The Writers' Lounge

I've been trying to come up with specific endings that I think are exemplary, and it's difficult. I remember the end of A Prayer for Owen Meany having an impact, but now I can't recall why. I think it was more the last part of the book rather than the ending.

I tend to like endings with big impact, like the end of Franny and Zooey or the end of The Age of Reason - endings that make me go 'coooooooool'

The end of my first novel is a slosh bucket of ooey gooey sentimentality, it makes me gag. I don't even know where that came from - yeah, I kinda do, actually. I was watching a lot of depressing movies at the time and as a subconscious reaction my book veered off into sappyville. The thing is, it sort of... works? It's too squishy for my taste, only I don't know how to come up with essentially the same result minus the squish. Secretly I don't want to change it, oh god. I hate turing into a big ol' softie! Hey, no jokes. I've learned my lesson, though - no more French films while writing!

Nothing I've written here so far addresses any of your specific questions. Obviously a big challenge for me is being concise.

Since my forte has usually been the quickie, my tendency is to rush to the finish line. No one wants their readers to say they're bad in bed, so that's something I'm working on. I let myself shoot my wad, then go back and add all the stuff I need to say to make it right.

So yes, I'd say a successful ending is one that leaves the reader wanting more of you. I guess I could go back to those French films for a moment and say that, while those inevitable ambiguous or sad endings aren't everyone's cup of tea, they almost guarantee that you'll linger over the story. I love the chance to linger a bit with the characters. The same thing can be achieved with an uplifting ending, of course. It's the endings that fairly scream out THE END!!!!!! that are ultimately short on satisfaction. I don't want things so tightly wrapped up that I don't have to spend another moment in the scene.