The ending

"Wasting words are like wasting a meaningful life. It's like a sickness. You fill the words with lies and poison. At the end it just takes away all the meaningful words ."

I know that people often have problems with the ending and all I can say is that it is normal, and that I will tell about how I end my stories.
   A lot of authors actually start with the ending so they know what they are trying to reach. Other people start in the middle. There's no rule that tells you that you need to start from the beginning.
   Personally I actually start my stories at the beginning and continue them from there. Sometimes I write parts that I really want in the story that doesn't really fit right at the moment when I write it. It often ends up with me not using them, just because it doesn't fit in to the story anymore. For each chapter it changes, the story and the storyline. You should almost be worried if it doesn't. Or you have planned the whole book really well.
   When I was around 10/11 or something and started to write I didn't even have chapters. Because, I was so bad at ending them so they just sort of continued for a forever and it was just random stuff all the way. I... I just couldn't write back then. Then I realized that I needed chapters, and an ending to the stories. I couldn't continue on forever with just the most random stuff ever. I needed more structure.

If you are reading this, I'm sure that you have chapters. Or something that reminds you of chapters, at least.

   Anyway, as you know chapters are different in length, like books. Some are long and some are short. As I continued my own writing--journey I started to see a pattern. The best authors (not the best--selling ones now) didn't often write books on 1000 pages. They wrote books on 300-500 pages, give or take some hundred, and filled those pages with all the words we readers come to love. They chose their words thoughtfully. They didn't waste the words and didn't just try to fill the pages with unnecessary words, like beginners do. As I write this I feel like a hypocrite, believe me. Because I still waste the words sometimes. Everyone do once in a while, I would like to believe. Even the best authors we look up to and admire, and want to be exactly like them -- but not, you know? We all want to create something new and something that makes us as special as them. Wasting the words is one of the things all of us need to better, I think, and that's why all authors proofreads before they contact the publishers. We read our books again and again, often after putting them on ice for a while so you can look at it with "new eyes".

   The thing with ending something is that people usually don't like endings. People sometimes waste the words just because they don't want it do end. People don't do it on purpose, it just happens. Personally I really like the endings. It's really fun to end something and then start to read it again after a while and follow the character/s through their/s journey. And, it almost feels like seeing a baby grow. (Probably joking, I don't have children and have never seen a child grow up. I have no idea about how that feels.) The character always changes. They are a different person from who they were at the beginning. They always are. At least in the sort of books I read. I don't know how it works in thriller--books or detective--books, though...

Authors often like to end a chapter/book with a cliffhanger, and that's a really good way, because the reader continues reading the book.
 

   You usually ends the chapter or the book with something that round the whole thing off. If it is more than one book you could end it with a cliffhanger so the reader expects a lot for the next book, or you could end it with something that feels like an ending. With a kiss, smile, promise or something nice that gives the reader an... ending. 

   The last piece I wrote in the first book in the trilogy I have put on ice for now is;
   "I remember the dusk. The dusk I looked at when Victor first arrived. I had asked myself if it was the end, if I would ever get to meet Dominick again. If our little quartet would make it out of this, or if it really was the end for us. I realize now that it was only a beginning, not our end. Our ending is far from near." 
   I chose to end it like that. I have no idea if it was a good ending or not. It's like a little cliffhanger but still a cozy ending that probably could drive some readers crazy. I ended the second book with a cliffhanger, however.
   There's a lot of different sort of endings. Just cut it off where you like it, that's probably the best thing I can say. It's hard to describe an ending, and a lot of people just train and train on cut chapters and end books. After a while you just know where to end something. But, whatever you do: DO NOT END A BOOK TOO ABRUPT! (Cliffhangers are okay, but too abrupt cliffhangers aren't good at all.) Seriously, how fun it may be it's still pretty bad. The readers will probably get a little mad at you and the risk that you lose readers could be big. Not all people read and if you end a book too abrupt it could be a "disappointment".
   How you end a chapter isn't as important as how you end a book, but still important. Chapters are different in length, books too, remember that. Sometimes it's interesting to read a short chapter. And when you read a "short" book you may see that it was better than the one on 800 pages you loved.
   Trust your guts and end the chapter/the book where it feels right. It's often the best way, at least until you start proofreading and maybe come up with a better idea to end the book, which is just great.

Have a great day. I hope it works out well for you, whatever you do! :)

-- Selma