ending essay story

• Bookfox Academy (All Courses)
• Write Your Best Novel
• How to Write a Splendid Sentence
• Two Weeks to Your Best Children’s Book
• Revision Genius
• The Ultimate Guide to Writing Dialogue
• Your First Bestseller
• Master Your Writing Habits
• Writing Techniques to Transform Your Fiction
• Triangle Method of Character Development
• Children’s Book Editing
• Copy Editing
• Novel Editing
• Short Story Editing
• General Books
• Children’s Books

100 Ways to End a Story (with examples)

But where do you stop? Which sentences are the last sentences?

In this post, we’ll look at 100 ending lines from a diverse group of authors, both novelists and short story writers. We’ll identify how different types of endings contribute to a story. And, ultimately, we’ll determine how the author crafts a sense of satisfaction in their closing phrases.

After collecting many, many endings, the following categories emerged:

Cliffhanger

Normally, writers think of using a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter. But they absolutely can be used at the end of a story or book, for a few reasons:

• Pique the reader’s interest for the next book in the series
• Uses the “in media res” technique to go out on a high point, rather than dribble to a conclusion
• Extend the reader’s imagination beyond the story, so they finish hungry for more, and curious about the future of the storyline. It keeps the story alive, rather than closing it off.

“Lie back, Michael, my sweet.” She nodded briskly at Pauline. “If you’ll secure the strap, Nurse Shepherd, then I think we can begin.”

— Ian McEwan, “Pornography”

“I turned and looked past the neighborhood kids — my playmates — at the two men, the strangers. They were lean and seedy, unshaven, slouching behind the brims of their hats. One of them was chewing a toothpick. I caught their eyes: they’d seen it too.

I threw the first stone.”

— T. C. Boyle, “Rara Avis”

“Then his father walks toward the door stooping slightly and B stands aside to give him room to move. Tomorrow we’ll leave, tomorrow we’ll go back to Mexico City, thinks B joyfully. And then the fight begins.”

– Roberto Bolano, “Last Evenings on Earth”

Whatever you’re ending on, it’s something you want to emphasize, right? So heighten that emphasis with repetition.

Here’s an exercise: take all the examples below and try rewriting them without any repetition. Just say the key word once. Doesn’t have the same ring, does it? In fact, it makes it seem like the middle of the story, just another unremarkable line.

It takes two or three repetitions before there’s a finality to it, like a bell tolling for the conclusion of the story.

“His feet are light and nimble. He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die.”

— Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian

“Big flakes not falling in orderly rows, a dervishing mob that swirls, lifts, goes limp, noiselessly spatters the glass. Snow obscuring the usual view greeting me when I’m up at crazy hours to relieve an old man’s panicked kidneys or just up, up and wondering why, staring at blank, black windows of a hulking building that mirrors the twenty-story bulk of ours, up prowling instead of asleep in the peace. I hope you’re still enjoying, peace I wish upon the entire world, peace I should know better by now than to look for through a window, the peace I listen for beside you in the whispering of our tangled breaths.”

— John Edgar Wideman, “Microstories”

“I imagined the story of a girl made human. I imagined Tallie’s grave, forsaken and remote. I imagined banishing forever those sentiments that she chastened and refined. I imagined everyone I knew sick to the point of death. I imagined a creature even more slow-hearted than myself. I imagined continuing to write in this ledger, here; as though that were life; as though life were not elsewhere.”

— Jim Shepard, “The World to Come”

“Sometimes all humanity strikes me as lovely. I just want to reach out and stroke someone, and say, ‘There, there, it’s all right honey. There, there, there.’”

— Sandra Cisneros, “Never Marry a Mexican”

“That would be the man we’d spare. That would be the man who’d drop to his knees in the mud and, in the cloud of gun smoke, raise his hands in surrender. That would be the man who’d tell us who he was, where he’d come from and why.”

— Will Mackin, “Crossing the River No Name”

“In the desert, in the lightning, in his crumbling duplex, in the field, in the many rooms of night, Wild Turkey wakes up, he wakes up, he wakes up.”

— Arna Bontemps Hemenway “The Fugue”

“Then sometimes I get up and don my robe and go out into our quiet neighborhood looking for a magic thread, a magic sword, a magic horse.”

— Denis Johnson, “The Largesse of the Sea Maiden”

“Your time’s not up. Your time’s not even close to being up.”

— David Means, “The Chair “

Sense of Sound

Good writers understand that sensory details are the lifeblood of fiction. And just as images are crucial ways to end a story (that’s the next section), you can also use sound as a way to dial up or dial down the end of your story.

A crescendo ends a story well because it makes the story’s end feel climatic. While a decrescendo eases you out of the story, giving a sense of closure to the reader. 

If you look at the examples below, especially Jones and Bausch, you see how they use sound as a stand-in for a character — a deceased mother’s footsteps echoing through time, a wife’s domestic duties that make the husband feel estranged from her.

So sound can often a way to wrestle with complex character conflicts.

“And even when the teacher turns me toward the classrooms and I hear what must be the singing and talking of all the children in the world, I can still hear my mother’s footsteps above it all.”

— Edward P. Jones, “The First Day”

“The mastiff’s howl tears through the estate, setting off the usual thousand and twelve strange little circuses that disrupt the science of slavery.”

— Patrick Chamoiseau, “The Old Man Slave and the Mastiff”

“A long silence and then, slowly, applause, soft at first, then waves of it, which on this old recording came across like a pounding rain. I was shivering. There was no question we were under water.”

— Daniel Alarcón, “The Bridge”

“She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of a cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was the hum of bees, the musky odor of pinks filled the air.”

— Kate Chopin, The Awakening

“He shut his eyes. Listened to the small sounds she made in the kitchen, arranging her flowers, running the tap. Mary, he had said. But he could not imagine what he might have found to say if his voice had reached her.”

— Richard Bausch, “Aren’t You Happy for Me?”

Descriptions

When you end a story, you’re helping the reader transition from the world of the story back into the real world. Sometimes that transition is easier if the last lines of the story don’t deal with the main characters, or plot, or themes, but instead talk about the universe of the story.

Namely: description. Try to describe a particular thing in the story which resonates with the main themes of your story. If you’re writing about father/son relationships, then end on the description of your character seeing a father walk with his son.

If you have a character sacrificing everything in the hopes of a big payday, then show that same idea in the animal world, for instance, pelicans divebombing for fish, like the Taylor Antrim example below. 

“They’ve forgotten, or left on purpose, a few things they don’t need, things I hold on to. Pictures the girls drew, shells they picked up at the beach, the last drops of a perfumed shower gel. Shopping lists in the faint, small script that the mother used, on other sheets of paper, to write all about us.”

— Jhumpa Lahiri, “The Boundary”

“His eyes went upward, looking again for some civilizing sign — better yet, for the rectangular peak of his building, like the needle of a compass, the darkness down here, the shadow of his life up there. Friedrich and Lana resting up for tomorrow. Paulette waiting for him posed on all fours in bed. They were trying. He was trying. But above him there was just sky and trees in all directions.”

— David Gilbert, “The Sightseers”

“And in the morning when the sun came up and the colors of the hill and its valley accelerated from gray and brown to red and green to white, the company agent gathered stones for his family and they breakfasted on snow.”

— Jim Crace, “The Prospect from Silver Hills”

“Boom-splash. The pelicans take these kamikaze plunges into the water. The way they hit, not one should survive — but of course they all do. They come up with their beaks full of fish.”

— Taylor Antrim, “Pilgrim Life”

Unspoken Dialogue

Unspoken Dialogue is very similar to a cliffhanger. While a cliffhanger refuses to resolve plot , this Unspoken Dialogue technique refuses to resolve the dialogue .

There’s tension when a character wants to say something, but doesn’t.

If you’re trying to learn how to write good dialogue, it’s always important to remember that characters don’t often say exactly what they’re thinking, or even what they want to say.

Why does this work to conclude a story? Well, it highlights the weakness of the character, how they are not doing what they want to be doing. They are holding back, and perhaps they will regret it later. 

“I wanted to say she’d lied to us all, she’d faked it about the dog, as if it mattered whether the animal spoke, as if love were about the truth, as if he would love her less — and not more — for pretending to talk to a dog.”

— Francine Prose, “Talking Dog”

“Tell more, more, I want to say to Eduardo but do not say because he seems ready to leave. Tell me about Garcilaso and about how things went well for him.”

— Joseph O’Neill, “The Sinking of the Houston”

“They are always very interested to hear that you don’t read music. Once, you almost said— to a sneaky fellow from the Daily News, who was inquiring— you almost turned to him and said Motherfucker I AM music. But a lady does not speak like that, however, and so you did not.”

— Zadie Smith, “Crazy They Call Me”

“She begins to scream, her face turning even redder, you cannot hear or understand what she is saying but you know she hates your father, hates you, hates many, many people. You want to help your father, the man who has only recently come back into your life, clean-shaven and speaking of God, you want to run toward him and defend him and protect him, but now he is holding out his hand to the man again, he has taken off his hat and is holding it out toward the man. The woman is now silent. The man takes the hat, a brand-new fedora with a feather, and puts it on his head. And looks at you, as if for the first time.”

— Justin Bigos, “Fingerprints”

Asking Questions

A question is one of the most popular ways to end a story (look at all the examples below!). I could even add more quite easily, like the question to conclude Margaret Atwood’s book, “Handmaid’s Tale”: “Are there any questions?”

But if you use this technique, I would recommend following these three guidelines:

• Must not have an easy answer
• Must resonate with the main themes of your book
• Must strike an emotional chord (look at the Russel Banks example). 

“But why are you invested in other people’s stories? You too must be unable to fill in the gaps. Can’t you be satisfied with your own dreams?”

— Antonio Tabucchi, “A Riddle”

“And who would she tell her stories to while he was gone? Who would listen?”

— Russel Banks, “My Mother’s Memoirs, My Father’s Lie, and Other True Stories”

“Then in the space of a wet blink, the gap between the trees would close and the mown grass disappear, a violent indigo cloud would cover the sun and history, gross history, daily history, would forget. Is this how it would be?”

— Julian Barnes, “Evermore”

“I imagined John-Jin’s girder underneath me. I wondered, in my rage, if you took that one piece away, would everything fall?”

— Rose Tremain, “John-Jin”

If a blind man could play basketball, surely we…If he had known Doc’s story would it have saved them? He hears himself saying the words. The ball arches from Doc’s fingertips, the miracle of it sinking. Would she have believed any of it?”

