how to end a story ?

[goro goro]

I have a problem which I think could be interesting to some other writers, too. Namely, the ending of a story.

So, you have created some sexual tension and character background in the beginning. You've let your characters do all the exciting things in the main part. They have mind-blowing orgasms.

And then ?

I've only found a handful of stories that have an interesting, good ending. It seems like when the orgasm has happened, the writers lose interest in the story at all. Of course, you should be brief after all is said and done, but mostly the endings are not brief but non-existent.

So, question number one: How do I write a good ending ?

Question number two: Can you recommend stories that have good endings ?

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

I have a problem which I think could be interesting to some other writers, too. Namely, the ending of a story.

So, you have created some sexual tension and character background in the beginning. You've let your characters do all the exciting things in the main part. They have mind-blowing orgasms.

And then ?

I've only found a handful of stories that have an interesting, good ending. It seems like when the orgasm has happened, the writers lose interest in the story at all. Of course, you should be brief after all is said and done, but mostly the endings are not brief but non-existent.

So, question number one: How do I write a good ending ?

Question number two: Can you recommend stories that have good endings ?

Well often it depends on the medium. What makes a novel ending interesting may differ from what makes a short story ending interesting.

Still there are some endings which are transcendent.

a) the visceral ending. An emotional catharsis culminates at the very end. A departure forever, a death, an acceptance of love, something emotional and hard hitting and produces a response in the reader. For this to work though, the emotion must be built up and set in place. The reader must care about the characters to react with the powerful points of their life.

b) the twist ending. This ending goes against expectation. The revelation of a character to not be what he's thought to be, a plot development to not be entirely what has been presented, or a certain character's moral character not entirely to expectation. A good example of multiple twist endings was the movies American Beauty or Fight Club.

c) the creative ending. Just something unique that makes the reader glad to have read the story and doesn't parrot traditional stories. Since the range is so great on what constitutes creative, I can't really explain too much, but creative endings usually are really just creative stories. Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury, anything presented on the Twilight Zone, etc... are good examples of creative endings and stories. But really it includes everything from imaginative fiction to ultra-realism.

d) Happily Ever After. The oldie but sometimes goodie where you just end everything on an ultra happy note where everything is groovy. Warning: This ending can be seen as cliched or overdone if you pull it off wrong. You have to make it so the reader wants the characters to have a happily ever after before granting it to them.


These are mere suggestions of course and the truly best way to understand what makes a good ending is to read authors who are fantastic at writing them. Ray Bradbury is definitely a good choice as he writes mostly short fiction and thus shows remarkable fortitude in strong stories and endings, but you can probably easily find a number of good authors to understand what makes the endings good.

P.S. For an example of a visceral ending on this site, there's my All Hallow's Eve story listed below.

 

[goro goro]

Thanks for the quick answer. You do have some good points.

On a sidenote, all the good endings seem to be found in the non-consent category. I wonder if there are any examples from other categories ?

 

[TheEarl]

I'm crap at endings. I just can't think of a good way to stop most of my stories, which means I usually build towards a happy ending if I can. A bit of a cop-out, but most often the sex is part of the culmination of my stories, so the ending coincides with the sweatiness. It's hard to do much else.

The Earl

 

[Kassiana]

For me, it depends on what the story was about. If it was about having a mind-blowing orgasm, my story may end with one. If, like my story "Identity Crisis," it was about having a somewhat believable relationship start between two unlikely people, I end with musings on the relationship. If it's a parody, it ends with humor.

As for your comment that "all the good endings seem to be in the NC/Reluctance" section, all I can say is that apparently tastes differ. I'm glad you've found endings you like.

 

[Mark James]

The End

When I start writing a story, I never know how it will end. I don't like conclusive endings that suggest a definite end to things between my characters. I tend to like to leave the reader hanging. So, I round out my endings, without putting a kind "The End" stamp on the story.

The kinds of endings that I enjoy most in novels and short stories are the kind where the writer makes you feel that the characters will go on pursuing the natural lines of their lives as they have been written.

I like to feel after I read a novel or a short story, that I had a really great adventure, or heard a really great story, and I'm sad that it's over.

For me, the ending of a piece of writing isn't a time a to wrap up any loose ends that may still be hanging around. I hate writers who try so hard to wrap things up prettily, that they bend the characters and the story line into some kind of bizarre "Twister" like pretzel. That irritates me.

I prefer endings that leave me thinking. I like a writer who leaves me with a resonant ending, an ending that makes me think, geez, now what? But at the same time, there's a definite feeling of conclusion. An example of this might be a character who's a professional thief, gets caught, ends up in jail, and the last scene might show him watching a guard who's careless with his keys. Maybe the character is already thinking of escaping.

