Not that I'm going to end any of my stories soon. It's a good idea to have a plan for the ending to prevent stories that fall flat because they go on too long.


The only basic idea i have is the character arc concept which is: Characters have a want and a need. In the beginning of the story the character follows their "want" then eventually through the story realize their need and get their need and thus become a happier person.

An example would be:
A girl wants all the cookies. She steals all the cookies from the other kids, but because she did that she didn't have friends. Once she realised she needs friends she gives all the cookies back and the kids forgive her and be her friends. End.

Okay... how do I apply that to a real story? There's got to be more than just character arc stuff...

Don't focus on the characters when trying to tell a story. That's like focusing on the characters when drawing a comic page; the backgrounds will be left lacking and the page will look less convincing because of it.
You should think about what kind of story you want to tell and then see how your characters fit into it.
For example; a story about death, a story about triumph, a historlical tale that describes a particular event.
All of those will have natural endings. They're nice big, broad canvases that you can write your characters into to play whatever role they need to; but the story isn't dependant on them, they are dependant on the story.

Also, I prefer stories that don't set up an obvious sequel (like the classic "dead villain whose eyes open at the last moment").

I personally know how my stories are going to end before I write them - but that's just how my own writing style's evolved.

I guess the biggest thing you need to think of is: do you want character driven plot, or plot driven characters?

The key is to find the median point between the two - if you have character driven plot you run the risk of having little substance, but a lot of story - all of these large character arcs, with nothing for them to do, they won't live up to the hype. If you have plot drive characters, you run a high risk of having very static archetypal characters.

At any rate, I do believe that the ending will be organic, with characters written well enough - it'll just happen, and you'll know it. If at any point you feel like your forcing your charcaters to do something, it's wrong.

What I do is write character backgrounds in reverse - where they are now, and what happened to them to get them to that point, like

Boy is searching for mother.
Father beats him.
Mother died when he was young.
Boy didn't know his mother died.
Father killer and hid her death.

It doens't have to be narrative, but from their you now have something to build on, that will make the characters much more life-like, and will lead you where they go in the story, as opposed to you leading them.

... Man, I think I was talking in circles and didn't even help you. If that's the case, ignore me and move along. There's nothing to see here. This sin't the post you're looking for.

I love leaving my stories with the option of a sequel. It's ended, I'm never going to make a sequel, but I love making people think there will be. I wrote a book a few years ago for an english project and the entire class read it and loved it (Though they were pissed off at how I ended it) and still pester me for a sequel (Which I sought of did write)

Sometimes, it's good to write the ending first, then work towards it (As I have done in the past). Just remember to read through it before it goes public, so you can check it won't disappoint

I'm a fan of bittersweet endings myself. Nothing ever ends truly happily in the real world, though they have the option of ending in a truly horrific manner. But when your story is all said and done, what do you want the readers to remember about it? The ending should reflect that. It's rare you'll get a person to remember the entire plot, but you definitely want to leave them with something, you just need to decide what that is. Whether this involves death, love, heartbreak, joy, reunions, open secrets...whichever, just be sure to focus it.

THE END

The best way to end a story? By pissing off your readers. Kill their favorite character, and laugh about it.

Obviously, I'm not being serious.

As for my strategy, I prefer knowing where point B is before drawing the line. That way it ends smoother.

Make them think, make them wonder. Make them say, wow. That's the way you end a story. Make something unpredictable happen, make something sad, something happy, make something bittersweet. It's all great, you only get one shoot at an ending.

.: Myxomatosis :.

Definitely leave your ending open to interpretation. Let the readers draw their own conclusions as to whether or not the story's plot was fulfilled. (After all, things aren't always tidied up in a neat little ending in real life like they are in the movies, right?)

~IJ

While I've got one storyline arc, my comic is broken up into short stories that take place all over the time continuum. As it is it's pretty easy for me to do endings.

However, when it comes to the comic's actual finale (if I decide to give it one), everything is just going to explode. I'm lucky in that I've got an Armaggeddon storyline to fall back on in times of boredom and creative ennui. :D