— John Edgar Wideman, “Doc’s Story”

“Safer and better to have no freedom, maybe, but no, you wouldn’t say that. The humming stopped when he flicked the light switch by the door. No you wouldn’t say that, would you? In the dark of the hall he could not see his way; he went toward the vague light of the front window with one hand on the wall. No you wouldn’t but what would you say?”

— Madison Smartt Bell, “Witness”

“Who was it that thought up that idea, the idea that had made today better than yesterday? Who loved him enough to think that up? Who loved him more than anyone else in the world loved him?

— George Saunders, “Puppy”

“Where was she now, this Clara? What had become of her, this ardent, hopeful girl in her white dress, surrounded by her family, godparents, friends, that her Bible should end up in a Goodwill bin? Even if she no longer read it, or believed it, she wouldn’t have thrown it away, would she? Had something happened? Ah, girl, where were you?”

— Tobias Wolff, “Bible”

“He reached for the telephone and dialed his home number. ‘Rhona,’ he said in the quaking receiver. ‘Would you like to see the juvenile tuataras? The babies?’”

— Barbara Anderson, “Tuataras”

“But for the other man, who would be watching the night fall around the orange halo of the street lamps with neither longing nor dread, what did the future offer but the comfort of knowing that he would, when it was time for his daughter to carry out her plan of revenge, cooperate with a gentle willingness?”

— Yiyun Li, “A Man Like Him”

You can’t write good fiction without making your characters feel things (and your reader feel things). So here, we see authors ending stories by showing the final arc of their character’s emotions.

Some of these characters have emotional epiphanies, feeling something for the first time. Others have felt it all along but perhaps only now have been able to admit it to themselves. 

But if character arc and character change are essential for stories, it makes sense that their emotional journey would conclude the narrative.

“Even so, I sat there gazing up at the granite outcrops of Spruce Clove streaked in evening gold, I had an almost overpowering sense of being looked at myself, stared at in uncomprehending astonishment by some wild creature standing in the doorway.”

— James Lasdun, “Oh Death”

“I stand here shameless in ways he has never seen me. I am free, afloat, watching somebody else.”

— Bharati Mukherjee, “A Wife’s Story”

“She has done an outrageous thing, but she doesn’t feel guilty. She feels light and peaceful and filled with charity and temporarily without a name.”

— Margaret Atwood, “Hairball”

Paul Harding, who won the Pulitzer Prize for “Tinkers,” said that contrast is the essential technique of music, painting, and storytelling. 

Below, we see contrasts between:

• chill cats and stressed-out humans
• the busyness of day with the solitude of night
• the flowers of love with the chants for the dead. 

When you contrast something, you throw it into higher relief. A happy person doesn’t seem exceptionally happy until you see her side by side with a depressed person.

Contrast offers that extra emphasis — much like repetition — to make the reader feel satisfied that this ending resolves the story.

“She hears a distant siren, the wind in the trees, the bass beat from a passing car. Please, she thinks. Please. She is about to go inside for a flashlight when she hears the familiar bell and then sees the cat slinking up from the dark woods, her manner cool and unaffected.”

— Jill McCorkle, “Magic Words”

“Susanne sat on the couch, surrounded by her family while out in the night, partner to the extraordinary, Roy held a shovel made for digging deeper in the dirt.”

— Samantha Hunt, “The Yellow”

“By day she entertained a constant stream of visitors. At night her father kept vigil beside her bed.”

— Jennifer Haigh, “Paramour”

“Violins and lit candles revolved in the sky. Leo ran forward with flowers outthrust. Around the corner, Salzman, leaning against a wall, chanted prayers for the dead.”

— Bernard Malamud, “The Magic Barrel”

Marcel Proust’s memories brought back by the taste of a madeleine are probably the most famous memories in literature, but stories have always used memory to make readers nostalgic, evoke the senses, and make us feel the bite of time.

When you end a story with memory, it ties the whole story together — past is united with the present.

In some ways, ending a story with a memory is the opposite of a cliffhanger — memory looks at the past, while a cliffhanger anticipates the future.

Memory allows the writer to skip around in time to find the perfect character moment to end the story — which could be much, much earlier in their life, or only a few years back, or only last week.

Perhaps in the character’s current life, there’s no event that perfectly captures the emotion you’re going for, so mine the past for it. 

“I no longer remembered the day we married. Only the day I knew we would, those moments with my heart warm and rapt, the silent promise of the frozen world, the elm chafing in its coat of ice.”

— Karen Brown, “Galatea”

“…She will be secretly glad, relieved that time is passing, that Paris is again becoming nothing more than a word she might see on the cover of a glossy magazine or on a cable travel channel, certainly not a place where she once spent a few breaths of her life, and she will hardly remember the way the Seine sliced the city in half, a radiant curving knife, merciless and perfect.”

— Victoria Lancelotta, “The Anniversary Trip”

“He remembers waking up the morning after they bought the car, seeing it, there in the drive, in the sun, gleaming.”

— Raymond Carver, “Are These Actual Miles”

“Who will remember?”

— Alex Rose, “Ostracon”

“She will see the garden that day and the tears shining in her sister’s large blue eyes and remember her unanswered cry for help.”

— Sheila Kohler, “Magic Man”

“And as for the scar, I’m glad it is not on Nyamekye. Any time I see it I only recall one afternoon when I sat with my chin in my breast before a Mallam came, and after a Mallam went out.”

— Ama Ata Aidoo, “A Gift from Somewhere”

The Epiphany

The epiphany ending is the classic story ending. After everything the character has gone through, what have they learned?

This is the chance to show that the journey has not been in vain, that your characters have changed and learned and grown because of this journey. 

Epiphanies are particularly useful for short stories, rather than novels, because short stories have less runway for plot. So you can’t have a huge murder or birth or world catastrophe solved at the end of a short story (the way most novels do), but you can show the character realizing something about themselves, others, or the world. 

“He closed the door carefully, not slamming it. Clea and I waited an appropriate interval, then turned and clung to each other in a kind of rapture. Understanding, abruptly and at last, just what it takes to be a King. How much, in the end it actually costs.”

— Jonathan Lethem, “The King of Sentences”

“He was shot five or six times, but being such a big man and such a strong man, he lived long enough to recognize the crack of the guns and know that he was dead.”

— Nathan Englander, “The Twenty-Seventh Man”

“Years later, as an adult, I realized that what my little sister had confided to me in a quiet voice in the wind cave was indeed true. Alice really does exist in the world. The March hare, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat— they all really exist.”

— Haruki Murakami, “The Wind Cave”

“— How d’you like my lion? Isn’t he beautiful? He’s made by a Zimbabwean artist, I think the name’s Dube.

— But the foolish interruption becomes revelation. Dumile, in his gaze — distant, lingering, speechless this time — reveals what has overwhelmed them. In this room. The space, the expensive antique chandelier, the consciously simple choice of reed blinds, the carved lion: all are on the same level of impact phenomena undifferentiated, undecipherable. Only the food that fed their hunger was real.”

— Nadine Gordimer, “Comrades”

“Sarah looked at him with an intent, halted expression, as though she were listening to a dialogue no one present was engaged in. Finally she said, “There are robbers. Everything has changed.”

— Joy Williams, “The Farm”

“And that was it. Somehow it didn’t really matter, finding out. Two years earlier, it would have changed my life. But on that day, I suppose the only thing I felt was some small measure of contentment for her: that he had, indeed, come back for her, just like she always said he would. They were different after all, destined to be together. I thanked Allen for bringing her things, watched him ride away on his motorcycle, and went inside to have dinner with my father.”

— Jess Walter, “Mr. Voice”

“And then, as if he had forgotten that she had already moved on to other things, as if we were still sitting across from each other, deep in one of our conversations without beginning, middle, or end, Room wrote that the last thing that had surprised her was that when Ershadi is lying in the grave he’s dug and his eyes finally drift closed and the screen goes black, it isn’t really black at all. If you look closely, you can see the rain falling.”

— Nicole Krauss, “Seeing Ershadi”

“‘No problem,’ the waitress sang, ‘no problem at all,’ replacing the girl’s fork, bending to snatch the soiled one off the floor. Smiling hard but not making eye contact with anyone. When she retreated leaving Richard alone with his son and the crying girl, it occurred to him, with the delayed logic of a dream, that the waitress must have thought he was the bad guy in all this.”

– Emma Cline, “Northeast Regional”

“But I remember you. I remember when we were so close that people couldn’t tell us apart. I remember your parents’ phone number, your neatly folded cutoffs and your constant fear of not being special. I remember when you started claiming that fictive characters are way better than friends, since they are less annoying, more interesting and never die. You stopped returning my calls. When I needed you the most you were nowhere to be found and when I died you started seeing me everywhere. On sidewalks, in shop windows, on balconies. So you decided to write my story. You dress me in cutoffs. You force extreme amounts of apple juice into me. You retell the most painful week of my life as it were a never-ending bachelor party. And it is not until the end. About. Here. That you realize what you’ve done. I’m not bitter, Miro. I’m just dead.”

— Jonas Hassen Khemiri, “As You Would Have Told It to Me (Sort Of) If We Had Known Each other Before You Died”

“It took some time for me to understand that Elida’s body had not been satiated on mine, that she wasn’t purring because she swallowed my heart.”

— Louise Erdrich, “The Big Cat”

“I used to think that all my emotions belonged in the past, to history, but I know that I yearn for the future just like everyone else. Even as life draws to close, I realize that I have never understood myself completely.

But now it certainly is too late to do more, to be more, in this lifetime.”

— Zhang Jie, “An Unfinished Record”

I am born at noon the next day. My mother tells me this is the first thing she did: she checked the clock. I am still attached to her when she looks. We are not yet two when she begins to keep track of me, the seconds I have been alive and then, after she cuts through the cord herself, cleaving my body from hers with a kitchen knife, the seconds I have been on my own.

This is what women do, she says.

By which she means she understands that one day I will leave her too. Lift off the ground, think myself beyond gravity.

—Aria Beth Sloss, “North”

The Unhappy Ending

The ending is one of your last chances to make the reader feel something. And while the happy ending is always a classic crowd-pleasing, I find that it’s often easier to make the reader feel sorrow.

Happiness is a tough sell, particularly when writing short stories. I think if you were going to survey 1000 short stories, a lot more would end sad than would end happy. Novels are probably the opposite — many more end happy than sad. 