That would leave me thinking, so does he escape, or is he doomed to spend the rest of his youth in jail?

I like endings like that. A definite conclusion, but not a forced, "The End" type of validation, which I think serves more to make the writer feel they've "ended" things.

When a novel or short story is well done, the writer makes the reader feel that they're looking through a window into the lives of the characters. So, it doesn't make sense to me that those people would simply "stop" their lives, or "conclude" whatever is happening to them. I like to feel that when I close the book and walk away from that window, the characters will still be going about their lives.

I don't know how much help that was to you, but that's my opinion on endings.

MJ

 

[Guest]

 

[rgraham666]

For me, it depends on the story.

My longer pieces, I usually start the original idea from or near the end. I fill in who the characters are and how they got there.

I like happy endings, cliched or not. We're writing fantasies here and I think fantasies should have happy endings.

One of my longer stories does not have a happy ending, but the main character deserved it.

My 'quick pieces of smut', as I call them, always leave with the promise of more to come. One night stands bore me.

For good endings, hell, just good stories, check out ronde who is listed in my favourites.

 

[obg]

endings

All the ending types mentioned here are valid, but personally I like the endings that leave you thinking about what's happening next. As far as "personal satisfaction" is concerned, I don't need graphic descriptions of sex. A well-contrived situation that leaves you knowing what is happening next, without spelling it out, really gets me going. Leave the "tab-a-into-slot-b" to my imagination.

Remember the classic "Lady and the Tiger"? There's a tiger behind one of three doors. She has to pick one. Tension builds, she picks a door. End of story. I always liked those kind of stories.

My three favorites of the ones I've posted all have similar endings, with some sex in between (I'm not immune to the pleasures of a "stroke" story or segment). The two "d'orr's" stories and one called "remember?".

Sorry, but I'm having a bit of brainfade here and can't figure out how to post a link without losing what I've written in the message.

obg

 

[CharleyH]

I try to tie them back to the beginning, no loose ends. Luce has a list of good ideas.

 

[Green_Gem]

I think stories should have some conclusion, even if it's left with the characters pursuing their lives and the readers forming their own impressions of how that may proceed in the future.

Most of my stories reach some kind of an ending ( not always happily ever endings, I might add) but I still get countless requests for sequels. I never do sequels simply because I think that I could never write a follow up that satisfies all reader expectations. Maybe it's just me, but I've yet to read a book or see a movie that was a sequel and that was as good as the original.

Green_Gem

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I try to tie them back to the beginning, no loose ends. Luce has a list of good ideas.

Yes, I like to do that as well. Circular stories, ultimate Gestalt. Requires some planning, though, and knowing where you're going with the story from the very start.

 

[SensualCealy]

Happily ever after?
The End?
She rode off with her handsome Prince?
any help?
C

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Luc summed it up pretty well.

I wonder what your idea of a good ending is though. I think you might be thinking of the O. Henry ending: the surprise ending that’s kind of like a punch line that suddenly gives meaning to the story or throws everything into a new light. That’s one kind of ending and one kind of story, but after a while they tend to seem gimmicky.

Most good stories are about events that have consequences; that’s what keeps us reading, wanting to know what happens next. We expect a story to tell us something about what these consequences are, even if the actual ending is still ambiguous.

Most porn stories aren’t like that, especially the stories that are no more than sex scenes. They feature casual, zipperless fucks between uninteresting stock characters who come through their experience with no consequences other than feeling “Wow! That was great!” Unless the sex in this kind of story is very hot, the story seems kind of pointless: two people met, they fucked, they left, the end. We look to the ending to provide the point of the story, and if it’s a bad story, we don’t find it. The story just kind of dribbles to a close.

There's also the importance of establishing a sense of closure to a story. You've got to land the plane before you can let the passengers leave, otherwise they just step out into thin air. It's okay to have an intellectually ambiguous ending, but I really think you have to end with a kind of emotional certainty.

---dr.M.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Happily ever after?
The End?
She rode off with her handsome Prince?
any help?
C

My favorite:

They all died in the quicksand.

---dr.M.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

My favorite:

They all died in the quicksand.

---dr.M.

My favourite:

- Or did they?

 

[oggbashan]

The end is the beginning

For most of my stories I know what the ending will be before I start writing.

The outline, if only in my head, includes the beginning, the end, and some diversions on the way. The writing is more about HOW the end is reached than the end itself.

I try to keep the reader in the dark about the ending. I am always aware of the ending and discard anything that doesn't help to move the story from beginning to the predestined ending.

