Today, we’re concluding with the final installment of the Finish Your Book series. Now that you understand WHY a strong finale is so essential to your novel’s success, HOW to deliver one, as well as the top CLICHÉS to avoid, let’s wrap this up with strategies that are sure to have your next release flying off the shelves!
Here are 5 conclusions that will have readers screaming for a sequel:
1. The not so perfect happily-ever-after
The mystery’s solved—but something’s not quite right. The couple is happy together—but they’ve got more growing to do. A slightly off-kilter ending can be surprisingly satisfying. And imperfect people feel relatable. Leave your story with a few frazzled edges, and your readers will be tempted to tug at those strings to find out what’s next.
2. The complete package
Give your reader all the things by making that finale epic! What makes a finale epic? The perfect setup, development, and journey throughout. We’re talking: strong characters, blockbuster worldbuilding, a finale that keeps readers turning pages at 2AM. You want your fans so immersed in the world and the characters that they can’t help but plea for more when it’s done! But it all starts with an epic story.
3. A shocking twist
We covered this in a previous post in the Finish Your Book series. It’s the shocking new mystery, the surprise of a character we all thought was dead. Nobody saw it coming! And that’s exactly what will have us crying: “More, please!” Brainstorm 10 clever twists to your novel’s conclusion, then throw those away and brainstorm 10 more. Give it some thought, and you’ll be bound to come up with something that’ll knock your readers’ socks off.
4. A dynamic cast of characters
When you have dynamic characters with strong voice and unique mannerisms that jump off the page, you can’t go wrong. They can be main characters, side characters, or even an evil villain with a soft underbelly. Make them funny, give them charisma! As long as the characters are intriguing, readers will want to know more about them and follow them wherever they go.
5. A well-done cliffhanger
Now, we warned against the dangers of the “To Be Continued…” cliché here, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sprinkle a few more questions in your reader’s head at the end of your story. To ensure you’re going about this in a satisfying way, run your novel’s conclusion by critique partners, beta readers, and/or a quality editor and get opinions. If the general consensus is negative, revise until your finale feels right.
Conclusion
An entertaining and satisfying finale is the key to your readers’ happiness, as well as an epic release of your next book. Don’t let a poorly developed conclusion sink your sequel’s ship! Take the time to give your readers the ending they didn’t even know they needed, and they’ll reward you handsomely. Still struggling with believing you’ve got what it takes to get to the end of that novel? Up next, we’ll see if we can give your confidence a boost—in 5 simple steps—as we dig into the Aspiration Series.