It’s mainly because of the length. When you’re writing short, you don’t have the time to acheive happiness without it feeling cheesy. While in the space of a novel, the happy ending feels earned. 

“Now they were both dead, and the city was dirty and crumbling, and the man I was traveling with was sero-positive, and so was I. Mexico’s hopes seemed as dashed as mine, and all the goofy innocence of that first thrilling trip abroad had died, my boyhood hopes for love and romance faded, just as the blue in Kay’s lapis had lost its intensity year after year until it ended up as white and small as a blind eye. ”

— Edmund White, “Cinnamon Skin”

“Things are as they have always been. Whoever seeks a fixed point in the current of time and the seasons would do well to listen to the sounds of the night that never change. They come to us from out there.

— Amos Oz, “Where the Jackals Howl”

“She would be invisible, of course. No one would hear her. And nothing has happened, really that hasn’t happened before.”

— Margaret Atwood, “Wilderness Tips”

“There were women around Jesus when He died, the two Marys. They couldn’t do anything for Him. But neither could the men, who had all run away.”

— Robert Olen Butler, “Mr. Green”

“I think of the chimp, the one with the talking hands.

In the course of the experiment, that chimp had a baby. Imagine how her trainers must have thrilled when the mother, without prompting, began to sign to her newborn.

Baby, drink milk.

Baby, play ball.

And when the baby died, the mother stood over the body, her wrinkled hands moving with animal grace, forming again and again the words: Baby, come hug, Baby, come hug, fluent now in the language of grief.”

— Amy Hempel, In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried

“It was not a happy life, but it was all that was left to them, and they took it up without complaint, for they knew they were powerless against some Will infinitely stronger than their own.”

— Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Sport of the Gods

“What would burst forth? A monkey’s paw? A lady? A tiger?

But there was nothing at all.”

— Lorrie Monroe, “Referential”

The Waiting Ending

What does it mean when you have a character waiting at the end of a story? Well, they are expecting the future. But the reader can’t go to the future with them.

It signals a small break in the storyline: this current story has ended, but the future one has not begun. It’s like the character is about to step into narrative limbo.

A “waiting” ending is definitely a quiet ending. It takes advantage in a lull in the storyline to bow out and conclude. 

If you write a waiting ending, pay careful attention to subtext:

• Perhaps this character will be waiting a long time. 
• Perhaps they are the waiting type of character — a passive character. 
• Perhaps waiting signals a sad ending — what they wanted most didn’t arrive by the end

“I measured the passing of time by the progress of the fires in the distant north. My old man gave me daily updates, and I pretended to listen. Five hundred, a thousand, two thousand fires. After a month they had burned out, and I was still waiting.”

— Daniel Alarcón, “The Idiot President”

“He looked toward the eastern sky. It seemed he’d been running a week’s worth of nights, but he saw the stars hadn’t begun to pale. The first pink smudges on the far Ridgeline were a while away, perhaps hours. The night would linger long enough for what would come or not come. He waited.”

— Ron Rash, “Into the Gorge”

“The ice plant was watery-looking and fat, and at the edge of my vision I could see the tips of my father’s shoes. I was sixteen years old and waiting for the next thing he would tell me.”

— Ethan Canin, “The Year of Getting to Know Us”

“Wait here, wait here!” he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of light she saw in the distance ahead of him. “Help! Help!” he shouted, but his voice was thin, scarcely a thread of sound. The lights drifted farther away the faster he ran and his feet moved numbly as if they carried him nowhere. The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her, postponing from moment to moment his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow.”

— Flannery O’Connor, “Everything that Rises Must Converge”

“Walking to the end of the hallway by the kitchen, he seated himself against the wall. He sat there quietly, waiting for Case to emerge.”

— Bradford Tice, “Missionaries”

“Joshua wondered what they would do now. The need he felt was like when he stepped on the sliver of glass, and his mother pulled at the skin with her tweezers, and pushed them inside, until she found the glass. It was like when she told him to get ready, to squeeze his father’s hand. Clenching his teeth, closing his eyes, waiting.”

— Mike Meginnis, “Navigators”

Figurative Language & Poetic Devices

Aristotle said that comparison of two unlike things was the essence of genius. If so, the writers below are all geniuses. 

Beauty has its own charm. The examples below use extended metaphors, multiple similes, and other examples of literary devices to cast a spell of beauty over the reader. 

And these comparisons are often symbolic of the characters and the events of the story (for instance, the birds in the Ann Beattie story).

“She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see.”

— Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

“Nettie lay there beside him, her breath blowing on his shoulder as they studied the stars far above the field — little pinpoint holes punched through the night sky like the needle holes around the tiny stitches in the quilting. Nettie. Nettie Slade. Her dress had self-covered buttons, hard like seed corn.”

— Bobbie Ann Mason, “Wish”

“Angela was remembering all this, and feeling such a strong surge of sorrowful loss, and at the same time she was studying with interest the miraculous rescue of St. Placidus from drowning, painted on the wall in the sacristy in San Miniato. St. Placidus was rolling fatalistically amid the blue waves of his pond while one of his comrades, endowed with special powers by St. Benedict, came walking across the water to save him. In the picture it looked like such a harmless little point, carved into the earth as neatly as a circle of stamped-out pastry, or a hole cut into the ice for fishing.”

— Tessa Hadley, “Cecilia Awakened”

“He looked at his wife, whom he loved, whom he looked forward to convincing, and felt as though he were diving headfirst into happiness. It was a circus act, a perilous one. Happiness was a narrow take. You had to make sure you cleared the lip.”

— Elizabeth McCracken, “Thunderstruck”

“In the flood of flame-colored light their flesh turned coral.”

— Helen Simpson, “Heavy Weather”

“Louisa sat, prayerfully numbering her days, like an uncloistered nun.”

— Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, “A New England Nun”

“When she turned back into the empty room she looked as though youth had touched her on the lips.”

— Edith Wharton, “The Angel at the Grave”

“In time, his breathing changed, and hers did. Calm sleep was now a missed breath — a small sound. They might have been two of the birds she so often thought of, flying separately between cliffs— birds whose movement, which might seem erratic, was always private, and so took them where they wanted to go.”

— Ann Beattie, “In Amalfi”

Brene Brown’s TED talk about vulnerability is one of the most watched TED talks of all time. Her thesis is simple: people respond to vulnerability.

It holds true in real life just as it does in fiction.

When a character keeps a secret, reveals a secret, or makes a confession, the reader feels closer to them. Even if we disagree with them, we feel like we know them. 

“The secret died with him, for Pavageau’s lips were ever sealed.”

— Alice Dunbar-Nelson, “The Stones of the Village”

“Very often I sold my blood to buy wine. Because I’d shared dirty needles with low companions, my blood was diseased. I can’t estimate how many people must have died from it. When I die myself, B.D. And Dundun, the angels of God I sneered at, will come to tally up my victims and tell me how many people I killed with my blood.”

— Denis Johnson, “Strangler Bob”

Powerful Dialogue

Here’s some advice on how to write a good dialogue ending:

• Pay attention to subtext . If any place in your story needs dialogue with a double meaning, it’s the ending. It should have a plain interpretation, but also resonate with some deeper issues of plot.
• Make sure it’s the protagonist who gets the final word . In almost all cases, it’s the protagonist or one of the main characters who speak last. A minor character wouldn’t make sense.

“Please come back inside mom! Please get out of the street!”

— Antonya Nelson, “Chapter Two”

“Darling, the angels have themselves a lifetime to come to us.”

— Edwidge Danticat, “Night Women”

“Nemecia held a wineglass up to the window and turned it. “See how clear?” Shards of light moved across her face.”

— Kirstin Valdez Quade, “Nemecia”

“But I had my eyes closed. I thought I’d keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do.

‘Well?’ He said, ‘Are you looking?’

My eyes are still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything.

‘It’s really something,’ I said.”

— Raymond Carver, “Cathedral”

“My dear,” replied Valentine, “has not the Count just told us that all human wisdom is contained in the words ‘Wait and hope!”

— Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

“There were lots of old people going around then with ideas in their heads that didn’t add up — though I suppose Old Annie had more than most. I recall her telling me another time that girl in the Home had a baby out of a big boil that burst on her stomach, and it was the size of a rat and had no life in it, but they put it in the oven and it puffed up the right size and baked to a good color and started to kick its legs (Ask an old woman to reminisce and you get the whole ragbag, is what you might be thinking by now.)

I told her that wasn’t possible, it must have been a dream.

‘Maybe so’ she said, agreeing with me for once. ‘I did used to have the terriblest dreams.’”

— Alice Munro, “A Wilderness Station”

A Character in Denial

The reader gets a sick sense of delight when final lines reveal something a character refuses to acknowledge.

“Maybe it wasn’t such a terrible idea. Maybe it could make them happy. He found a mark on Miriam’s shimmering pale dress and followed it through the trees.”

— Sarah Kokernot, “M & L”

“His gut told him that his mother-in-law knew what had happened that day in the car. Come to think of it, she had never once mentioned the day of the accident to him. She had never even asked about it. His mother-in-law turned her cold gaze back to the plant. To put his crazy thoughts to rest, Oghi told himself that he just really liked plants. He could not think why that might be.”

— Hye-young Pyun, “Caring for Plants”

The Unknown

These final lines endear readers as characters reveal what remains mysterious:

“But as I write this it occurs to me that I don’t know where I ever got that idea. In fact, I have no memory of whether the desk arrived to me with the drawer locked. It’s possible that I unknowingly pushed in the cylindrical lock years ago, and that whatever is in there belongs to me.”

— Nicole Krauss, “From the Desk of Daniel Varsky”

“’Listen to me,’ he said, expelling all his breath with the words. Two ragged breaths later he tried again, but Jill moved her hand from his forehead to his mouth. ‘Help me,’ he said into her fingers. But the words were whispered, and she mistook them for a kiss and smiled.”

— Angela Pneuman, “Occupational Hazard”

“He knew he was at the beginning of something, though just then he couldn’t say exactly what.”

— Bret Anthony Johnston, “Encounters with Unexpected Animals”

“I do not know where this voyage I have begun will end. I do not know which direction I will take. I dropped the package on a park bench and started walking.”

— Bharati Mukherjee, “The Management of Grief”

If anywhere it’s time to tell the truth, it’s the ending.

Have your characters spill their guts and reveal everything at the end. Or have the narrator offer wisdom or the naked truth. 

“It’s the kind of impossible story that holds a family together. You tell it over and over again; and with the passage of time, the tale becomes more unbelievable and at the same time increasingly difficult to disprove, a myth about the life you carry.”

