The End is Only Beginning

Take a look at these endings. Which do you think work best? Notice how different genres have different styles of endings. I'm enjoying tearing books off the shelf and carefully reading the last lines. When I read a book for pleasure I am so immersed in the story, I don't notice how the writer has been leading me along.

1) "Never you mind, honey," she said quietly, reaching under the jacket and carefully straightening out the collar, "Honey, never you mind..." Larry McMurtry, The Last Picture Show.
Listen to the rhythm in that ending! Even if you don't know the characters, their relationship is plain as day. McMurtry is considered "general" fiction, which means essentially, he was writing westerns extremely well, so the "general" public read his books, and he was no longer "genre." Sometimes it's who reads you that defines what genre your book is, not what genre you write!

2) Her hand tightened on his until her finger nails dug into his skin, and she said:
"O.K.,Bert. To hell with her!"
"Goddamn it,that's what I want to hear! Come on, we got each other haven't we? Let's get stinko."
"Yes--let's get stinko."--James M. Cain, Mildred Pierce.
No question that this is one hard-boiled noir mystery, is it? It was written in 1941; hence the slang. I imagine it must have been quite edgy at the time.

3) "As he peered ahead into the great land that stretched before him, the way seemed long. But the sky was bright, and he somehow felt he was headed in the right direction." E.B. White, Stuart Little.
I love how the landscape reflects Stuart's optimism. Setting really is a useful tool for conveying character and mood. This ending also is open to further books. (Remember, if you want to write a sequel, don't end like Hamlet. ) Do you remember how the first Harry Potter book ended with Harry considering how much fun he was going to have with Dudley that summer, teasing him with the threat of magic? Sequel-city.

4) "They would listen to each other's voices and they would breathe each other's breath. And they would wait for that power that would pull them like a chain into whatever came next, into that distant world where broken souls were wrenched out of their histories." Kevin Brockmeier, The Brief History of the Dead.
The end really starts a few sentences back, but I didn't want to spoil the plot if haven't read it. Literary fiction, wouldn't you say? You can really hear that omniscient narrator putting in his two cents. If you write literary fiction, you get more latitude to be introspective. Unfortunately, you probably can't have as many car chases or weapons. Ah, the sacrifices of style!

I've been giving Romances too little attention, so I think I'll head to the used book store and today and grab a few. From what I hear, they tend to have happy endings. Good. Cynicism is over-rated.

The Second Ending!

I am happy to post this next entry in the Ending Challenge---I'd say this writer is taking it to the literary genre:

The door slammed on the squad car and the thing settled under his
weight. She'd kicked him, once in the ribs as he lay bound and his
body had had no give to it but instead felt rubbery and he'd grinned
but only at the cement floor. The car was gone, now. The neighborhood
felt cold to her, ignorant, and she started to cry knowing, in an
hour, two she would find herself wishing she had done much worse.

The First Submission to the Ending Challenge!

Here's the first rewrite, obviously by a mystery-reader with a sense of humor. Keep 'em coming!


The Evil Villain was out cold. Lisa slammed the door, still panting. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed 911. "I have him! The Evil Villain! Come get him! Now!"

"We'll be right there to pick up the body, M'am"

"Body? No, he's still..." but they had hung up.

She could hear grunts and feet dragging across the floor.

Quickly,she slapped duct tape around the door.

Her gun, smeared with his flesh, blood and hair was on the floor.

Lisa heard the rasp of the duct tape beginning to give way.

She picked up the gun, thoughtfully wiped it on her jeans and stood back from the door.

If she heard a siren, he would be taken alive.

If she heard the duct tape breaking, it would be a body.

The door burst open.

Fix this ending, please!

Sharpen your pencil and find an eraser, (metaphorically speaking, of course, since most of you use a computer). For your edification, I have written an ending in need of work. Lots of work. Imagine you are on the final page of a crime novel. The hero has caught the crook and all the loose ends are resolved. This is what you read:

Lisa dialed the phone.
"I have the Evil Villain tied up in my garage. Could you send a patrol car?" she asked.
"Certainly," the operator replied.
Lisa hung up the phone. She looked around and soon found her gun on the ground. She picked it up and put it away. In a few minutes the police arrived and put the Evil Villain in the back
of the car. The Evil Villain glowered at Lisa. Lisa was glad he was heading to prison.

Hmm, not quite right. Maybe if we could end at a more dramatic moment? Let's try this:

Lisa ripped the duct tape with her teeth and slapped it across the Evil Villain's hairy arm. He struggled wildly, sweat pouring off his forehead, but the tape was industrial grade and Lisa had used most of the roll. She picked up her gun where it had fallen during the scuffle and wiped it off.
"Crime is a dirty business," she said to the scowling Evil Villain, "Now you need to clean up your act."

Well, at least something interesting is happening. Maybe we could compress things a bit and still keep all the necessary information? Let's try again:

The Evil Villain glared at Lisa from the backseat as the patrol car sped away. Lisa smiled as she wiped her gun with her handkerchief and carefully put it back in her purse.

All the information is there, something dramatic is happening, but is that as good as it gets? No way! Now it's your turn to have a go at it. Send me your versions and I'll post them.