Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Ending a story

Does anyone ever have trouble writing the end of a story? Especially a long one?

For the longer stories I've written I've had trouble finding the right words for the last few pages. I never know quite what the right way is to wrap everything up into a neat (or not so neat, as the case may be) little bow.

It's so frustrating to get to the end and not know what the best way is to sign off on all the pages and pages of angst I've just put the reader through. Sometimes I feel like I'm hitting my head against a wall.

Does anyone else share this frustration? Any tips on how to get through it?

~Anna

I can never finish things (which is why I have a million wips and only a handful of finished stories). Even when I get very close to the end, sometimes it's hard to get to the point where you feel like you've done the rest of the story justice.

Unfortunately, I don't have any advice for you, but sometimes it helps to know you're not alone... I printed out a copy of your wip yesterday, btw, and I read some of it while stranded in the airport this morning, and will hopefully finish it tomorrow when I fly out again. Maybe I can come up with some suggestions

Kaylle

Ending is hard... you want to wrap up the plot, and make it emotionally satisfying. And the ending (last scene, last image, last sentence) is what people will remember -- so, what's the main point of your story? Love conquers all? Keep on truckin'? <g> Try to find a way to re-enforce that theme.

You can also try to bring things full-circle -- if the beginning was alt-Clark being all lonely in an empty apartment, the ending might be alt-Clark and Lois in an apartment brimming with light and warmth.

Sometimes it helps to sort of "zoom out" with your narrative camera -- you've been showing every detail in the conclusion of the story. The last few sentences/paras can be a little more pulled back, generalizing instead of focusing on details. Show the big picture (which can fit with the full-circle thing above).

If that makes any sense

Apart from Beginnings and Middles, Endings are definitely the hardest part to write

PJ

I don't always find endings hard, but I'm finding my current WIP very difficult to bring to a close. I think it's sometimes the level of complexity that makes it hard - you want to make sure you've tied up all the loose ends, and if it's a long story, chances are that there's a lot of loose ends! The trick, I think, is not to try too hard to make everything neat and tidy. A few loose ends are permissible; even desirable. Life isn't sewn up into neat and tidy packages, so why should your story be any different? As Pam says, it often works better to pull the camera lens back a bit and take the long view - but the trick then is to find a smooth segue from the nitty-gritty of the story into your winding-up summation. Get it wrong, and your reader feels like you hurried to a conclusion before they were ready for it. Get it right, and your reader gets that warm glow of satisfaction that comes from finishing a really good story.

I think I'm writing this to myself as much as to you, Anna! Here's hoping I can take my own advice, and best of luck with your story.

Yvonne

Endings are always the hardest part of a story for me. Always have been. Fortunately, although I usually spend half the story fretting about it, by the time I actually reach the end something usually pops into place in my head just in the nick of time. Sometimes it's been pretty close though.

So, unfortunately, haven't got much to offer in the way of suggestions.

But you definitely aren't the only one.

LabRat

Actually, endings are quite easy. All you need is a large, catastrophic explosion.

Tank (who has also found the words 'the end' seem to work well also)

Thanks to everyone who replied with similar experiences and helpful advice (especially Tank :rolleyes: ). I did finish the story, but we'll see what my BRs say about how I did it.

I would add that Kaylle and Tank should get together to create some whole stories, but I have a feeling I wouldn't like how that would turn out.

If anyone else has any more adivce/woes, keep on posting them here.

~Anna

Anna, I don't think you have anything to worry about! I love the way you ended your story.

But, I don't really have any advice. I never feel like I can write a good ending to longer stories. It always feels like I get frustrated wtih the story and just slap on an ending. So I spent all that time on the first 100+ pages and the last 5-6 are just cliche and boring and too fast. So, I guess, maybe I am not the person to answer this question.

I always have trouble with endings. Sometimes it's trying to wrap up all the loose ends. Sometimes it's an issue of how to get everyone out of the impossible situation I've created. And other times it's just me not being able to escape cliche and use those perfect last words that I know are floating somewhere out there just beyond my reach.

My best advice is to just sit away from your computer with a notepad and brainstorm. I find when I'm away from the actual story and in a comfy chair, ideas come to me more easily than if I'm just crouched over the keyboard staring at the blinking cursor.

I'm the kind who comes up with a situation for the heroes... and then doesn't know how to get them out of it So I'm forced to come up with ways to work things out, and the solutions look forced, and the writing starts looking forced too :wsad: I've only managed to finish two long stories, and with both I got the feeling that they started well and started getting worse as they went on.

I think the way to solve this problem is to think everything through *before* your writing speed (or your desire to post) catches up. (Something I never do, and end up hitting my head against the wall like that

See ya,
AnnaBtG. (who thinks Tank has a couple of good points )