– Greg Hrbek, “Sagittarius”

“As the manual often states, it’s my future. And it’s the only one I get.”

— Diane Cook, “Moving On”

“I’ve begun to appreciate just how much work parents invest in their children, and wives in their husbands; it’s only fair for the investor to become the beneficiary.”

— Katie Chase, “Man and Wife”

“…I survive. It’s only one thing. But it’s also everything.

Pick yourself up.

Start over again.”

— Megan Miranda, All the Missing Girls

“She was knickerless. She was victorious. She was a truly modern female.”

— Nicola Barker, “G-string”

“I can stay. I can lie down. Let the snow fall on my face. Let its hands be tender.

Or I can walk, try to find my way in darkness.

I’m a grown woman, an orphan, I have these choices.”

— Melanie Rae Thon, “The Snow Thief”

Related posts:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One thought on “ 100 Ways to End a Story (with examples) ”

Excellent collection of endings, types… and quite clear and efficient comments. Thank you.

Every writer NEEDS this book.

It’s a guide to writing the pivotal moments of your novel.

Whether writing your book or revising it, this will be the most helpful book you’ll ever buy.

VIDEO COURSE

Finish your draft in our 3-month master class. Sign up now to watch a free lesson!

Learn How to Write a Novel

Finish your draft in our 3-month master class. Enroll now for daily lessons, weekly critique, and live events. Your first lesson is free!

Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Mar 08, 2024

How to End a Story: The 6 Ways All Stories End

About the author.

Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.

About Martin Cavannagh

Head of Content at Reedsy, Martin has spent over eight years helping writers turn their ambitions into reality. As a voice in the indie publishing space, he has written for a number of outlets and spoken at conferences, including the 2024 Writers Summit at the London Book Fair.

When we first start to read books, we quickly understand that books have two types of ending: happy and sad. But as we develop our literary palate and read deeper, it soon becomes apparent that endings are somewhat more nuanced than that.

In the first part of this post, we will dive into the many types of endings that novelists have at their disposal — and reveal the impact they can have on the reader. In the second part, we'll give you some tried-and-true tips for writing an impactful ending for your own book.

The 6 types of story endings (with examples)

Let's dive into the most common types of story endings that you'll see over and over again in storytelling. Note that, as we provide some examples from novel endings, there will be... spoilers! 

1. Resolved Ending

Wrap it up and put a bow on it. A resolved ending answers all the questions and ties up any loose plot threads. There is nothing more to tell because the characters’ fates are clearly presented to the reader.

Example:  Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude provides a great example of a resolved ending. In his Nobel Prize-winning book, García Márquez intertwines the tale of the Buendia family and the small town where they live, from its creation until its destruction. 

Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth.

With this ending, García Márquez effectively ends all hope of a sequel by destroying the entire town and killing off all the characters. Unlike a Deus Ex Machina ending, where everything is suddenly and abruptly resolved , this is an ending that fits with the central ideas and plot of this book. Though not exactly expected, it brings an appropriate closure to the Buendia family and the town of Macondo.

Why might you use a resolved ending? This sort of conclusion is common to standalone books — especially romance novels, which thrive on ‘happily ever afters’ — or the final installment in a series. 

FREE COURSE

How to Write a Novel

Author and ghostwriter Tom Bromley will guide you from page 1 to the finish line.

2. Unresolved Ending

This type of ending asks more questions than answers and, ideally, leaves the reader wanting to know how the story will continue. It lets them reflect on what the hero has been through and pushes them to imagine what is still to happen. There will be some resolution, but it will, most likely, pose questions at the end and leave some doors open.

Example: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince does exactly that. After years of confronting Voldemort, Harry finally knows the secret to bring him down once and for all. However, the road will only become more dangerous and will require more sacrifices than anybody thought. 

His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione. 

Like Harry, readers know that a final meeting between him and Voldemort is coming and that everything will change for him and his friends. As a stand-alone book, this ending would probably be unsatisfactory. But as the penultimate book in the series, it leaves the readers wanting more.

Why might you use an unresolved ending? Because it can create anticipation and excitement for what comes next, you may want to use an unresolved ending if you are writing several books in a series. Who doesn’t love (and hate) a good cliffhanger?

3. Ambiguous Ending

An ambiguous ending leaves the reader wondering about the “what ifs.” Instead of directly stating what happens to the characters after the book ends, it allows the reader to speculate about what might come next — without establishing a right or wrong answer. Things don't feel quite unresolved , more just open to interpretation.

Example: The first installment of The Giver series, by Lois Lowry, uses this ending. The Giver focuses on Jonas, a teenager living in a colorless yet seemingly ideal society, and on the way he uses his newly assigned position as the Receiver of Memories to unravel the truth about his community and forge a new path for himself. 

Downward, downward, faster, faster. Suddenly he was aware with certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and that they were waiting, too, for the baby. For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo.

Readers will wonder what happens to Jonas once he finishes his journey and what happens to the town and people he left behind. There are three more companion books, but the story centering on Jonas is finished. Readers will see him again, but only as a side character, and will neither find out how he rebuilt his life nor how his old community fared. There might be speculation, but an answer is never clearly given: that is left to the imagination.

When might you use an ambiguous ending? If you want your readers to reflect on the meaning of your book, then this is the ending for you. While a resolved ending may satisfy readers, it probably won’t give them much pause at all. However, by trying to unpick an ambiguous ending, they get closer to what you, as the author, are trying to say.

4. Unexpected Ending

If you have led your readers to believe that your book will end one way, but at the last possible moment, you add a unexpected twist that they didn’t see coming, you’ve got yourself an unexpected ending! For an author, this type of ending can be a thrill to write, but it must be handled with care. Handled poorly, it will frustrate and infuriate your reader.

An unexpected ending must be done so that, while surprising, still makes sense and brings a satisfactory conclusion.

Example: A popular novel that makes use of this ending is And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie , where she tells the tale of ten murders without an obvious culprit that took place in an isolated island mansion. [Spoilers coming!] The last lines of the novel read:

When the sea goes down, there will come from the mainland boats and men. And they will find ten dead bodies and an unsolved problem on Soldier Island. Signed: Lawrence Wargrave

The ways in which the murders occur let the reader suspect the guilt of just about every character — and then, in an epic twist, they all die, leaving the murders unexplained. It is not until the message in the bottle arrives that the true culprit is revealed, as one of the victims no less! The ending is satisfactory to the reader because it brings the plot to a close in a way that, though surprising, invites them to think back on how the murderer set things up for the remaining deaths, and ultimately makes sense.

Why might you use an unexpected ending? These ‘twist endings’ are the bread and butter of mystery novels . Just be aware that while fans of the genre will expect a twist — they won't want one that comes entirely out of nowhere. To execute a flawless unexpected ending, you must lay groundwork throughout your book so that the reader can reflect on the plot and go, “ah, but of course!”

5. Tied Ending

Much of storytelling is cyclical. Sometimes it’s a metaphorical return home, such as in the classic story structure of The Hero’s Journey. In other cases, the cycle is quite literal — the story ends where it began.

Example: Erin Morgenstern uses this ending in her book The Night Circus , where she tells of a duel between two magicians that takes place within Le Cirque des Rêves , a traveling circus and, arguably, a character on its own. 

Widget takes a sip of his wine and puts his glass down on the table. He sits back in his chair and steadily return the stare at him. Taking his time as though he has all of it in the world, in the universe, from the days when tales meant more than they do now, but perhaps less than they will someday, he draws a breath that releases the tangled knot of words in his heart, and they fall from his lips effortlessly. ‘The circus arrives without warning.’

With what may be the most famous lines of the book, “The circus arrives without warning,” this novel closes the characters’ storylines the same way the book begins. In both cases, the words are used to start telling a story; in the beginning, it serves as an introduction to the book, the words filled with wonder and expectation. In the end, it serves as a resolution, the words filled with hope for those who remain. Additionally, Morgenstern later uses a few more pages to finish the second-person narrative of the reader’s own visit to the circus, effectively ending the novel with the same POV that it began.

Why might you use a tied ending? More common in literary fiction, a tied ending can help give you a sense of direction when writing your book — after all, you are ending the same way you began. But don’t think that this makes writing your ending easier. On the contrary, it is up to you to give greater depth to those repeated actions and events so that, by the end, they have a completely different feel.

How to Plot a Novel in Three Acts

In 10 days, learn how to plot a novel that keeps readers hooked

6. Expanded Ending

Also known as an epilogue (find out more here ), this type of ending describes what happens to the world of the story afterward in a way that hints at the characters' fates at some point in the future.

Example: In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief , Death himself narrates the story of a young girl living in Nazi Germany. In his four-part epilogue, Zusak gives the reader an insight into what happened to Liesel after the bombing, her adult life, and even her death. 

All I was able to do was turn to Liesel Meminger and tell her the only truth I truly know. I said to the book thief and I say it now to you. *** A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR*** I am hunted by humans.

Instead of going into great detail, Zusak uses short chapters that feel more like sneak peeks into her life. Additionally, it serves the purpose of joining Liesel, the main character, with the narrator, Death, and allowing them to converse on more equal terms.

Why might you use an expanded ending? If you need to tie up loose ends but could not do it within the actual story, then this is the ending for you. However, it should not replace a traditional ending or be used to compensate for a weak ending. Instead, it should give further insight into the characters and give a resolution to the readers.

Now that you understand what kind of endings there are, let’s start thinking about how to create them for yourself.

How to end a story in 7 steps

To help you create a story ending that is unexpected and satisfying, we've turned to the professional editors on Reedsy and asked for their top tips on wrapping up your book. 

How to end a story:

• Find your ending in the beginning
• Completion goes hand-in-hand with hope
• Keep things fresh
• Make sure it’s really finished
• Last impressions matter
• Come full circle
• Leave some things unsaid

1. Find your ending in the beginning

While your story may contain several different threads and subplots, all books are going to have a central question that’s raised by the opener. Who killed the boss? Will our star-crossed lovers end up together? Can a rag-tag group of heroes really save the world? Is there meaning to a middle-class existence? Can this family’s relationship be saved?

Your central question is the driving force of what will happen in the plot, so make sure you settle it by the time the book ends. Even if your hero's story continues in a sequel, you’ll want each book to have a central question and a resolution for them to feel complete.

2. Completion goes hand-in-hand with hope

Literary agent Estelle Laure explains that a great ending is one that gives the reader both a feeling of completion and hope.

