Further to yesterday's post about revealing opening lines (in terms of revealing character etc), I thought a post on closing lines would be appropriate.
Sometimes the trick with writing is knowing where and when to stop, to know this story has finished and is best ended here. I love endings which leave me wanting to know more (but knowing the writer is almost certainly right to finish where they have). Punchlines can make wonderful endings.
For example, this is the ending of one of my flash fiction pieces (though it could also make a great opening line).
I only wish I could say this time would be the last one where I watched Mother down her third double vodka.
I hope that intrigues you enough to want to know what led up to that finishing sentence. And that is the point of the ending. It should wrap up the story. It can end at another point of change (which can always make a another story! In my case I could write a second story showing Mother's battle with the booze and whether she wins it or not. Note to self: must do that sometime!).
You should feel that when you read the ending, the writer has stopped at the right place, and that no words are superfluous or that the story is dragging on a bit. Mind much the same goes for blog posts and I think that makes a good place to stop!
Sometimes the trick with writing is knowing where and when to stop, to know this story has finished and is best ended here. I love endings which leave me wanting to know more (but knowing the writer is almost certainly right to finish where they have). Punchlines can make wonderful endings.
For example, this is the ending of one of my flash fiction pieces (though it could also make a great opening line).
I only wish I could say this time would be the last one where I watched Mother down her third double vodka.
I hope that intrigues you enough to want to know what led up to that finishing sentence. And that is the point of the ending. It should wrap up the story. It can end at another point of change (which can always make a another story! In my case I could write a second story showing Mother's battle with the booze and whether she wins it or not. Note to self: must do that sometime!).
You should feel that when you read the ending, the writer has stopped at the right place, and that no words are superfluous or that the story is dragging on a bit. Mind much the same goes for blog posts and I think that makes a good place to stop!
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