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As I mentioned in Part 1, a book’s ending always leaves the reader with some kind of question. This is the nature of making a piece of art: not answering questions but opening the reader up to some sort of question, something to ponder. I think that you can do this even if you’re writing romance novels. You may not want to leave the reader wondering which of the two hunky . . .
by Adam G. Fleming
As I mentioned in Part 1, a book’s ending always leaves the reader with some kind of question. This is the nature of making a piece of art: not answering questions but opening the reader up to some sort of question, something to ponder. I think that you can do this even if you’re writing romance novels. You may not want to leave the reader wondering which of the two hunky dudes the main character will end up with (you have to know and understand your genre), but the question might be much more subtle. For example: Is it really worth it to marry for the money? If it’s a tragedy the reader will probably say, “NO, it’s not worth it!” But at least you’ve asked a question.
So, there are promises and resolutions, and there are questions. If you’re writing a series, it’s CRITICAL to leave the book with a cliffhanger. Remember the old Saturday morning, toy-advertising cartoon, “He-Man”? Every episode ended with Skeletor shaking his fist and shouting, “I’ll get you next time, He-Man!” If Skeletor was dead there’d be no sequel. So the cliffhanger is a certain sort of question, which invites the reader to purchase your next book. And let’s be honest, if you’ve said all there is to say about the world you’ve created, there will be no sequel (or no interest in a sequel if you write one). What is there to say about Middle Earth once Frodo has destroyed the One Ring?
My oldest son, who is a university film production student, told me once that if you see a gun in a show it must be fired before the end of the third act. Sure, this is a rule you can break if you know what you’re doing, but don’t wave a gun around and threaten violence and then not give the audience the violence they’re expecting (unless that’s part of your cliffhanger). That’s a promise you have to keep.
On the other hand, Samuell Beckett’s play, “Waiting for Godot” ends without Godot showing up and without ever revealing who Godot is. This existential play is all about asking questions and has very little to do with resolutions at all. Resolution isn’t the point!
You’ll have to use your instinct to some extent, and understand your genre. Something more literary allows more space to leave things open-ended, and something aimed at mainstream consumers requires more resolution (while allowing for cliffhangers to point to the sequel).
Let’s go back to an earlier question: what is there to say about Middle Earth once the ring has been destroyed? There is something called the “denouement” which comes from the French language and means “untying the knot.” This is the part where the author offers conclusions, revelations, or just gives you the bit that says, “And Joe lived happily ever after,” or, “Mary is still working at the diner, and two years after Bob ran away with his secretary, she died suddenly from the influenza epidemic . . .,” etc. It gives people a glimpse at how it turned out for all your main characters. Tolkein did this in Lord of the Rings, too. He doesn’t just stop at Frodo tossing in the ring. Yes, we know it’s all going to be good now, but we like to know just how good it will be! Who will end up married, happy, sad, who are the winners and losers? But don’t forget, leaving some questions unanswered will almost always strengthen your book.
Check out the links here to Part 1: How to end a Book, and Part 3: How to end a Nonfiction Book.
Interested in talking? Contact adam@victoryvision.org for a conversation and there’s a good chance he’ll send you a book after you’ve chatted!
Adam G. Fleming, PCC, has been working in leadership/executive coaching since 2007. He published his first novel in 2012 and his first book on coaching (The Art of Motivational Listening, Entrust Source Publishing) in 2015. He now has 16 titles available on Amazon. He is the CEO and lead ghostwriter for Victory Vision Publishing, Inc.
