending?
I’m not a big happy ending person. I think I resolve most plot points, but generally at the expense of the main characters innocence or something similar, with a kind of sense that their life will be totally changed from then on (and generally, not in an entirely positive way).
Things that are too cheery and happy just don’t convince me most of the time.
i like endings that have promblems the characters must deal with and that are tragic because life is always tough and challenging and these endings are most realistic
I have a hard time with endings that don’t resolve enough of the conflict or that are too implicit. Recently I read a well-known young adult book and all I could say (or think) when I read the last page was “THAT’S IT?!” Not a good ending to me (I’ll be posting a review to it soon on my WordProverb blog – The book was The Giver by Lois Lowry.)
I So agree with you, Friend.
I just finished watch the Serial of TV, The Story are with Uncompleted Mission of The Main Character.
First, I realy Love the Story, but at the end of the story I’m not Satisfied.
I’ve been trying to figure out what type of ending ends where it started. Help?
It sounds like you are referring to a tie-back ending or circular ending. The one example referenced in this blog post is the short story entitled The Star by Arthur C. Clark. The only other example I’m coming up with now is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, in which the story opens and closes with the same sentence. Does this help?
and is the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini a tie-back ending because it starts off with him looking back and remembering?
It has been a long time now since I read the Kite Runner, but it sounds like that is indeed an example of a tie-back ending. I loved the book!
Thanks for your comment!
I’m fine with all the endings as long as its not too sappy, corny or poorly done. But my favorite’s would have to be, the cliffhanger, the tie back and the long view.
Thanks for your input!
I like more the ending with cliffhangers
The cliffhanger certainly sets up for a good sequel! Thanks for the input!
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Sorry for the delay in responding, somehow I had missed your message. No designer was used – it is a free template from WordPress and I uploaded the header photo at the top. I’m glad you like it. I haven’t been posting regularly – maybe your comments are the encouragement I need to get back to it? Time will tell! Thank you!
Sorry for the delay in responding – this ended up going into my spam. This is a WordPress layout. I like it too. Thanks for your comment.
This page has been really useful to me. Thanks!
My favourite type of ending is longview.
Appreciate the comments!
I’ve just listened to a whole programme on ‘endings.’ I definitely prefer the ‘unresolved’ ‘open to interpretation ‘ ending.
Thanks for your input Maddy.
This is an old post I’m not even sure anyone will respond. But where can I get access to listen to the whole programme on “endings”. I am writing a memoir about a life experience and it has been incomplete for years because I cannot figure out how to end it. I am no writer but have a story to tell – and I feel compelled to put it out. This post has been very helpful. Do stories sometimes blend two types of endings? For example, a twist ending alongside a tie-back ending – to leave a question in the readers mind?
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Thank you for the kind comments. I haven’t been posting to this blog regularly, but perhaps I will pick it up again in the future. This post has certainly been popular. 🙂
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issue and found most people will go along with your views on this web site.
Dean – thanks for the comment.
Hi!
What’s the type of ending in the book ‘ A thousand splendid suns’ ?
Hmmmm.. One of my favorite books but I read it so long ago and I don’t remember the ending. Not sure if that is a sign that my memory is fading (it is), or that I’ve read so many good books since then. But I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that one. I wonder if any other readers might know?
Appreciate your comment.
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Thank you! I’m afraid I haven’t been updating regularly for some time now. Life has a way of getting too busy. But maybe again in the future I can start updating and writing. And I appreciate knowing there are people who follow! Thanks again.
[…] 6 Types of Endings: […]
[…] Sheryl Tuttle talks about 6 Common Endings. Check it out […]
[…] References on Workshop handout:https://sheryltut.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/six-common-types-endings/http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1259602-An-Exercise-Endings-in-Fiction/An-Exercise-Endings-in-Fiction/ […]
Could I have an exact references of ur writing talks about six types of endings. I need it to teach my students. Thanks
[…] first. By knowing what you want the ending to be, you make it easier for yourself to get there. Click here to read up on different types of […]
That’s really helpful !!
I just cannot stand implicit endings and cliffhangers! Unless there will be a follow up film. The majority of the time I half feel like watching a film with an implicit ending is a waste of time as I hadn’t been told the end result
My favorite type of ending is the tie back ending.I prefer this type of resolution because it fixes the problem that already happened.
My favorite type of end ending is twist endings. I prefer this type of resolution because it is unexpected.
My favorite type of ending is twisted ending . I prefer this type of ending because it totally through you off of what you thought it was.
My favorite type of ending is the twist ending. I prefer this type of resolution because it starts out giving clues then goes to a ending that is unexpected or twisted
My favorite type of ending is twist endings. I prefer this type of resolution because you never expect what is going to happen.
my favorite type of ending is tie back ending .i prefer this type of resolution because i like problem and solution.
My favorite type of ending is a long view ending because its going to tell you every thing that is good.
My favorite type of ending is implicit ending. I prefer this type of resolution because I like imagining the end of the story.
My favorite of ending is sad but,I prefer this type resolution because sad stories or movies have a great twist to the ending.
cool. I’m currently using this list as a check list. I’m struggling though to understand what a happy ending would do to a ghost story. Ghost stories are usually unsolved, but I’m trying to figure out what would happen if a ghost story ended happily. What would have been the purpose besides thrill to write a ghost story that can just be swept aside as if it was nothing?
What a great post! It’s clear and concise. It’s everything I needed to know. Thank you!
[…] https://sharpenedpencilediting.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/enterlude-and-exitlude.mp3I would like to thank my very best friend, Samantha Waddington, for suggesting this topic for the final post of my “Back To Basics” blog series! I had a lot of fun; I hope you did too! I would also like to give credit where it’s due and thank Sheryl Tuttle, of https://sheryltut.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/six-common-types-endings/#comment-284. […]
It’s exhausting to find educated folks on this topic, however you sound like you already know what you’re talking about! Thanks