The last few weeks we have seen some big finales: Game of Thrones, Avengers Endgame and, slightly lighter, The Big Bang Theory. With all these big shows and movies finally getting a close, I have decided to discuss why writing a satisfying ending is so important, and how you know when the end should be.

Warning: this blog contains spoilers

Whenever you start watching or reading something like these, the end is inevitable. There’s always an anticipation that you’re getting closer to finishing and whether it will live up to expectations. When you’re writing, you need to make sure that whatever you do has impact and is satisfying.

But how can you make sure it’s a good ending? Is it about tying loose ends? A big climatic moment of plot that makes it all worth it? Or is it a twist that gets people thinking? It can be any of these and more, but one thing that’s important is that you always leave scope for something else to happen, even if it’s just in the minds of readers’ imaginations, and nothing is “too neat” – unless it’s a very happy ending.

With The Luke Bright Series, I have written “the end” four times, metaphorically, with each of my books. I personally love writing big, satisfying endings that lead onto more, and from Atlantic Split and At Liberty To Live, you’ll be familiar with the fact that when things go down, they go down with action!

With Luke’s story, I feel each book has a natural close which brings me onto this next point: how do you know when to end? I initially had five books in The Luke Bright Series, but it didn’t work out so I made it four. I guess it depends on how much content and how many adventures you want to set. J.K. Rowling knew that seven was a special number of books and coincidently the number of years Harry was at school (sort of) so it was fitting to do it that way. For me, four tells everything I need to say. However, there are some shows and movies that keep on going and pass the mark where they could’ve easily ended. I think most people know when their plots become surplus. And if not, their fans definitely will! See when that initial magic dries up or becomes exhausting – that’s when the end is just…natural.

How do you plan for that satisfying end, though? There are writers who always know their ending and those who figure it out along the way. I’m a mix of the two because whilst I always knew the ending, I only discovered that it needed changing around a year ago. Well, slight changing. That was when I watched a film called ‘Stranger Than Fiction‘ which I have mentioned before. When an author is confronted with her main character who is actually alive within the world she lives in. It was after watching that film I realised that the ending needed to be different – not just for me, but for my characters too.

When I did finish writing the first draft of book 4, I did feel like everything had closed up, and though I could imagine more going on in the background (or in the near future) it didn’t feel like it needed to be told as such. However, I did have a dream a year or so later when I got another idea for Luke’s story. That’s when I knew I couldn’t resist keeping his story going – even if it wouldn’t be part of the original four. So keep an eye out once we’re done with these. See what could have happened next. I’ve also gone back to prequels which is a good way to “end” things without ending things. That’s certainly a very popular way of keeping something alive!

However you choose to do it, just make sure it works for you and for characters. But don’t expect everyone to be satisfied with it. There will always be people who don’t understand, don’t agree or find other ways you could’ve done it. But, it’s your story, your characters so you should do what’s right for you and for them. After all, you know it best.

Atlantic Split and At Liberty To Live, the first and second books in The Luke Bright Series are available to purchase NOW! An Undercover Dream – the third book in the series will be released in SUMMER 2019!

Please follow me on my blog and social media links below, and use the links on my website to purchase a copy of each if you have not done so. Don’t forget to leave a review! Thank you once again for taking the time to read this blog post.

N.A.K.