5 Tips for a Killer Ending

Most readers want a resolution, an ending to satisfy their need to see that everything worked out. That’s one way to go. Or you can go a different route.

Who can forget movies like Psycho, where we thought Mrs. Bates was the killer only to discover it was Norman dressed up as his mother.  His mother’s skeleton propped up in a rocking chair in the window.  Or Seven, one of my all time favorite movies, when Kevin Spacey’s character set up the perfect surprise ending for Brad Pitt’s character– his wife’s head in a box in the desert!

5 Tips for a Killer Ending

5.  Even when writing a series each book must stand alone.  It is not fair to force the reader to buy the next book in the series to find out what happened after the end of book one.  That being said, wrap up the plot threads in a nice little bow.  Leave no unanswered questions with the clues you’ve set forth in the story.  No plot holes, please.

4.  Don’t end prematurely! The crime should be solved, the world saved, the monster killed or tamed. And the romance flourished into a relationship, or the couple decided to remain “just friends”. You cannot stop in the middle of the action or romance, and you can’t just jump to the end out-of-the-blue. The plot must flow nicely to the end, like water trickling down a rock waterfall and into a lagoon.  Don’t end the story until it reaches the lagoon. Sometimes we have a fear of where to end so we jump right to it. Resist that urge.

Obviously, after your climax the story should wrap up fairly quickly.  The reader has already experienced catharsis (if you’ve written it properly) and doesn’t want to hang around for too much longer.  Don’t make them.

3. You characters must overcome their major flaw that you showed at the beginning of the story.  They don’t have to overcome all of their flaws, but a transformation must take place.  The average Joe found the strength to defeat the dragon.  The cat burglar has seen the error of her ways 🙂 , etc…

2. Not all endings are neat and tidy.  And they don’t have to be.  Even if your ending disappoints some readers, it’s fine, as long as you end the book enforcing your underlying message, or showing where your characters’ lives are at that point in time.  There’s an urge to want to set-up the sequel.  Don’t do this.  You can hint at it.  For instance…

“As she held the remnants of her late husband’s sweater, she knew her life would never be the same again.  For now, though, she must find a way to live without him.  His touch, his smell, the love they once shared.”  Blah, blah, blah. (feel free to use that if you want, I just threw it out there.)

You’ve wrapped up one story, but left the reader wondering what choices she might make or how she might cope with the loss of her husband if there is a sequel. If there isn’t a sequel, you still have a stand-alone novel, one with all the plot threads tied. You don’t need to show her dancing at a nightclub surrounded by friends. Be true to the story, wherever it leads.

1. There must be a balance between giving the reader a satisfactory ending and making it unique enough so the reader can’t predict every bit of dialogue. Surprise the reader with your ending. The best endings, for me, have a twist I never saw coming. That jaw dropping, Oh-my-God moment. But also, you want the reader to feel that the book couldn’t end any other way. The twist naturally flowed from the storyline, hidden in the weeds of other clues and prompts.

A lot of times I think about my ending twist before I even start writing. This helps me drop little hints along the way. There’s nothing worse than an ending where the author never even gave you chance of figuring out.  The twist should be shocking, in thrillers. It should be unexpected, but when the reader looks back at the rest of the story they say, “Right!  Damn, I should’ve seen that!”

Now, I know everyone can think of at least one book that went against these rules. As writers we must first know the rules before we break them, as Stephen King says. However, if you are writing a debut novel no one is going to know that you understand the rules unless you show them you do.  Therefore, it’s best to stick with what works.  You can always get more creative with your next novel, once you have a readership.

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5 Elements of Thriller Writing

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