“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” ― Frank Herbert
A magnetic ending lingers long after the story’s been told. Endings are where things finally begin to make sense. At the end of a scene you’ll know you’ve done well when the reader absolutely must press on. Two kinds of endings are particularly powerful. The zoom-in endings and the zoom-out endings. With the same magnetic appeal of a camera zooming in or out on the image captured in its lens, endings should either bring the reader up close or pull back and provide a wider perspective.
ZOOM-IN endings invites intimacy, emotional contact that draws the reader or listener closer, sometimes uncomfortably close as they get entangled somewhat in the emotional experience.
The reader gets to feel the emotional pulse.
Zoom –in Devices:
- Disclosure in Dialogue: Enacting a dialogue is a great way to move your story forward. But it can also be used to create drama and intensity in your scenes. A dialogue with a surprise element is a great way to end a scene. It zooms the reader’s or listener’s focus in on the speaker and builds suspense for the next scene.
- The Cliffhanger: Cliffhangers leave the reader on the edge, uncertain of the outcome. A character is left in grave danger; an action is cut short at the precipice of an outcome, or an unexpected event alters reality. Draws the reader so deeply into the action that there is very little chance she will put down the book at that point, desperate to go on to find out what happens to her. Cliffhangers trigger a rush of excitement; the blood races, the adrenaline pumps and should be used sparingly.