5 Keys to a Satisfying Denouement
Often as writers, we put a lot of our focus on the starting, climax, and middle of a story, and the denouement or falling action may be somewhat of an afterthought. If your experience was like mine, you were kind of taught that the denouement should just be a quick wrap-up that can end the […]
Payoff
I’ve said before that every story should have an emotional payoff. Yet far too often, I read stories where the payoff is weaker than it should be, or it isn’t there at all. If you’re writing genre literature—romance, horror, wonder, comedy, thrillers, and so on—then your readers are paying you to arouse an emotional state, […]
How to End a Novel Well
Today, I want to talk about the ending of your novel or short story. Most new writers don’t have a problem ending their story. After all, if you’re working on a large novel and you’ve spent a year or two of your life working toward the ending, the chances are excellent that you’ve had a long […]
