Ending A Story Or Poem | Writing Tips

This may be the biggest questions all writers face when writing a story or poem. How do you end it? If you find yourself asking a similar question, this post is your answer.

How do you end a story? Well, let's start by thinking about the characters in your story. When you write your last few paragraphs, the reader shouldn't have questions about the characters. More importantly, verify that there are no character-impacting events in the last few scenes in your story. At the end, you should only be tying up loose ends to keep the story together. Also note, the very last sentence you write will remain in the reader's mind.

Make your last statement powerful, while also encompassing a common theme or phrase used throughout your story. Try not to put any character names in the last sentence to keep your story formal. As for the ways you can end a story, there are many that work for different types. For example, you can surprise your reader with information they didn't already know from reading your story. Another one is repeating the same sentence you started your book with to keep the pattern flowing. Whichever way you choose to end your story, don't cut it short or be abrupt. Slowly fade into the last sentence and don't rush when you are writing your last paragraphs.

A common way of ending a story or chapter is by using a cliffhanger. A cliffhanger is basically ending text by giving suspense to the reader without closure. This is a way to get your readers intrigued and hopefully waiting for your next sequel.

How do you end a poem? There is no set way to end a poem since poetry is a very diverse form of writing. However, there are tips to make your poem end in a way that leaves readers wanting more. Before I explain further, I would like to give you an example from a poem I wrote last year, called Mi Luna. This is the ending stanza of my poem:

Mi Luna (My Moon),

You glisten in the sky,

Kissing each child goodnight.

Yet you with always stay with me,

In the empty hole in my broken heart.

In the last two lines, I decided to let my readers share emotions with the point of view from this poem. This also has a bit of a surprising ending, and to see that, you would have to read the rest of my poem (which I plan to post soon!). If you would like to see the ending of another poem I posted earlier, click this link. To conclude and truly answer the question "how do you end a poem," my short answer would be to find an ending that matches with the rest of your poem and your writing style.

Thank you for reading! The idea for this blog post comes from my anonymous friend who is a pen2paper member and is now helping me in running this blog. Don't forget to sign up for the Student Writing Features each Sunday by going to the homepage and filling out the form. We would love to see your writing!