Pondering Endings

Process and questions

Photo by Beth Macdonald on Unsplash

Two threads are at play for this post.

One of the two is my recent read of Eowyn Ivey’s latest work. Last year I posted a ‘close read’ of her The Snow Child.

This one is Black Woods Blue Sky, and I’ll post a close read as soon as the copy I’ve ordered from my fave bookstore comes in for a second read. It’s that good! I returned it to the library with 24 people in line for it, and had to order my own.

The ending of this novel is one of the finest I’ve read in a number of years. And I feel that through these past few years, I’ve read too many with weak endings.

A satisfying and resonant ending is a tough write

I was imagining this post as a how-to. But it’s not that simple. (The first lengthy draft of this post is now tossed after an early morning rueful chuckle of yeah right!)

The second thread generating this post is the reality of my current project… which, as writing projects do, is taking a very different path than any other novel I’ve written.

I don’t outline, but I always have an idea of how the story is going to end. Note that it’s rare that I begin with the end. But before I actually begin to write (that’s key) I do “know.”

And yes, I’ve worked my way through thinking it’ll be one way, and it’s turned a corner and gone another. But still, I begin with end in mind—it’s been the lighthouse in the dark. (Keeping in mind that the lighthouse is what steers one in another direction!)