1. How do I end my story?

2. Things you should NEVER do
“It was all just a dream”
Interrupt as the writer - “Well, that is my story. And I’m done writing it now. Hope you enjoyed reading it!”
Leave it in the middle of a thought. That is not the same as a cliffhanger.
Tie everything up quickly and neatly. You don’t have enough “space” for that in a short story!

3. Circular Structure
Referring back to something you wrote about in the beginning / how you opened your story.
Example: Your story starts with your protagonist walking through the slums of your dystopian city and not noticing the poor people around him / her. Your story can end with the protagonist walking through those same streets but THIS TIME, he / she knows that what they are seeing is really a terrible thing. They have changed, but the setting is the same to highlight that change.

4. Twist!
Something happens that resolves the story in a way the reader wasn’t expecting.
Example: Your character realizes that the food he / she has been eating, provided by the government, really has mood stabilizers in it, and that is why no one has been questioning what the government is doing. More importantly, your character realizes that the fact that he / she cares about this means that the stuff in the food isn’t working!

5. Epiphany
The protagonist realizes something BIG. This is different from a TWIST ending because in a TWIST ending, the readers may know something the protagonist does not. In an EPIPHANY ending, only the protagonist has the realization.
Example: Your protagonist has said goodbye to her boyfriend, thinking they have no future. She boards a plane to move across the country. As she is buckling her seat belt, she realizes how much she LOVES her boyfriend. “Wait, wait!” she yells as she unbuckles her seat belt, “I need off the plane!!” This is an EPIPHANY.

6. Resolution
There is a clear resolution for all characters, or at least your protagonist. It may or may not be happy.
Example: Your protagonist decides to go out in search of another community, and at the end of your story, he or she finds another place, and realizes his / her life will be better there.

7. In your groups
You can talk about the ending of your most recent Independent Reading book. Which of these endings was it? Was it effective?
You can also toss around ideas for what to do with your own story. What ideas do you have for each possible ending?