How To Write A Perfect Ending: 5 Essential Elements

Learn how to write a perfect story ending with five essential elements that create closure, satisfy readers, and make your story memorable.

‘Nobody reads a book to get to the middle.’ ~Mickey Spillane

Most stories have three main parts: a beginning, a middle, and an ending. The beginning usually takes up about one quarter of the book, the middle takes up about half, and the ending fills the final quarter. This last section is the reader’s reward for staying with the story. It should contain the highest stakes, the most drama, and the answers readers have been waiting for.

I first wrote about creating a gripping read after finishing The Miniaturist, a novel by Jessie Burton. It kept me turning the pages right to the end. I found the same strong pull in books such as Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter, We Never Asked For Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, and Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver.

These novels are very different, but they share one important strength: their authors set up their endings early and deliver them well. Each ending feels earned, satisfying, and hard to forget.

How To Write A Perfect Ending: 5 Essential Elements

Here are five tips, which all of these authors used, that will help you to end a story so that readers will want to read your next book.

1. Narrow your protagonist’s options.

There should be a building sense of the inevitable here. Your protagonist begins to realise that the path to their story goal lies in only one direction – usually the one they have been trying to avoid. Allow your protagonist to try other options and fail. The antagonist is important in this part of the book because they should create obstacles for the protagonist. The antagonist wins most of the conflicts in this part of the book. Until the final one.

2. Make everything worse for your protagonist.

Keep us wondering whether or not your protagonist will achieve their story goal. The worse the story gets and the fewer pages we have left, the more suspense you are able to build. This makes for gripping reading. The perfect ending of your novel should contain fewer sequels (periods of reflection) and more scenes (periods of action).

3. Resolve all story lines.

Plot your novel so that every scene reflects how your story will end. You can do this by planning the ending before you start to write, but you can also work backwards once you have finished writing. The story lines must resolve themselves. The least important story lines usually end soonest. The more important they are, the longer you can keep us in suspense. Don’t introduce any new characters, settings, or sub-plots in the last quarter. Resolve the central conflict. You do not have to provide a happily-ever-after ending, but try to give us some hope.

4. Tie up loose ends.

Try not to leave any of these hanging about. Every question should be addressed, even if you tell us a character will deal with it after the book ends. You can eliminate unnecessary characters to reduce storylines. In a detective story you clear suspects, or add a victim to the murderer’s list that makes the protagonist more determined to catch the killer. If you’ve asked a question that was relevant to the plot, even if it was a red herring, answer it.

5. End on a strong note.

The most important thing is to create a sense that the story has ended. The perfect ending does not need gimmicks. Don’t include quirky twists or trick endings. We like it when we can see that the protagonist’s actions have created the ending because of the choices they have made. (Read about the five basic endings.) If we’re still there at the end, it’s because we are invested in the outcome. You want our final impression of your writing to be positive. As readers, we don’t like to feel as if we have been tricked or cheated. Tip: We also enjoy an ending where an early, seemingly trivial detail plays a part.

The Last Word

A strong ending gives readers a sense that the story is complete. It answers the most important questions and shows how the characters have changed – or not. Use these five elements to write an ending that readers will remember. And hopefully, they will buy your next book.

by Amanda Patterson
© Amanda Patterson

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