How to write the end of the story – Effective Book Endings

Literature is full of different book endings.

Explaining how to write the ending of a book is a tricky business.

Getting this step of the creative process wrong can ruin your book for many readers.

A wonderful story with an unsuitable ending can make the reader feel as if they have wasted their time.

Unfortunately, we sometimes forget all the hours of joy and only remember the bitter taste the book left in our mouths.

In this article you will discover how to write the end of your story.

Thanks to this list of effective book endings you will finally get a clearer view of the different endings that writers use all the time.

I am sure it will help you find the perfect one for you.

Types of Unforgettable Book Endings

Emotional ending

This ending is the one that makes you cry, in simple terms.

It may be that you cry with happiness but this is often not the case.

This is the ending that has fun playing with your heart and breaking it into a thousand pieces using a tennis racket.

Personally, I love a good book that manages to move me until the last page but it is not for everyone.

Above all, it is not for every book; you, as a writer, have to be able to understand whether it is the most suitable for the manuscript you are writing.

These endings have a lot of power, if done well, they can help your book climb the charts in no time.

Cliffhanger ending

This ending is probably the most dangerous for a writer.

If it goes wrong, not only will readers dislike the book, they will hate you and all your ancestors.

I wish I could say I was joking, but I too am familiar with the anger that such an ending is capable of unleashing.

These endings are the ones that make you get to the point where you believe everything is going to be OK and then BAM!, all your dreams are destroyed.

The ending with surprise is at its best in series.

It will intrigue the readers leading them to read the next book and not make them angry because they will still expect the happy ending in the next book.

This ending was mastered to an amazing degree in the second book of ‘The Cruel Prince‘.

In fact, the ending not only leaves you breathless, but also fills you with emotion (and bad words) and the only thing you have to do is open the third book.

With single books, on the other hand, it works less well and is often hated, despite which there are some (crazy) readers who appreciate it if it is done well.

Happy ending

The happily ever after.

This is the most well-known ending in the world.

Here the characters have achieved their goal, have overcome the obstacle and are exactly where they want to be.

Everything is concluded and now the happy reader can enjoy the party together with the characters.

No regrets in sight, only happy vibes.

Climax ending

This kind of ending leaves you with a dry mouth.

It does not give you overtly negative feelings but after closing the book with a dissatisfied face you find yourself looking at the wall for 10 minutes.

These books show you a great climax, a war, a battle, a discovery, and then the book ends there.

As soon as the problem is solved the book puts an end to the climax.

The climax is a very important part of your book but that is not what will give the reader satisfaction.

The reader is not so much interested in winning or losing as in the feelings it causes.

At the end of the book the reader wants to be with the protagonists for a while, to say goodbye, to have a sense of what has just happened and to be able to say goodbye.

Telling what happens after the climax is extremely important to give the reader closure and not leave them searching for missing pages.

Complete Ending

This ending is used in conjunction with the other types of endings.

In this ending simply all questions are answered.

The reader is satisfied because every road that was opened at the beginning of the book has been closed and explained.

Here all the characters are important and even the background characters have their own closure. It is a much-loved ending for readers and is hard to fault.

Ending with epilogue

These endings are often found in fantasy and novels.

In novels they are often dedicated to the future of the main couple, it is a bit of a treat for the readers.

Despite the book being finished they can see if the couple survived months or even years later.

In fantasy, especially in series, it is done to give a real sense of closure.

Giving only one ending without saying how the characters’ lives will continue might lead the reader to want more.

That’s what epilogues are for, they give the assurance that all has gone well (or badly) and the reader can finally move on with his or her life.

Circular Ending

The circular ending, as the name suggests, takes you back to where you started.

If the book starts in a forest it will end in a forest.

If it starts in a school, the ending will happen there.

Was the protagonist looking at the sky at the beginning of the book? She will do the same thing at the end.

The only thing that will change between those two moments will be the growth of the characters.

They will have new awareness, they will know themselves and their surroundings better. They will be better (or worse, depending on your purpose) people.

This type of book is very satisfying for the reader. Because besides having each story explained and closed, at the end it has a sense of familiarity of character.

The character returns to the comfort of a familiar place and so does the reader with him.

There are many book endings you can use, it is up to you to figure out the most suitable depending on the story.

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