Endings of the story: ten to avoid
A logical and satisfying ending is always required to a short story, but how do you make sure yours is fresh and new? One of the ways is to avoid the obvious. Here are some common endings publishers see: Use at your own risk.
And then I woke up.
The ‘Dallas’ tactic. This approach is nothing more than an excuse for people without imagination. Stories must come to a logical conclusion that satisfies the reader and resolves any conflicts. This method does neither.
And then I died.
The ‘Weird Tales’ tactic. He appeared regularly in horror tales during the early part of the last century, until he was overtaken by HP Lovecraft, among others. A diary that ends in a series of nonsensical words like a terror crawling from the afterlife comes to the author was fine the first time, but most editors have seen it too many times.
And I found out that she had been dead the entire time.
The ‘sixth sense’ tactic. This is an old one, which is why people who knew the genre well noticed the twist very early in the M Night Shyamalan movie. An overused variation is for someone to come out of a coffin after a supposedly premature burial. Do not do it; the editor will see it coming from a mile away.
And they called them Adam and Eve.
The “Bible” tactic or, as Michael Moorcock puts it, the Shaggy God stories. If you start with a nuclear holocaust or human settlers on a new planet, make sure you don’t use this ending or the story will be thrown back at you right away. The other trap to avoid is for a computer to become a god. That avenue was new in the 1940s, but these days an editor will laugh out of his chair.
And then I saw the fangs, right before it bit me
The ‘pick up at the singles bar’ tactic. With this exhausted ending, a person visits a bar and is seduced by an interesting pale stranger who turns out to be a vampire, a ghost, a werewolf, or an alien. There are several variations seen today, like same-genre reunions and graphic sex scenes before the reveal, but the stories are all the same and the editors know it.
And then I reached the ‘@! * Who had done me wrong and shot the @ ‘! **.
The gambit ‘Death Wish’ is the technique loved by fans and crazy Michael Winner. It becomes a very boring story unless you can bring style, energy and a unique vision, in which case it would probably be better to try to sell it as a cinematic treatment. There is a long tradition of revenge movies, but in the written word they all seem to be very similar. A variation on this handling is the Charles Atlas tactic, where the weedy nerd turns into a kung fu expert to get revenge on his torturers. Don’t be tempted to use this angle. Editors will know what’s coming.
And the next day I read in the newspaper that he had died.
The ‘I spoke to a ghost’ tactic. This practice appeared frequently in Victorian literature. Usually it is nothing more than an anecdote turned into history. Variations include talking to someone who is later discovered to have been the victim of a plane crash, car accident, or major catastrophe. Editors see a lot of these after a natural disaster, but whatever caused the person’s death, the stories are all the same.
And he was a man in a mask the entire time.
The ‘Scooby-Doo’ tactic. Pretend ghosts are cliché. The whole story generates a sense of supernatural threat, only to reveal a human agency behind it all. Usually you won’t overlook an editor, but if you do, readers will be disappointed and disappointed.
And he was my evil twin; we were separated at birth.
The ‘doppelganger’ tactic. Stephen King had his way in The Dark Half and Dean Koontz achieved a variation by making both twins evil in Shivers, but unless you have his style and wit, you shouldn’t try. Another variation, loved by the romantics among us, is to have the protagonist discover that he is actually the son, daughter, or brother of a wealthy family. This mode is really an illusion on behalf of the writer. You shouldn’t share your daydreams with editors.
I really am a dog / cat / demon / alien.
The “non-human storyteller” tactic is tried and true. That’s the problem. If you leave no clue about the fact, the reader will feel that the ending is an escape. If you leave clues, the reader and your editor will realize that the end is near, unless you are very good at hiding the fact.
Remember, people have been writing stories for a long time. If you’ve read a similar ending in a story or seen it in a movie, you can bet the editor will know it too. There are a limited number of original endings for everyone; make sure yours is one of them.