This Can't be the End: How to Know When to Stop Writing
There are three parts of writing that are very difficult to master: where to begin, what should happen in the middle, and when to end it.
Today, I want to talk about when to end your story. I have very little practice with this. Looking through my archives of humiliating drivel (check out yesterday's example here if you missed it), here are the numbers I come up with:
Stories/Novels I have started: 3,462.
Stories/Novels with a middle: 70
Stories/Novels with an ending: 13
So clearly, I have a lot more experience with beginnings than I do anything else.
Despite my relative inexperience, I think I have a pretty good suggestion: end the story when your central conflict has been resolved. This was one of the biggest challenges for me in my first stories, because they rarely had a central conflict. Mostly, I started writing because I came up with a character who interested me, and I wanted to explore their life. The problem with this, of course, if that the only way to end the story is to kill the character, and you can only do that so many times before it gets predictable.
Save yourself the hassle, and go ahead and figure out a plot.
This plot may vary in scale, depending on the genre and scope of the story. Your central conflict can be anything from, "Will Brandon be able to carry the eggs home without breaking any, even though he is mugged, caught in an earthquake, and falls down a flight of stairs?" to "Can the one-eyed princess save her kingdom from a powerful, and very attractive, sorcerer?" When that question has been answered, tie up your loose ends (ha!) and give that sucker the old el fin.
It can be so tempting, when you're attached to your characters and your world, to keep the story going, perhaps even planting seeds for a sequel in there, but take my advice: don't do it.* Your story needs to stand on its own two feet, be self-encapsulated, and feel satisfying to the reader.
* "But Emily!" you protest. "You are such a hypocrite! You love book series! In fact, you're writing a trilogy right freaking now!" Well, calm your outrage, gentle reader. I didn't say the story should be over after one book. I said to tell your story, and when the story is over, end it. It might take five pages to tell, and it might take 26 novels in a series to tell. I put no limits on how long it takes you to resolve the central conflict, I just think that when it is resolved, you should let that be that. BOCTAOE, as always.
I hope you've found this helpful! If you have anything to add or criticize, go ahead and leave me a comment below.
Today, I want to talk about when to end your story. I have very little practice with this. Looking through my archives of humiliating drivel (check out yesterday's example here if you missed it), here are the numbers I come up with:
Stories/Novels I have started: 3,462.
Stories/Novels with a middle: 70
Stories/Novels with an ending: 13
So clearly, I have a lot more experience with beginnings than I do anything else.
Despite my relative inexperience, I think I have a pretty good suggestion: end the story when your central conflict has been resolved. This was one of the biggest challenges for me in my first stories, because they rarely had a central conflict. Mostly, I started writing because I came up with a character who interested me, and I wanted to explore their life. The problem with this, of course, if that the only way to end the story is to kill the character, and you can only do that so many times before it gets predictable.
Save yourself the hassle, and go ahead and figure out a plot.
This plot may vary in scale, depending on the genre and scope of the story. Your central conflict can be anything from, "Will Brandon be able to carry the eggs home without breaking any, even though he is mugged, caught in an earthquake, and falls down a flight of stairs?" to "Can the one-eyed princess save her kingdom from a powerful, and very attractive, sorcerer?" When that question has been answered, tie up your loose ends (ha!) and give that sucker the old el fin.
 |
| I would actually argue for an even shorter line for the "falling action." |
It can be so tempting, when you're attached to your characters and your world, to keep the story going, perhaps even planting seeds for a sequel in there, but take my advice: don't do it.* Your story needs to stand on its own two feet, be self-encapsulated, and feel satisfying to the reader.
* "But Emily!" you protest. "You are such a hypocrite! You love book series! In fact, you're writing a trilogy right freaking now!" Well, calm your outrage, gentle reader. I didn't say the story should be over after one book. I said to tell your story, and when the story is over, end it. It might take five pages to tell, and it might take 26 novels in a series to tell. I put no limits on how long it takes you to resolve the central conflict, I just think that when it is resolved, you should let that be that. BOCTAOE, as always.
I hope you've found this helpful! If you have anything to add or criticize, go ahead and leave me a comment below.
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