Writing Tip — 23

The End of your story is where you tie up all the loose ends, including the major conflict you introduced in the beginning. Don’t leave any plot points hanging when you reach the end. Don’t forget, the reader has spent their time reading the book and if you leave loose ends, they will not be happy and if you expect reviews, they won’t be favorable.

This section can make or break your book. Go back and make a list of the conflicts facing your protagonist in the beginning and the middle. Make sure you resolve everything along with the climactic conflict. Even if this first book is the beginning of a series, you need to tie up the loose ends, as well as the tie in to the next book.

When dealing with the three parts of your story, having some type of outline or notes to work from will help keep you on track, which leads to less revisions and major rewrites. It’s important that your story has a logical chronological order, so your readers don’t get confused by what happens when. You need to maintain consistency in time as you write the story.

From your opening sentence to your last line, you are making a deal with every potential reader. You agree to give them something enjoyable to read. Don’t let them down.