Session 11- Ending Stories Writers, you are reaching the end of the second bend and putting the final touches on your pieces. Endings are the last words you leave with your reader, and they have the power to bring the whole story together, to bring your whole message to light. In Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White there are all kinds of lessons about friendship and being the best versions of ourselves. At the end there is another big truth. “Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”

As I read this line again and again, I realized that E. B. White wanted his readers of this story to know: that even though good things come along in life, like new friends and happy times, they never quite fill the old holes we have in our hearts. The author’s ending made me go back and rethink the book in an entirely different way. * Teaching point Today I want to teach you that like E. B. White, you can write an ending that leaves your reader with something big in the end. Writers think back to what they most wanted or struggled for in their stories and ask, ‘What is it I want to say to my readers about this struggle— this journey?’ Then they write an ending that shows this.

What I want to tell you today is that just as writers often take time to draft and revise different leads for stories, so, too, they need to draft and revise alternate endings. But when they think about how they’ll end their stories, they don’t think right away about whether they’ll end their stories with dialogue or with a small action or with a thought. Instead, they think first: *What is my story, really about? *What was I reaching toward in my story? *What is it I want to say to my readers about this struggle, this journey?

**Remember my ending from Old Forge and Columbus Day Weekend First Draft ending: This would be a memory I will never forget, great weather, a great view, an awesome place and great company. This will be one of those fond memories I will keep in my mind and in my heart. Old Forge is definitely a place that matters to me. Second Draft ending: I sat on the Adirondack chair soaking up the Old Forge ambiance. Thoughts were rushing through my mind. This place is the best. I know how much I enjoy it here. I hope I get to keep coming back to this place every year.

I have to decide which ending I want to choose and that is what you need to do. 1. I need to ask myself what is my story really about. 2. What point did I want to get across in my story? ** Turn and talk to your partner or partners about how you might revise your ending to show the heart of the story. Link Writers, working on endings is a powerful revision strategy. Whenever you’re revising your stories you can work on the endings. Today I’d like you to think about the ending of your writing piece, but also think about all the strategies we’ve worked on so far. I will be adding this new strategy to our chart: *Don’t simply end stories! Resolve problems, teach lessons, or make changes that tie back to the big meaning of your story.