“You have to assume the character has gone through hell, so let them see something beautiful about the world that allows them to take a breath and step into the next adventure. Even your ending should leave your reader dying for more. They should close the book with a sigh, and that’s the best way I know how to get there. This is, after all, a cruel but wondrous life.”

MEET EDITORS

Polish your book with expert help

Sign up, meet 1500+ experienced editors, and find your perfect match.

3. Keep things fresh

This is good advice for every stage of writing, but perhaps nowhere is it more important than the ending. While there are certain genres where a type of ending is expected (romances should end with a happily ever after, mysteries with identifying the killer), you don’t want people to be able to see everything coming from miles off. So even if the payoff from the big resolution is expected, as the writer, you’ll want to think hard to find ways to keep things fresh and interesting. To achieve this, try to dig deeper than your first impulse because chances are, that’s also going to be your audience’s first impulse as well. You don’t necessarily need to subvert that expectation, but it will give you some hints as to what most people think will happen.

4. Make sure it’s really finished

To create a satisfying ending, close your book with purpose.

As Publishing Director of Endeavor Media, Jasmin Kirkbride’s biggest tip is to make sure you follow the rule of Chekhov’s Gun.  

“Every subplot and all the different strands of your main plot should reach satisfying, clear conclusions. If they are meant to be left ambiguously, ensure your reader knows this, and create something out of that uncertainty.”

FREE RESOURCE

Get our Book Editing Checklist

Resolve every error, from plot holes to misplaced punctuation.

5. Last impressions matter

In some ways, the final line of a story is even more important than the first one. It’s the last impression you’ll make in your reader’s mind, and the final takeaway of the whole book. Hone in on what kind of emotions you’d like your reader to feel as they close the book, and ask yourself what kind of image or concluding thought would best convey that. Not sure what that should be? Try looking at your book’s theme! Often the final image is the summation of everything your theme has been building.

6. Come full circle

Editor Jenn Bailey says that a good ending brings the book’s internal and external story arcs to a rational conclusion.

“You need to come full circle. You need to end where you began. You need to take the truth your main character believed in at the beginning of the story and expose it as the lie that it is by the end. In your ending, the main character doesn’t have to get what they want, but they do have to get what they need.”

For more about character arcs, check out this post !

7. Leave some things unsaid

There’s a balance to endings — too little resolution and your book will feel rushed and unsatisfying, but too much and the resolution (dénouement) starts to drag. In general, though, you want to keep things brief, especially if you want room for an epilogue. It’s okay to trust your readers to reach some conclusions on their own, rather than spending whole chapters making sure every question you raised is answered. But, if do you really want everything tied off, consider moving the resolution of some of your subplots to just before the climax . This avoids jamming everything into the last five pages, allowing your subplots space to breathe.

As we have seen, there are many methods for ending stories! However you decide to finish your novel, there is one thing that you should always keep in mind: take account of the story that came before and give it the ending that it needs, not the one you think readers want, and it will be satisfactory for all.

Continue reading

Recommended posts from the Reedsy Blog

100+ Character Ideas (and How to Come Up With Your Own)

Character creation can be challenging. To help spark your creativity, here’s a list of 100+ character ideas, along with tips on how to come up with your own.

How to Introduce a Character: 8 Tips To Hook Readers In

Introducing characters is an art, and these eight tips and examples will help you master it.

450+ Powerful Adjectives to Describe a Person (With Examples)

Want a handy list to help you bring your characters to life? Discover words that describe physical attributes, dispositions, and emotions.

How to Plot a Novel Like a NYT Bestselling Author

Need to plot your novel? Follow these 7 steps from New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt.

How to Write an Autobiography: The Story of Your Life

Want to write your autobiography but aren’t sure where to start? This step-by-step guide will take you from opening lines to publishing it for everyone to read.

What is the Climax of a Story? Examples & Tips

The climax is perhaps a story's most crucial moment, but many writers struggle to stick the landing. Let's see what makes for a great story climax.

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

How should you end your book?

Take our 1-minute quiz to find the perfect ending for your book.

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

• Testimonials

How to end a narrative essay

One way to end a narrative is to look to the future .  When J.K. Rolling ended her final Harry Potter book, she skipped forward 20 years to show a new generation of students—Harry’s, Ron’s and Hermione’s kids—heading off to Hogwarts School.  This ending of the series reminds readers of the beginning of the series when Harry, Ron and Hermione first headed to Hogwarts.  The author takes us full circle, back to the beginning, but not the same beginning.

Another way to end a narrative is to stay in the present time of the stories but have a final scenes which leave the reader with an important emotion .  That emotion could come from a single image, the last image of the story.  Maybe your babysitter has worked really hard to care for a cranky toddler.  The babysitter leaves, exhausted and thinking she will never return.  But as she looks back, she sees the toddler looking out the window, smiling and waving.

Still another way to end is with action , as if, on to the next adventure.  Superman stories often end this way, with Superman solving a problem, and then flying off.  We assume he is off to solve another problem, but his real reason for leaving is that the story is done, and the writer needs to find a way to end it.

I have had some students end their stories with cliff-hangers ,  scenes where something awful  happens, and we, the readers, of course want to know how the disaster is resolved.  But all we read is “To be continued.”  This is really not an ending but a way of pausing when a student is tired or out of ideas.  Don’t use this kind of ending or your audience will be disappointed.

If you have used dialog in your narrative, then ending with dialog (or the thoughts of a character ) makes sense.  But the dialog should not be preachy or try to tie up loose ends.  Instead, use dialog to create a mood.  That mood becomes the lasting impression which the reader has.

Do you need to explain everything at the end?  No.  If the details are not important, let the reader guess at them.  That’s part of the fun for the reader.

Think about what mood or question you want your audience to dwell on as they finish your narrative.   Then figure out a good way to convey that idea.  If you do, your ending will be satisfying.

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

What's your thinking on this topic? Cancel reply

One-on-one online writing improvement for students of all ages.

As a professional writer and former certified middle and high school educator, I now teach writing skills online. I coach students of all ages on the practices of writing. Click on my photo for more details.

You may think revising means finding grammar and spelling mistakes when it really means rewriting—moving ideas around, adding more details, using specific verbs, varying your sentence structures and adding figurative language. Learn how to improve your writing with these rewriting ideas and more. Click on the photo For more details.

Comical stories, repetitive phrasing, and expressive illustrations engage early readers and build reading confidence. Each story includes easy to pronounce two-, three-, and four-letter words which follow the rules of phonics. The result is a fun reading experience leading to comprehension, recall, and stimulating discussion. Each story is true children’s literature with a beginning, a middle and an end. Each book also contains a "fun and games" activity section to further develop the beginning reader's learning experience.

Mrs. K’s Store of home schooling/teaching resources

Furia--Quick Study Guide is a nine-page text with detailed information on the setting; 17 characters; 10 themes; 8 places, teams, and motifs; and 15 direct quotes from the text. Teachers who have read the novel can months later come up to speed in five minutes by reading the study guide.

Post Categories

Follow blog via email.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Peachtree Corners, GA

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

The Art of Narrative

Learn to write.

How to End a Story

Some people say the ending is the most important part of a story. I’m inclined to agree. Mess up the ending, and your reader will feel cheated. Like they’ve wasted their time. The greatest premise in the world won’t mean squat if you can’t stick the landing. That’s why we’re talking about how to end a story!

Listen to this article:

How you end your story is really,  really  important. But, I didn’t have to tell you that, did I? Because we’ve all experienced stories with bad endings- *cough* Game of Thrones- and we know that a bad ending can sour a reader’s entire experience of a story. 

That’s why you need to start your writing process with a story ending in mind. Can the way you end your story change and evolve during the writing process- Sure! But, writing a story and expecting the perfect ending to pop out of your imagination at just the right time is a mistake. 

And before you say it, I know a lot of famous and successful writers are also panters, or writers who don’t outline their story but develop it as they go. But, if your just starting out on your writer’s journey, writing by the seat of your pants may not be the best option.You need to know what makes a good story ending before you can intuitively write one without thinking. But, I’m getting to my first tip which is- 

Start with the End in Mind

There are two kinds of writers: Plotters and Pantsers. Pantsers write stories “by the seat of their pants” without plotting or outlining. And plotters write stories with good endings… Okay, that’s not fair. There are some very successful pantsers out there like Stephen King and Margaret Atwood.

But, great pantsers are a rare breed, so it’s safer, for most of us, to plot.

There’s an inherit benefit to plotting. Having an ending in mind will keep your writing focused.

The ending and plot points may change along the way, and that’s fine. But a good outline is like a roadmap . You might not need it, but it’s sure nice to have when you’re lost!

Avoid Cliches

Does your story end with your hero out-skiing his rival, winning the girl and live happily ever after? Or worse, does they wake up and realize that it was all a dream ? Then you’ve got a problem, my friend. But, don’t worry! The problem isn’t that you’re an unimaginative writer. You just need some inspiration.

Cliched writing usually means you haven’t done enough research. But how do you research for a fictional story? Start by reading non-fiction. After all, the best stories are rooted in reality.

Writing a police procedural? A perfect ending could be in the pages of your local police blotter. Working on a story about time travel? Then it’s time to read up on black holes, quantum physics, and maybe a little history.

Or delve into your own life experience to find your stories perfect ending. How have the major conflicts of your life resolved? Maybe you’re thinking- allmy conflicts ended terribly . And, that’s okay. Conflict isn’t always resolved positively in reality, and the same can be true for your story. 

Not every ending is required to be happy. 

Go Back to the Beginning

Matthew McConaughey once said that “life is a flat circle.” Well, so are the best stories. Good endings will often take the reader back to where the story began . Good writers have a way of tying everything up with a nice bow.

Take Peter Jackson’s movie adaptation Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Our adventure begins in The Shire. Over the next three movies, we travel across Middle Earth, defeat Sauron, and destroy the One Ring. But in the end, we’re right back at The Shire where we started. 

Or how about Citizen Kane, one of the greatest films of all time. Also a great example of a nonlinear narrative . We start with the cryptic whisper of a dying man- “Rosebud.” We don’t discover the meaning of “Rosebud,” until the movie’s final frame- a huge emotional payoff. Connecting your story’s ending to it’s beginning will give your reader a satisfying sense of closure.

Keep it Tight

The final act of your story is not the place to introduce new characters, plot threads, or story arcs. The final act is about ending your story, so wrap up those plots, and kill those characters.

