Okay. You’re working on a project. It could be a short story. It could be a novel. It could be a haiku. Now, for a haiku, it’s easier to answer this question. Three lines. You’re done. But how do you, personally, decide how to end a story? I’ve heard of (and used) a number of techniques so far. Shooting for that final dramatic line or quip of dialogue that sews everything together and trying to know by that “gut feeling” when you’ve found it. Or starting out a story by already knowing what your last line is going to be, and so the story vaguely steers itself in that direction, using those final words as a guiding star for the last few scenes. Maybe that last sentence is what gave you the idea for the whole story in the first place. At other times, I had a certain word count that I aimed for, and so when I neared it, I tried to place the action in a way that it would naturally end near where I wanted it to. Oddly enough, I seem to have a decent inner word-count-track, kinda like some people have that inner clock so they always know what time of day it is without needing to look. With the flexible structure I use to plan out a novel before actually writing it, I generally know the swells and dips of the plot and can divide it up into portions of particular lengths, with a feel for what and how many scenes should be a part of each.
Too mechanical an approach for some? Is it more touch and go for you? Oh, and have you ever finished a story that ended on a really bad note for you, or one that gives you no sense of fulfillment or completion? Tell me about that time.
I see that smile.
*waves* Hey. Sorry I haven’t been around lately.
Thus far, I almost always have a climax (or “Battle,” depending on what story structure model you prefer) in mind when I start a story, whether a short story or a longer project. Then, I think of everything that would need to happen to lead up to the climax. Kinda like . . . plotting in reverse, I guess. If I just start writing with a fun beginning in mind, things never go anywhere.