Have you ever read a novel that you were really enjoying ...
... right up until the ending?
I find it so
frustrating when an author fumbles the ending of their story. I'm waiting for a big payoff or a major confrontation, then it simply doesn't happen. Or I'm expecting the protagonist to come up with some daring way out of a terrible situation ... only for them to get saved by a total coincidence.
For an ending to really work, I think that you need to do two key things:
Give Your Protagonist Agency
Your protagonist (main character) should be the driving force behind the ending, happy or otherwise.
Some writers, having painted their
characters into a corner, save them through a coincidence or even a miracle. This is a deux ex machina ending, from a Greek theatre phrase meaning god from the machine).
Other writers make a more understated mistake, having a minor character save the day while the main character is helpless or standing by.
As a reader, we want the protagonist's character arc to culminate in their victory at the climax of the novel. It feels like being cheated if someone else has that big moment instead.
Deliver the Payoff That Readers Have Been Waiting For
Letting your protagonist win may not be enough. If readers are expecting a particular kind of payoff, you need to deliver on it.
This is where B.A. Paris's Behind Closed Doors (a gripping and chilling domestic thriller) fell down for me. I could ignore any misgivings about the plausibility of some of the plot, but I was really frustrated that the
ending didn't involve any real moment of confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist.
The protagonist wins (I won't spoil the story by saying how), but there's no actual showdown. The way it plays out makes sense in terms of the story, but I was expecting a scene where the protagonist won much more dramatically.
I imagine you can think of stories that you enjoyed ... right up until the ending disappointed you. And the big problem with that is that the ending is the lasting impression we get. It's what everything has been leading up to, so getting it wrong colours our whole impression of the story.
Don't
cheat your reader. Write an ending (a) that your protagonist brings about and (b) that delivers on any major, explosive story moments that the reader is likely to expect.
Happy writing,
Ali
P.S. If you missed last week's blog post, here it is:
Annual Writing Goal Progress in Q3, 2024 (Plus When to Quit a Writing Goal)