Okay, you don’t have to kill all your characters. But remember final acts are like group therapy. They’re about one thing- resolving the conflict. A lot of new information will get in the way of that sweet, sweet resolution.

And another thing! 

If your planning a startling revelation as a kind of stinger to end your novel on then you need to foreshadow that revelation early on in the book. Your character shouldn’t, out of nowhere, be really good at karate because that’s the only way you can imagine them defeating the Big Bad . 

Let the Hero Take the Wheel

The final act of the story is about your protagonist finally taking charge of her situation. She may have been lost in the first act. Her friends may have saved her butt in the second act , but by the time of the climax, she needs to be kicking but and taking names (but make it too easy). Point is, she should be the one doing the saving!

Your hero should take the lead in the final act. Which brings me to my final tip…

Demonstrate Growth

Throughout a story, protagonists should transform into new, better versions of themselves. It’s not enough that they conquer the villian. They should also prove that they’ve earned their victory. So while they’re vanquishing that diabolical villain they should also defeat their inner demons as well! That’s how you make a dynamic character ! 

Okay, there are a few tips to help you write a perfect ending. Remember, the ending is the most important part of your story. Don’t screw it up. Otherwise, you’ve wasted everyone’s time. Don’t do that!

So, uh… That’s pretty much it.

If you like what you read, please scroll down and hit one of those share buttons at the bottom of the page. That’s the easiest and best way to support the blog. Thanks! 

Continued Reading on Plot Structure

Story Engineering  by Larry Brooks   is a go-to resource when it comes to all things plot related. Larry Brooks gives you practical, actionable advice on how to structure your story. I can’t recommend it enough.

Plot & Structure  has consistently been one of the top selling books on the craft of fiction writing. From story idea to strong plot line, this book will show you how to write a solid novel, every time out. You will never have a structural weakness again. These principles will free you to add your talent and voice in the most successful form possible.”

– JamesScottBell.com

The Third Act: How to Write a Climatic Sequence- Well-Storied 

The Payoff- KM Allan

This post contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links

Published by John

View all posts by John

24 comments on “How to End a Story”

• Pingback: How to End a Story from the Maltese Tiger Blog | Author Don Massenzio

Excellent tips! 🙂 Sharing…

Thanks Bette! I appreciate it!

A pleasure. 🙂 Have a great week!

• Pingback: 30 Sites that Pay Writers - the maltese tiger

Many thanks – just what I needed to finish writing the final chapter of my first novel. Excellent advice and so helpful…

Amazing! Glad the article helped. That’s what I like to hear! Congratulations on your novel!

• Pingback: 30 Sites that Pay Writers | Nicholas C. Rossis
• Pingback: Creating a Subtext - the maltese tiger
• Pingback: Creating a Subtext – From the Maltese Tiger Blog | Author Don Massenzio

Love these tips and the movies you’ve chosen as the examples. Really brings the points home.

Thanks KM! Hope you don’t mind me dropping your link at the bottom. I wrote this a while ago, but wanted to update it. Now, the fonts are all messed up. I suck at web design. Whatever…

Not at all, John, link away 😊. I was going to say I like the new look/feel of your blog. It’s great! Doesn’t look messed up to me.

Thanks! Your redesign looks great as well!

• Pingback: How to End a Story - The Art of Narrative - Lacrecia’s books
• Pingback: How to Write a Plot Twist - The Art of Narrative
• Pingback: Best Websites and Resources for Writers 2020 - The Art of Narrative
• Pingback: 🖋 Writing Links Round Up 6/8 – B. Shaun Smith

Thank you for the information. Nice tips..have a good day.

• Pingback: 5 Storytelling Skills Every Writer Should Master - The Novel Smithy
• Pingback: How to Use Somebody Wanted But So Then - The Art of Narrative

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Copy and paste this code to display the image on your site

Discover more from The Art of Narrative

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

Improve your writing in one of the largest and most successful writing groups online

Join our writing group!

How to End a Story: 7 Different Kinds of Endings

by Fija Callaghan

Fija Callaghan is an author, poet, and writing workshop leader. She has been recognized by a number of awards, including being shortlisting for the H. G. Wells Short Story Prize. She is the author of the short story collection Frail Little Embers , and her writing can be read in places like Seaside Gothic , Gingerbread House , and Howl: New Irish Writing . She is also a developmental editor with Fictive Pursuits. You can read more about her at fijacallaghan.com .

Imagine this: you’re reading a thrilling, breakneck story full of deep thematic resonance and memorable characters. The plot is powering towards its climax, and you’re clutching the pages as the clock beside your bed careens past one o’clock in the morning. And then—! The book suddenly grinds to a puzzling, disappointing, and ultimately unsatisfying halt because the writer didn’t know how to end a story the right way.

Don’t be that writer.

Knowing how to end a story is one of the most important, yet undervalued, skills in a writer’s toolbox. Let’s look at why a satisfactory ending matters and how to find the right ones for your own stories.

Why is the ending of a story important?

The ending of a story matters because it’s the final note that the reader will walk away with. Your story’s ending shows the reader what to feel as they leave your story world behind and return to the real one, what lessons to learn from and incorporate into their own lives, and what to expect from you, the author, as they wait impatiently for your next book.

Knowing how to write a good story ending is the key to “closing the deal” with your reader.

How are story endings connected to genre?

You might have noticed that some of your favourite books end in the same way. If you read a lot within the same genre, you might even be able to predict the ending before it happens! This is because certain literary genres come with predetermined expectations based on the patterns we see most often.

You don’t have to use the classic ending for your own story, but it’s good to have an idea of what your readers will be expecting when they open your book. Familiarising yourself with their expectations will also help you subvert them in new, creative ways.

Here are some of the classic literary genres you’ll see most often, and the endings that usually go with them.

1. Romance endings

In romance novels, we’ve been conditioned to look for happy endings. From the opening scene through all the clever plot twists and machinations, everything in the book is working towards a happily ever after for the two romantic leads.

The protagonists go through their own character arcs as they discover more about themselves and their relationship with the world, but ultimately they’ll end up doing pretty okay by the story’s conclusion.

This doesn’t mean you can’t challenge genre norms and give your main characters a bittersweet ending or leave their love story unresolved; however, in this case you might end up moving away from writing a traditional romance and towards something more like literary fiction (we’ll look at that below too).

2. Mystery endings

The golden rule of mystery novels is “expect the unexpected.” If the story you’re writing follows a clear, logical path from start to finish and lays everything out for the reader, they may come away with a frustrating experience. Mysteries and thrillers will be filled with plot twists that keep readers turning pages to find out who done it, or why.

These types of stories aren’t a great match for open or unresolved endings. Even though the reader wants to be surprised, they also want to know exactly what happened and what’s going to happen next. Did the murderer go to prison, escape, or die trying? Did the protagonist uncover the truth and bring the criminal to justice?

There is no right or wrong answer, but the answer does need to be a definitive conclusion rather than something left to interpretation.

3. Horror endings

Horror novels are more flexible than mysteries. They might have a happy or unhappy ending; they might answer all the remaining questions, or they might leave some open to keep the reader mulling things over after the book is closed.

Horror stories are particularly well-suited to ambiguous or unresolved endings. You’ll probably recognise this in some of your favourite horror films or TV series finales:

The heroes finally defeat the monster and celebrate with an extra-cheesy pizza and plans for the future they now have. In the corner of the screen, the dirt where the monster was buried begins to shift ominously. Roll credits.

By leaving a few lingering questions, you make a lasting impression on your reader.

4. Tragic endings

Tragedies are defined by their sad ending. Unlike mysteries, which are filled with twists and turns, the tragic ending should feel inevitable; the hero, through their own weaknesses or choices, brought it on themself.

Tragedies have fallen somewhat out of fashion in contemporary literature (probably because they’re kind of a downer to read), but Shakespeare loved writing them. These types of stories are designed to teach us something about human nature and what happens when we let our weaknesses control us.

Tragedies might use a resolved ending or an implied ending, leaving the final conclusion of the story to happen off the page.

5. Literary endings

Really, all fiction is “literary.” But when we say “literary fiction,” we usually mean books that are marketed as “contemporary,” “women’s fiction,” or realistic historical fiction. This type of story tends to be introspective and thematic, and is suited to both long-form novels and short stories.

In a short story, you generally won’t have the space to flesh out an ambiguous or unresolved ending. These are best suited to a circular ending—for instance, if your story begins and ends in the same location (we’ll take a closer look at circular endings below!)—or a clear ending that show how your main character has undergone some personal transformation.

If you’re writing a novel of literary fiction, you have more room to play with ambiguous, unresolved, or extended endings—so long as they support the broader theme you’re trying to communicate through the work.

We’ll look at all of these types of endings in more detail below!

What about sci-fi and fantasy?!

We didn’t forget, don’t worry! But science fiction and fantasy are actually more marketing genres than literary genres—they tell a reader to expect elves, robots, sorcerers, portals to other worlds, etc, etc. But , they don’t tell you much about what to expect from the plot. You can have a fantasy novel that’s also a romance, mystery, horror, tragedy, or literary story.

Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes is a good example of a book that subverts expectations by cramming every possible high fantasy trope into a work of literary fiction.

This means that a sci-fi or fantasy book can comfortably close with any one of the seven story endings we’ll look at below.

7 different ways to end a story

When it comes to figuring out how to end your story and tie up its lingering loose ends, there are a few different paths you can take in your writing. Let’s look at the different types of endings in stories you’ll find throughout literature, so you can find the perfect ending that works best for you.

1. Circular ending

Sometimes called a tie-back ending or a full circle ending, a circular ending brings the story “full circle” back around to where it began—with subtle differences that show how your characters have grown within their world.

Most stories that follow the Hero’s Journey story archetype have a circular plot structure with a tied ending. The protagonist goes on a grand adventure, learns and experiences new things, and then returns to the life they once had, but changed.

In larger works, such as a novel, your circular elements might be a place where your story starts and stops, a thematic idea that your protagonist was working to understand at the beginning of the story, or a metaphor that has taken on new meaning.

2. Resolved ending

Sometimes called a “tied ending,” a resolved ending ties up all the loose ends in your story. Shakespeare was a big fan of resolved story endings; so was Jane Austen. Romance readers have grown to expect a resolved ending, which usually involve everyone living happily ever after (except the villain, who slinks off into obscurity).

Your resolved ending doesn’t necessarily have to be a happily ever after, but it should give the reader a sense of conclusion and fulfillment. For now, at least, everyone’s story has reached its finish line and there’s nothing left to say.

