What are the qualities of a “good” book?

Everyone has different aspects they enjoy when they’re reading, whether it’s humor, worldbuilding, or a tricksy plot. And no novel can (or should!) try to please everyone, that’s just a recipe for a mess!

But there are core components of storytelling we should strive for that are central to resonating with readers. So that when they put our book down they say yes that was satisfying and good.

Today we’re looking at our story’s ending. This is where things (ideally) get wrapped up and we leave the reader with that beautiful feeling of having experienced something great.

The ending is key for a satisfying story.

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Now, the rest of the book is critical as well! It is only on the entire story’s foundation that we can build the satisfying conclusion. If we find ourselves struggling with the endings of our stories, chances are we need to step back and examine the story as a whole.

To look over some key components of writing strong stories, hop on over to the Story Structure 101 series.

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Satisfying Stories: 3 Keys To A Good Ending

1- Fulfill Promises, Answer Questions

Every story should be making promises and raising questions.

Who is the mysterious man in black? Who took the cookies from the cookie jar?

And for promises, we set up certain expectations for readers that our story will be silly or a thriller or there’s going to be some super complex heist happening.

By the end of our story we need to fulfill those promises and answer those questions.

We need to fulfill foreshadowing.

Like Chekhov’s famous writing advice, if we show something as being important in our story then we need to demonstrate that payoff later on. We need to follow up on our hints or the reader will be confused or disappointed- not really what we’re going for!

And we need to make sure the foreshadowing is properly tied in because if the ending seems to come out of the blue (aka by a Deus ex Machina) then it won’t feel earned.

Revising our work can be really helpful here because sometimes we’ve forgotten a clue we dropped in the first draft, or maybe we decided to change the ending and now need to go back and adjust our foreshadowing accordingly.

For further reading, check out Fantastic Foreshadowing: The Secret To Keeping Readers On Their Toes.

We need to fulfill tone.

If our story starts out with fart jokes and slapstick humor, our readers are probably going to be disappointed if it turns into a serious crime drama. That’s not the story they signed on to read!

As we wrap up our story we want to make sure the mood of our story is consistent and fulfills the expectations associated with that particular genre.

We need to fulfill plot.

This is probably the most obvious part of writing a story’s ending!

This is where we make sure that the problem introduced at the beginning of the story is resolved, whether it’s by defeating the big baddie or winning the town cake-baking contest.

The central story conflict needs to be completed at this time.

Now I know, sometimes we are setting up a series and we want readers to want to read them all! Immediately!

However. First things first, we need our readers to love our story- or why would they keep going?

The key is to strike a balance: We can wrap up the major plot of the story while still leaving other plots open, such as winning the battle but knowing the war is ongoing.

For further reading check out Story Structure 101: The Climax.

2- Complete Character Arcs

The character arcs of a story are just as important as the external plot problems. So showing the resolution to these character arcs is important in creating satisfying stories!

Character arcs may look different, but often it includes the individual changing for the better, such as by learning to trust others or learning to have confidence in themselves.

At the conclusion of the story we want to show that progression and success, such as by the character using their new-found confidence to win the day. Our protagonist should play an integral role in the story’s climax and this is the perfect place to showcase their growth.

Again, revisions are a great place to track this and make sure we haven’t forgotten any character dynamics that should be resolved.

3- End On A Good Note

What do you want your reader to be feeling when they put down your book? Should they be smiling? Maybe a little teary? Gasping for breath after that tense conclusion?

There are many personal preferences, genre expectations, and cultural differences that can come into play regarding how a story should end. Many Western storylines have a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending while some non-Western storytelling traditions may be more open to a bittersweet or seemingly unresolved ending.

What end-note are you looking for? What expectations have you set?

Read books in your genre and examine the ways they close out their stories. What does their last scene, paragraph, and line accomplish? What do you want your own story to be like?

This may take experimentation and several tries until we settle on something we feel happy with. Stick with it!

The concluding scene, paragraphs, and the last sentence of our novel are all important pieces of building that last bit of emotion that we will leave our readers with.

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It may take feedback and several revisions to get our endings the way we like them, but it’s a critical part of creating a strong and satisfying story that readers will love.

Happy writing!