Into the Fire

Once again another writer-blogger inspired this post. Becky Miller, aka Rebecca Luella Miller, over at A Christian Worldview of Fiction contemplates escapism, happy endings, and the overall diet of Christian readers. I’ve decided to tackle “endings” in general today.

So to begin . . .

Happy endings: I don’t think “happy” needs too much definition here. Characters solve problems. Hope is evident. The last page produces a smile.

Sad endings: The simple descriptive “sad” means different things to different people, but a sad ending usually indicates something which drives the emotional response to tears or attempts to bring the reader to feel bad about the way things turned out either in the sense of sorrow or injustice perhaps.

Bad endings: Bad endings just don’t work. They either end abruptly, unexpectedly, or finish in a flurry of unacceptable events. With a bad ending the story is essentially ruined. It’s a decisive disappointment how the book concludes. And, yes, it can be disputed among readers, but chances are most readers will identify it as “bad”.

Twist(ed) endings: These are the conclusions which surprise the reader, and this can be in a “You got me!” kind of reaction or a “What?!” kind of moment possibly followed by the novel sailing into the wall across the room. Twists or twisted endings can be good or bad and can produce pleasant or unforeseen responses. I would think an ending with a twist would shoot for the more satisfied reaction of positive surprise as the reader reflects upon the story to seek out or remember the veiled clues. If the negative response is elicited from a reader, chances are the twist method worked ineffectively or failed completely.

Cliffhanger endings: Well, we can all argue about the effectiveness of this choice for endings, usually employed in series novels. To each his own on this method, but I prefer a subtle cliffhanger to a more pronounced unresolved end. It’s a ploy used by television series at season’s end, and it’s often executed in novels with sequels or series possibilities.

Satisfying endings: “Satisfying” can be an arbitrary term. What meets my qualification for a satisfying ending to a story might be in opposition to yours. When I make an assessment of a satisfying ending, I expect it to be realistic, honorable, complete the story, logical, thoughtful, or meaningful. Not always happy, not always sad. Not even always “resolved”. No gimmicks used. To put it simply (and even more whimsically): it just seems right. It works for the story and can be a combination of descriptions.

I think endings need to be as or more effective than the beginning of a story. The ending must offer a valid conclusion to the particular story being told. Realizing that series novels tend to use the cliffhanger choice, I think some authors abuse the method. Leaving a mystery lingering is far more meaningful than choosing to take a reader to the brink of solution and then ending the story.

The “perfect” ending comes when the telling of the story has been justified by its conclusion. Effective endings require a true sense of storytelling. Gimmicks or clever manipulation of a reader don’t necessarily sit well with all readers—at least not with this one. Sometimes these methods seem like a marketing ploy to force the reader into buying future books, and I’ve quit on a couple of series by well known authors because each novel became a setup for the next one when two books should’ve easily been one and so on. I don’t like to be milked for my money.

Your thoughts on endings?

Father, you know the ending from the beginning. We can count on you for the perfect one. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.