This means tying off all your artfully crafted subplots, addressing all of the dramatic questions raised at the beginning of the story, and ensuring that any lingering secrets have been laid to rest. If your main characters deserve a happy ending, this is the moment they finally reach it.

Giving your story a resolved ending doesn’t mean that your characters’ lives won’t go on beyond the last page in the book. It means that this particular chapter of their lives has come to a close, and now they can embrace a blank slate from which to begin a new one.

3. Unresolved ending

Unresolved story endings leaves loose threads so that the story can continue after the book is closed. This is especially popular with books in a longer series. When you end your story on a cliffhanger , your readers remain engaged with your story until they get a chance to read what happens in the next installment.

Even when you use an unresolved ending to close your story, it should still have that essential sense of completion by the end. You wouldn’t finish the whole story the way you’d finish a chapter. By the time you reach the ending to a story, the major, central conflicts of the plot should be resolved and your players should reach a resting place between battles.

However, an unresolved ending will leave some questions unanswered, and raise new ones about the future of your characters and their world. It’ll always give the reader the feeling that the story continues after the last page.

4. Ambiguous ending

The purpose of an ambiguous ending is to make your readers think. Like an unresolved ending, ambiguous story endings leaves some lingering questions at the end of the book.

The difference is that with an unresolved ending, the reader needs to wait to get the answers from the writer later on. With an ambiguous ending, the readers can reflect on the story and look for answers within themselves.

The best ambiguous endings offer two or more equally conceivable possibilities. For example, your story may end with a separated couple agreeing to meet for coffee. The readers are left wondering: Do they get back together? Or do they get the closure they need so they can move on? Both are within range, and it’s up to the reader to decide what they believe the real truth to be.

Ending the story ambiguously is also a great way to bring your readers together. It will make them want to compare ideas in forums, discussion groups, or with friends. Ambiguous endings engage the reader in a creative and cognitive way.

5. Unexpected ending

Commonly known as the “twist ending,” this ending gives the story one dramatic, final turn as it reaches its close. This works like a literary sleight-of-hand—you tell the reader, “Look, here, at this perfectly incongruous hat!” while your story mechanics are working to create something much more powerful and surprising.

Even though your story ending may be unexpected, it still has to make sense within the world you’ve created. This means laying the groundwork in bits and pieces through plot, character, and setting in a way that slips beneath the reader’s notice, but that they can easily refer back to in their memory so that everything makes sense as they consider the unexpected ending of your story.

This type of ending is the cornerstone of mystery novels. Through genre convention, readers have grown to expect a twist ending that will shock and delight them, but in a way that feels like a natural progression of the story. Done skillfully, the unexpected ending can pack a huge emotional punch and secure you a fan for life.

6. Expanded ending

Also known as an epilogue, this is a second, smaller story built out of your story’s ending. This gives the writer space to explore what happens after the story’s close, and to address any last questions the readers may have.

Do the hero and heroine ever see each other again after they save the world? Does the little girl really grow up to be a doctor like she always wanted? Does the misogynistic young pilot ever grow out of his flaws and become a better person? These are all things that you may not have space for inside your story, but you still want to share with the reader to give them a fuller understanding of your story world. An expanded ending will give your readers the answers they’re craving.

The expanded story ending gives your readers a little more time with your characters before they have to say goodbye. As readers, we understand that their story goes on even after our role of observer has ended. The expanded ending isn’t meant to be a resolution to your plot, but rather a window into what the next chapter of life holds in store for the characters we’ve grown to love.

7. Reflective ending

A reflective ending happens when the protagonist is able to look back at their experiences and consider them through the lens of their growth over the course of the story. They may ask themselves, “Was it really worth it, in the end? Did I do the right thing? How different does the world appear, now that I know the things I do?”

This creates one final, intimate connection with the reader as they explore these ideas together.

This reflection might happen if the character is looking back at an event from their youth, or if their circumstances have changed dramatically through the events of the plot. This type of ending is popular in fantasy and science fiction—for instance, if the character returns to the “real world” after a period of intense fantastical experiences—as well as in creative nonfiction, where the author may be reflecting on some formative events in their real life.

How to find the ending to your story

Now that you know the seven major ways to end a story, how do you decide which one is right for you? Knowing how to end a story is one of the most important steps in finding your story’s trajectory . Let’s look at three ways to write a story ending as you work through your plot from its opening scene to its powerful last lines.

1. Start with the end in mind

Many writers begin with an idea of how their story ends, and build their plot around it. This is particularly true for murder mysteries, where many writers will identify the crime they want to write about, and then form the rest of the story around clues leading up to it.

In other genres such as romance you may have an idea of where you want your characters to end up, and then you’ll spend the rest of the time figuring out the best ways to bring them there.

Starting with the end of your story already in mind is useful for keeping your writing on track and not getting pulled away from the story’s path. You already know that your characters are going to end up together, that they’re going to find the buried treasure in the end, or that they’re going to vanquish the forces of darkness that have risen up against them.

Knowing where your story is going to lead takes away some of the pressure, so that you can enjoy maneuvering your characters through obstacles and life lessons before they reach the finish line.

2. Match your ending to your character arc

Since all story is born out of character , part of your story planning will involve looking at the ways your character is going to learn and grow over time. Often, this will help you see where they need to end up.

For example, if your protagonist is avaricious and sacrifices his relationship with his family to excel at his job, you may decide that by the end he’ll need to have shuffled his priorities and learned the value of what really matters in life. This creates a natural character arc to carry your story from beginning to end.

In a romance, you may have a character who has spent their life disenchanted by love after watching their parents’ messy divorce. Therefore, a natural ending to their story may be that they learn how to avoid their parents’ mistakes and take a chance on a healthy, happy relationship.

By exploring what your character needs, the inevitable ending to their story will become clear.

3. Let the ending surprise you

Some writers find they work best if they explore their story as they write. As in life, the events of a great story may be things we could never have predicted.

As you move through the events of your plot, you may find that your characters take on a life of their own and pull you in directions you didn’t expect.

The great thing about this method is that you can be as fluid as you like; no one ever said you have to write every page in the proper order. As you discover new things about your story world and get a clearer and clearer idea of what the ending is going to look like, you can go back into the early stages of your story and lay the groundwork.

If you decide to incorporate an unexpected twist into your ending, or the people you had planned on ending up together wound up being completely wrong for each other after all, you can return to earlier scenes and gently shift things around so that your ending looks like a natural progression of everything that came before.

Neil Gaiman famously (and wisely) said, “The process of doing your second draft is a process of making it look like you knew what you were doing all along.”

Go out with a bang or a whisper, but go out the right way

With so many different ways to end a story, and so much riding on your story’s big finish, deciding how to end a narrative can be a little intimidating.

Knowing how to write a good ending is essential in finding success as a storyteller, but fortunately, we’ve got your back. With these tips, tricks, and examples, you’ll find that figuring out how to end a story can be the most fun and rewarding part.

Get feedback on your writing today!

Scribophile is a community of hundreds of thousands of writers from all over the world. Meet beta readers, get feedback on your writing, and become a better writer!

Join now for free

Related articles

What is Plot? Definition, Examples & 10+ Types of Story Plots

Freytag’s Pyramid: Definitions and Examples of Dramatic Structure

Story Archetypes: 50+ Plot Archetypes to Craft Your Narrative

How to Write a Plot Outline: 7 Approaches to Outlining

What Is Writer’s Block? with 15+ Ways to Beat It for Good

Character Anatomy: Driving Plot Through Story Characters

The Ultimate Narrative Essay Guide for Beginners

A narrative essay tells a story in chronological order, with an introduction that introduces the characters and sets the scene. Then a series of events leads to a climax or turning point, and finally a resolution or reflection on the experience.

Speaking of which, are you in sixes and sevens about narrative essays? Don’t worry this ultimate expert guide will wipe out all your doubts. So let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Everything You Need to Know About Narrative Essay

What is a narrative essay.

When you go through a narrative essay definition, you would know that a narrative essay purpose is to tell a story. It’s all about sharing an experience or event and is different from other types of essays because it’s more focused on how the event made you feel or what you learned from it, rather than just presenting facts or an argument. Let’s explore more details on this interesting write-up and get to know how to write a narrative essay.

Elements of a Narrative Essay

Here’s a breakdown of the key elements of a narrative essay:

A narrative essay has a beginning, middle, and end. It builds up tension and excitement and then wraps things up in a neat package.

Real people, including the writer, often feature in personal narratives. Details of the characters and their thoughts, feelings, and actions can help readers to relate to the tale.

It’s really important to know when and where something happened so we can get a good idea of the context. Going into detail about what it looks like helps the reader to really feel like they’re part of the story.

Conflict or Challenge 

A story in a narrative essay usually involves some kind of conflict or challenge that moves the plot along. It could be something inside the character, like a personal battle, or something from outside, like an issue they have to face in the world.

Theme or Message

A narrative essay isn’t just about recounting an event – it’s about showing the impact it had on you and what you took away from it. It’s an opportunity to share your thoughts and feelings about the experience, and how it changed your outlook.

Emotional Impact

The author is trying to make the story they’re telling relatable, engaging, and memorable by using language and storytelling to evoke feelings in whoever’s reading it.

Narrative essays let writers have a blast telling stories about their own lives. It’s an opportunity to share insights and impart wisdom, or just have some fun with the reader. Descriptive language, sensory details, dialogue, and a great narrative voice are all essentials for making the story come alive.

The Purpose of a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is more than just a story – it’s a way to share a meaningful, engaging, and relatable experience with the reader. Includes:

Sharing Personal Experience

Narrative essays are a great way for writers to share their personal experiences, feelings, thoughts, and reflections. It’s an opportunity to connect with readers and make them feel something.

Entertainment and Engagement

The essay attempts to keep the reader interested by using descriptive language, storytelling elements, and a powerful voice. It attempts to pull them in and make them feel involved by creating suspense, mystery, or an emotional connection.

Conveying a Message or Insight

Narrative essays are more than just a story – they aim to teach you something. They usually have a moral lesson, a new understanding, or a realization about life that the author gained from the experience.

Building Empathy and Understanding

By telling their stories, people can give others insight into different perspectives, feelings, and situations. Sharing these tales can create compassion in the reader and help broaden their knowledge of different life experiences.

Inspiration and Motivation

Stories about personal struggles, successes, and transformations can be really encouraging to people who are going through similar situations. It can provide them with hope and guidance, and let them know that they’re not alone.

