How to End Your Book

‘It’s not how you finish that matters. It’s how you get there’ – Terry Pratchett ​

It can be really tricky to end a book. All your players are in place and you’re finally ready to write that epic battle scene or gut-wrenching goodbye to a favourite character. But for whatever reason, it just isn’t coming together, that sense of gravity that the ending had in your head just isn’t manifesting, and all your attempts feel forced or fake.  
Worry not! All writers, both old and new, have struggled with their endings. Just keep at it and eventually the pieces will fall into place. Mind you, following a few of the tips below wouldn’t hurt either… 

It Has to Make Sense 
Writers from ancient cultures had it easy, didn’t they? If Homer or Ovid were struggling for an ending, it was perfectly acceptable to write: ‘And then the Gods came down and sorted everything out’. Unfortunately, that kind of deus ex machina wouldn’t really fly today. Readers these days want something more from an ending, and one of the best ways to guarantee that is to make sure it makes sense with what came before. Nobody wants the journey that these characters have been on to feel like it didn’t mean anything. If you’re struggling with your ending, just consider the journey of your characters:  

• What skills have your characters learnt on their journey? How can they be applied to your ending scenario? 
• How have your characters grown? Is there a resolution to the conflict where a character makes/doesn’t make a decision that they otherwise would have done? 

• Would your characters make that decision, even after everything they’ve seen? If not, don’t be afraid to redraft! 

The last thing you want from an ending is for it to feel unfulfilling or a like betrayal of your characters. Remember: a smaller-scale ending filled with character moments might be better that a bombastic finale which doesn’t resolve any particular character arc. 
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It Has to Be an Ending 
Now, there’s no problem with leaving your ending open; a lot of writers do that. The issues arise when your ending isn’t just open, but feels more like a ‘to be continued’. Leaving a few loose ends or plot threads floating around isn’t a bad thing, but if your book ends without its central conflict being resolved, that’s a problem. If you’re writing a series of books with an overarching plot, then obviously you can’t tie everything up at the end of the first book. However, if there isn’t a concrete ending where it feels like significant progress has been made, then that ending will come across as unfulfilling or fake. Remember: if your story doesn’t conclusively end some of the plot points introduced, then your ending will feel unfinished. 
 
Don’t Be Afraid to Re-Draft 
If you’ve decided how a story will end before writing it, then you’ve probably encountered this problem. You can plot out a story piece by piece, blow by blow, and still your ending that was oh-so-perfect a chapter ago now doesn’t work. That’s fine. Writing is a journey, after all, and sometimes you discover interesting things about your characters. However, if your ending doesn’t adapt for these changes then it can leave you feeling underwhelmed. Don’t be afraid to re-draft or re-plan your ending to accommodate for these character developments. Remember: your characters have grown, and your ending should grow with them.