Closing your stories

Jerry Bellune

Jan 1, 2023

Professional writers conclude stories with a bang, a laugh or telling quote.
Bellune

Professional writers conclude stories with a bang, a laugh or telling quote.

Consider the ending long before you get to it.

As soon as you create your opening, consider where this is taking you and your reader and where you want to end up.

Here’s a storytelling opening with a humorous closing.

When Ann Hook and Raymond Caughman tied the knot June 21, 1951, they made a commitment.

For the rest of their lives together they would help someone each day.

Now, 20,698 days — and 20,698 helpful acts — later, they were being honored for their generosity to others.

The story tells how their hometown honored this inspiring couple.

The closing comes from an exchange toward the end of the evening:

One of the lighter moments came when former state Sen. A.J. Dooley had a bit of fun, saying Raymond Caughman was the kind of friend who would get up at 2 a.m. to bail you out of jail.

After Dooley sat down, radio personality Dave Wright asked the audience, “Wonder what A.J. was in jail for?”

You should get your ending down early, preferably as soon as you’ve decided on your opening. Writers’ brains being what they are, this does not always happen.
In this case, the writer (me) discovered the ending in my notes which had been tucked away in a drawer to avoid regurgitating the notes into the story.

You should have several closings in your arsenal.

  1. Quotation closes give one of your sources the last word.
  2. Dramatic closes leave your readers with a bang.
  3. Humorous closes – such as the exchange about a former senator joking about being in jail – leaves your readers with a laugh.

Next: Have fun with your readers

If you're looking for a post-holiday gift for a writer friend — or want to make your own writing more compelling order writing coach Jerry Bellune’s The Art of Compelling Writing, available for $9.99 at Amazon.com. For an autographed copy for you or a friend, mail a check for $15 to him at PO Box 1500, Lexington SC 29071-1500. That will cover S&H costs.

Jerry Bellune is a writing coach and author of “The Art of Compelling Writing, Volume 1.” For a personally autographed copy, send your check to him at PO Box 1500, Lexington SC 29071-1500.