This is a small treatise on the endings of books that I felt I should write, since I have quite a bit to say on the topic. So this stuff is about the very endings: That is, the last few words. It's nothing to do with the content of the final chapters and such, just about the last paragraph or page or so.
See, I feel that your last paragraph may be the most important one in the whole book. In my opinion, it determines whether or not you come away from the book satisfied or not. Here are some examples of final sentences that make you step away from the book happy with the ending. (If you haven't read the book, don't worry. None of these sentences give away anything of the plot.)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Last Olympian: "And for the first time, I didn't look back."
Ender's Game: "He looked for a long time."
Science Fair: "With a flicker, Sternabite was already gone."
Life, the Universe and Everything: "I've done you before, haven't I?" it said.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: "His scar had not pained him in twenty years. All was well."
A Series of Unfortunate Events, The End: "BLEEP." (Sorry, that's not the real ending -- but this one is too important to write down. It may be the best out of all these endings. Go read the whole series. Right now. I can't recommend it enough.)
These are a few examples. Last sentences are extremely important.
So what makes a good last sentence/paragraph?
Well, to start with, I think that a good ending has to wrap things up. It has to leave the reader with a sense of what the book was about, and that the characters will be okay. (Speaking of which, when I say ending, I mean ending of a series. You probably don't want something like this in the middle of a series -- those endings should be different. They should leave the reader going "Oh my gosh! I have to read the next book!") Anyway, endings. A good last sentence -- the perfect last sentence -- does one of three things.
1) It reveals a twist that you've saved until the very end.
2) It wraps something up that you've been waiting the entire book to find out.
3) It makes you feel that everything is going to be just fine.
A good example of a sentence that reveals a twist is, of course, the end of The End by Lemony Snicket. Please go out and read that, and you will know the perfect last sentence. (Read the whole series first, of course.)
A good example of a sentence -- and indeed, full last page and paragraph -- that wraps something up is the last bit of The Deathly Hallows. It lets you know that the danger is gone and will not return. It also wraps up a certain emnity between certain characters. In short, it wraps things up nicely.
The example of making the reader feel that everything is going to be just fine is either the ending of The Last Olympian or Ender's Game. At the end of The Last Olympian, we realize that Percy is going to be fine because he is no longer tied to Camp Half-Blood -- he can have a life outside of it. We realize that he is going to be happy and, of course, just fine. At the end of Ender's Game, Ender is searching for something, and we know he will never find rest until he finds it. This is not resolved until the very last sentence: "He looked for a long time." In that final sentence, we see that Ender searches for a long time, and he goes through lots of trouble, but in the end, we know how long he searched. That is, the last sentence reassures us that he does, eventually, find what he is looking for. That's the beauty of that last sentence.
I think it's a good plan to figure out your last sentence before you get to the end. That way you can plan for your twist, or know what you're going to wrap up, or do all three things. It's hard to do if you don't plan. Many of the last sentences of our own club members -- such as "That's how I met your mother" and "I haven't seen Lacy, Ray, Zizzle, or Orangetails in a long, long time"already meet the last sentence standards.
So what do you think about your own last sentence? Are you happy with it? Do you need to change it? Have I gone on for too long about last sentences? Let me know! :)
See you on the other side of the glass!
Whatever glass you happen to be behind.
-President Fantasy
See, I feel that your last paragraph may be the most important one in the whole book. In my opinion, it determines whether or not you come away from the book satisfied or not. Here are some examples of final sentences that make you step away from the book happy with the ending. (If you haven't read the book, don't worry. None of these sentences give away anything of the plot.)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Last Olympian: "And for the first time, I didn't look back."
Ender's Game: "He looked for a long time."
Science Fair: "With a flicker, Sternabite was already gone."
Life, the Universe and Everything: "I've done you before, haven't I?" it said.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: "His scar had not pained him in twenty years. All was well."
A Series of Unfortunate Events, The End: "BLEEP." (Sorry, that's not the real ending -- but this one is too important to write down. It may be the best out of all these endings. Go read the whole series. Right now. I can't recommend it enough.)
These are a few examples. Last sentences are extremely important.
So what makes a good last sentence/paragraph?
Well, to start with, I think that a good ending has to wrap things up. It has to leave the reader with a sense of what the book was about, and that the characters will be okay. (Speaking of which, when I say ending, I mean ending of a series. You probably don't want something like this in the middle of a series -- those endings should be different. They should leave the reader going "Oh my gosh! I have to read the next book!") Anyway, endings. A good last sentence -- the perfect last sentence -- does one of three things.
1) It reveals a twist that you've saved until the very end.
2) It wraps something up that you've been waiting the entire book to find out.
3) It makes you feel that everything is going to be just fine.
A good example of a sentence that reveals a twist is, of course, the end of The End by Lemony Snicket. Please go out and read that, and you will know the perfect last sentence. (Read the whole series first, of course.)
A good example of a sentence -- and indeed, full last page and paragraph -- that wraps something up is the last bit of The Deathly Hallows. It lets you know that the danger is gone and will not return. It also wraps up a certain emnity between certain characters. In short, it wraps things up nicely.
The example of making the reader feel that everything is going to be just fine is either the ending of The Last Olympian or Ender's Game. At the end of The Last Olympian, we realize that Percy is going to be fine because he is no longer tied to Camp Half-Blood -- he can have a life outside of it. We realize that he is going to be happy and, of course, just fine. At the end of Ender's Game, Ender is searching for something, and we know he will never find rest until he finds it. This is not resolved until the very last sentence: "He looked for a long time." In that final sentence, we see that Ender searches for a long time, and he goes through lots of trouble, but in the end, we know how long he searched. That is, the last sentence reassures us that he does, eventually, find what he is looking for. That's the beauty of that last sentence.
I think it's a good plan to figure out your last sentence before you get to the end. That way you can plan for your twist, or know what you're going to wrap up, or do all three things. It's hard to do if you don't plan. Many of the last sentences of our own club members -- such as "That's how I met your mother" and "I haven't seen Lacy, Ray, Zizzle, or Orangetails in a long, long time"already meet the last sentence standards.
So what do you think about your own last sentence? Are you happy with it? Do you need to change it? Have I gone on for too long about last sentences? Let me know! :)
See you on the other side of the glass!
Whatever glass you happen to be behind.
-President Fantasy
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