Roundup: The End—Putting Your Story to Bed

In our Roundups segment, we’re looking back at all the great posts since the blog started in 2009. We explore posts from our archives as well as other top literary magazines, centered on a certain theme to help you jump-start your week. This week we have posts on story endings.

So you’ve got a great story, but don’t know where to start when it comes to ending it.  Sound familiar? The following expert advice on ending stories will help you find your story’s final landing spot.

From Ploughshares:

• In her recent article “From the Slush Pile: Don’t Leave Me Hanging,” Sarah Banse says, “Stories are not explanations; there should be a certain controlled mystery.”

• In “Oh, Indeed”: What The Wire Taught Me About Poem Endings,” Adrian Matejka contends that many poets “aren’t looking far enough back into the poem or far enough ahead into the narrative to recognize the moment.” 

From Around the Web:

• “Have you ever heard someone read and not been sure when to clap? Those readers need to close the door a little harder,” says Cat Rambo from io9. 

• Laura Miller via Salon thinks “Last lines, like first ones, often suffer from a bad case of Trying Too Hard.”

• “Imitate life, end earlier, and follow the leaders,” says Christi Craig from Write It Sideways. 

• Learn from the best.  Here’s “Famous Last Words: Our 20 Favorite Final Lines in Literature” from Flavorwire. 

 

And this blog post lived happily ever after…

The end.

 

Just kidding, it was all a dream.

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