Writer's Strategies to Elaborate the Perfect Ending

By: L. Roschel​

Elaborating the perfect ending to a book is one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of writing. Authors ought to balance closure, emotional impact, and put together the pieces of the puzzle to leave readers satisfied and inspired. Thus, a question that remains is how do they manage to do all this? Well, here are some factors that impact on the author’s choices to plan their vision of an ideal ending:
1. Choosing the Right Type of Ending
Complete Endings:
In this model, writers tie the conclusion back to the beginning, providing a sense of cohesion.
Plot Twist Endings:
A sudden, unexpected, and shocking revelation can leave a lasting impression.
Open Endings:
On the other hand, in this model, readers are invited to speculate about unresolved elements, encouraging deeper thought and engagement.
However, deciding the right type of ending is only one part of an enormous planning and arrangement process. 
2. Emphasizing Emotional Shock
A strong ending evokes emotions such as joy, gratitude, sadness, despair or hope, leaving a lasting impression on readers. The goal should be to create something impactful that stays with the reader for days, weeks or even months. The challenge is to hook them from the beginning, so that they empathize with the story and by the end are shocked to the point of dropping their jaws, satisfied to the point of breaking into a beautiful smile, sad to the point of crying or speculating to the point of recommending it to several people.
3. Thematic Consistency and Avoiding Predictability
Endings should address major conflicts and character arcs, but they must do so while also aligning with the story’s themes. Of course, loose ends can be neatly tied up or left intentionally unresolved, depending on the tone of the narrative. In addition, foreshadowing can help bring previous elements into the present moment, creating a sense of cohesion and depth. However, readers appreciate originality, thus the foreshadowing needs to be implemented carefully, and must not be generic or predictable.
4. Refinement and Revision Many successful endings are not decided in one shot, they are the result of extensive revision. Authors often test their conclusions with "beta" readers and refine based on feedback to ensure clarity, emotional impact, and consistency. After combining these elements, from various reflections, analyses, many drafts, writing and reading, several mind-blowing endings emerge and thanks to this combination we have that desire to read one book after another.