In my two-part story 'Danger! Naked Woman' I tried to make everything relevant. It is a sort of detective story so the clues should be meaningful and all the loose ends should be tied up.

If I have only a vague idea of the ending when I start writing the story either stays incomplete or is not one I am pleased to have written. Some of them I should delete. I keep tham as horrible examples of how I should not do it.

Og

 

[steve w]

Whenever I write a story, I try to have two or three words in my head which sum up the fundamental point of the story in the first place. This ensures I don't veer off into vaguely interesting but pointless side-roads. It's especially important in short stories where you should be as concise as possible.

Examples - "retribution", "fear", "control" and so on.

So the ending would be the time where I feel I have achieved that purpose. Then I stop writing. To continue would be superfluous to the original concept. That might be a happy ending, a sad one, or just hanging, but it's the point where the purpose of the story has been reached, and no further.

 

[goro goro]

Wow.
Thank you all for your input. This has been really inspiring. All these possibilities... It just makes me want to be a better author.

 

[thebullet]

If I'm writing a serial (my usual thing), I try to end each chapter with a phrase or a zinger that catches the reader's attention and makes them look for more.

In my opus Death by Fucking (I know the title sucks - My only excuse is, it was three o'clock in the morning when I posted the first chapter and I was drunk at the time) I ended several of the chapters (including the last which on Lit was chapter 23) with the phrase, "Death by Fucking". Each usage was different than the previous one. The term was coined in chapter 2 to reflect the feelings of the female protagonist about a sexual encounter. But then I used it in several different ways later in the book. My favorite was explaining the extinction of Homo sapiens.

In most of the other chapters of that book (and in most of my other stories), I ended with some kind of punch line to either amuse or surprise the reader (sometimes both) or to tie a string around the story, so to speak.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Wow.
Thank you all for your input. This has been really inspiring. All these possibilities... It just makes me want to be a better author.

goro goro,

This has been a good thread. Thanks for bringing up the subject.

Just a couple add-on thoughts. Many Lit writers have trouble with endings because they aren't writing stories, so much as anecdotes. The difference being a story has a beginning, middle, and end, plus change and often conflict, while an anecdote simply recounts an incident.

In many (most?) Lit stories and anecdotes, the issue is "will they screw" or some variation: when, where, how often, with how many, in how many different ways? But once that's settled, then what?

As for genres with good endings, I've got a hunch very few Romance or non-erotic stories lack some sort of difinitive resolution.

Good luck with your writing.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I write happy endings, 99 times out of a hundred. With the exception of Last fuck Goodbey and the Hobbs place, all my stories have an up ending. That's partly just me, I get to know my characters and want them to have live happily ever after lives, and partly a concious decision on my part, that writing a down ending to an erotic story seems counter productive.

Unlike Oggs, i can't plan in advance on how I end one, as the characters tend to come to life on me and dictate things. Theonly key element is that your ending tie up the loose ends and bring resolution to the core conflict in the story.

I rarely end with a sex scene, and am fond of using an epilogue when the issue seems in doubt.

-Colly

 

[oggbashan]

...Unlike Oggs, i can't plan in advance on how I end one, as the characters tend to come to life on me and dictate things. Theonly key element is that your ending tie up the loose ends and bring resolution to the core conflict in the story...

-Colly

That happens to me too. Either I have to think of another ending, or the ending isn't the ending... or I have to keep writing until I can get to a point where an ending is possible... or I file it away and keep coming back to it.

The last is rarest. If the characters come to live then so does the story. I can plan but when the unexpected happens I have to adapt. My Silverbridge Chronicles started as one story 'The Bridesmaids' Revenge' but the other characters wanted their stories told too. I doubt I'll ever finish writing them.

Og

 

[Colleen Thomas]

That happens to me too. Either I have to think of another ending, or the ending isn't the ending... or I have to keep writing until I can get to a point where an ending is possible... or I file it away and keep coming back to it.

The last is rarest. If the characters come to live then so does the story. I can plan but when the unexpected happens I have to adapt. My Silverbridge Chronicles started as one story 'The Bridesmaids' Revenge' but the other characters wanted their stories told too. I doubt I'll ever finish writing them.

Og

I hope you never do, tis my favorite series on lit

 

[Boxlicker101]

If it's just a stroke story, as most of mine are, I end the story by making it clear that the sex is over, at least for that day. On my longer stories, like "Karen's Birthday", I stretch the ending out enough to let it be known that the story is over and the characters are going to resume their usual lives. If I know there is going to be a sequel, I set it up at the end of the first story. I have never written a surprise ending and I probably never will, at least not here.