Reflecting on Life’s Significance

These essays usually make you think about the importance of certain moments in life or the impact of certain experiences. They make you look deep within yourself and ponder on the things you learned or how you changed because of those events.

Demonstrating Writing Skills

Coming up with a gripping narrative essay takes serious writing chops, like vivid descriptions, powerful language, timing, and organization. It’s an opportunity for writers to show off their story-telling abilities.

Preserving Personal History

Sometimes narrative essays are used to record experiences and special moments that have an emotional resonance. They can be used to preserve individual memories or for future generations to look back on.

Cultural and Societal Exploration

Personal stories can look at cultural or social aspects, giving us an insight into customs, opinions, or social interactions seen through someone’s own experience.

Format of a Narrative Essay

Narrative essays are quite flexible in terms of format, which allows the writer to tell a story in a creative and compelling way. Here’s a quick breakdown of the narrative essay format, along with some examples:

Introduction

Set the scene and introduce the story.

Engage the reader and establish the tone of the narrative.

Hook: Start with a captivating opening line to grab the reader’s attention. For instance:

Example:  “The scorching sun beat down on us as we trekked through the desert, our water supply dwindling.”

Background Information: Provide necessary context or background without giving away the entire story.

Example:  “It was the summer of 2015 when I embarked on a life-changing journey to…”

Thesis Statement or Narrative Purpose

Present the main idea or the central message of the essay.

Offer a glimpse of what the reader can expect from the narrative.

Thesis Statement: This isn’t as rigid as in other essays but can be a sentence summarizing the essence of the story.

Example:  “Little did I know, that seemingly ordinary hike would teach me invaluable lessons about resilience and friendship.”

Body Paragraphs

Present the sequence of events in chronological order.

Develop characters, setting, conflict, and resolution.

Story Progression : Describe events in the order they occurred, focusing on details that evoke emotions and create vivid imagery.

Example : Detail the trek through the desert, the challenges faced, interactions with fellow hikers, and the pivotal moments.

Character Development : Introduce characters and their roles in the story. Show their emotions, thoughts, and actions.

Example : Describe how each character reacted to the dwindling water supply and supported each other through adversity.

Dialogue and Interactions : Use dialogue to bring the story to life and reveal character personalities.

Example : “Sarah handed me her last bottle of water, saying, ‘We’re in this together.'”

Reach the peak of the story, the moment of highest tension or significance.

Turning Point: Highlight the most crucial moment or realization in the narrative.

Example:  “As the sun dipped below the horizon and hope seemed lost, a distant sound caught our attention—the rescue team’s helicopters.”

Provide closure to the story.

Reflect on the significance of the experience and its impact.

Reflection : Summarize the key lessons learned or insights gained from the experience.

Example : “That hike taught me the true meaning of resilience and the invaluable support of friendship in challenging times.”

Closing Thought : End with a memorable line that reinforces the narrative’s message or leaves a lasting impression.

Example : “As we boarded the helicopters, I knew this adventure would forever be etched in my heart.”

Example Summary:

Imagine a narrative about surviving a challenging hike through the desert, emphasizing the bonds formed and lessons learned. The narrative essay structure might look like starting with an engaging scene, narrating the hardships faced, showcasing the characters’ resilience, and culminating in a powerful realization about friendship and endurance.

Different Types of Narrative Essays

There are a bunch of different types of narrative essays – each one focuses on different elements of storytelling and has its own purpose. Here’s a breakdown of the narrative essay types and what they mean.

Personal Narrative

Description : Tells a personal story or experience from the writer’s life.

Purpose: Reflects on personal growth, lessons learned, or significant moments.

Example of Narrative Essay Types:

Topic : “The Day I Conquered My Fear of Public Speaking”

Focus: Details the experience, emotions, and eventual triumph over a fear of public speaking during a pivotal event.

Descriptive Narrative

Description : Emphasizes vivid details and sensory imagery.

Purpose : Creates a sensory experience, painting a vivid picture for the reader.

Topic : “A Walk Through the Enchanted Forest”

Focus : Paints a detailed picture of the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings experienced during a walk through a mystical forest.

Autobiographical Narrative

Description: Chronicles significant events or moments from the writer’s life.

Purpose: Provides insights into the writer’s life, experiences, and growth.

Topic: “Lessons from My Childhood: How My Grandmother Shaped Who I Am”

Focus: Explores pivotal moments and lessons learned from interactions with a significant family member.

Experiential Narrative

Description: Relays experiences beyond the writer’s personal life.

Purpose: Shares experiences, travels, or events from a broader perspective.

Topic: “Volunteering in a Remote Village: A Journey of Empathy”

Focus: Chronicles the writer’s volunteering experience, highlighting interactions with a community and personal growth.

Literary Narrative

Description: Incorporates literary elements like symbolism, allegory, or thematic explorations.

Purpose: Uses storytelling for deeper explorations of themes or concepts.

Topic: “The Symbolism of the Red Door: A Journey Through Change”

Focus: Uses a red door as a symbol, exploring its significance in the narrator’s life and the theme of transition.

Historical Narrative

Description: Recounts historical events or periods through a personal lens.

Purpose: Presents history through personal experiences or perspectives.

Topic: “A Grandfather’s Tales: Living Through the Great Depression”

Focus: Shares personal stories from a family member who lived through a historical era, offering insights into that period.

Digital or Multimedia Narrative

Description: Incorporates multimedia elements like images, videos, or audio to tell a story.

Purpose: Explores storytelling through various digital platforms or formats.

Topic: “A Travel Diary: Exploring Europe Through Vlogs”

Focus: Combines video clips, photos, and personal narration to document a travel experience.

How to Choose a Topic for Your Narrative Essay?

Selecting a compelling topic for your narrative essay is crucial as it sets the stage for your storytelling. Choosing a boring topic is one of the narrative essay mistakes to avoid . Here’s a detailed guide on how to choose the right topic:

Reflect on Personal Experiences

• Significant Moments:

Moments that had a profound impact on your life or shaped your perspective.

Example: A moment of triumph, overcoming a fear, a life-changing decision, or an unforgettable experience.

• Emotional Resonance:

Events that evoke strong emotions or feelings.

Example: Joy, fear, sadness, excitement, or moments of realization.

• Lessons Learned:

Experiences that taught you valuable lessons or brought about personal growth.

Example: Challenges that led to personal development, shifts in mindset, or newfound insights.

Explore Unique Perspectives

• Uncommon Experiences:

Unique or unconventional experiences that might captivate the reader’s interest.

Example: Unusual travels, interactions with different cultures, or uncommon hobbies.

• Different Points of View:

Stories from others’ perspectives that impacted you deeply.

Example: A family member’s story, a friend’s experience, or a historical event from a personal lens.

Focus on Specific Themes or Concepts

• Themes or Concepts of Interest:

Themes or ideas you want to explore through storytelling.

Example: Friendship, resilience, identity, cultural diversity, or personal transformation.

• Symbolism or Metaphor:

Using symbols or metaphors as the core of your narrative.

Example: Exploring the symbolism of an object or a place in relation to a broader theme.

Consider Your Audience and Purpose

• Relevance to Your Audience:

Topics that resonate with your audience’s interests or experiences.

Example: Choose a relatable theme or experience that your readers might connect with emotionally.

• Impact or Message:

What message or insight do you want to convey through your story?

Example: Choose a topic that aligns with the message or lesson you aim to impart to your readers.

Brainstorm and Evaluate Ideas

• Free Writing or Mind Mapping:

Process: Write down all potential ideas without filtering. Mind maps or free-writing exercises can help generate diverse ideas.

• Evaluate Feasibility:

The depth of the story, the availability of vivid details, and your personal connection to the topic.

Imagine you’re considering topics for a narrative essay. You reflect on your experiences and decide to explore the topic of “Overcoming Stage Fright: How a School Play Changed My Perspective.” This topic resonates because it involves a significant challenge you faced and the personal growth it brought about.

Narrative Essay Topics

50 easy narrative essay topics.

• Learning to Ride a Bike
• My First Day of School
• A Surprise Birthday Party
• The Day I Got Lost
• Visiting a Haunted House
• An Encounter with a Wild Animal
• My Favorite Childhood Toy
• The Best Vacation I Ever Had
• An Unforgettable Family Gathering
• Conquering a Fear of Heights
• A Special Gift I Received
• Moving to a New City
• The Most Memorable Meal
• Getting Caught in a Rainstorm
• An Act of Kindness I Witnessed
• The First Time I Cooked a Meal
• My Experience with a New Hobby
• The Day I Met My Best Friend
• A Hike in the Mountains
• Learning a New Language
• An Embarrassing Moment
• Dealing with a Bully
• My First Job Interview
• A Sporting Event I Attended
• The Scariest Dream I Had
• Helping a Stranger
• The Joy of Achieving a Goal
• A Road Trip Adventure
• Overcoming a Personal Challenge
• The Significance of a Family Tradition
• An Unusual Pet I Owned
• A Misunderstanding with a Friend
• Exploring an Abandoned Building
• My Favorite Book and Why
• The Impact of a Role Model
• A Cultural Celebration I Participated In
• A Valuable Lesson from a Teacher
• A Trip to the Zoo
• An Unplanned Adventure
• Volunteering Experience
• A Moment of Forgiveness
• A Decision I Regretted
• A Special Talent I Have
• The Importance of Family Traditions
• The Thrill of Performing on Stage
• A Moment of Sudden Inspiration
• The Meaning of Home
• Learning to Play a Musical Instrument
• A Childhood Memory at the Park
• Witnessing a Beautiful Sunset

Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

• Discovering a New Passion
• Overcoming Academic Challenges
• Navigating Cultural Differences
• Embracing Independence: Moving Away from Home
• Exploring Career Aspirations
• Coping with Stress in College
• The Impact of a Mentor in My Life
• Balancing Work and Studies
• Facing a Fear of Public Speaking
• Exploring a Semester Abroad
• The Evolution of My Study Habits
• Volunteering Experience That Changed My Perspective
• The Role of Technology in Education
• Finding Balance: Social Life vs. Academics
• Learning a New Skill Outside the Classroom
• Reflecting on Freshman Year Challenges
• The Joys and Struggles of Group Projects
• My Experience with Internship or Work Placement
• Challenges of Time Management in College
• Redefining Success Beyond Grades
• The Influence of Literature on My Thinking
• The Impact of Social Media on College Life
• Overcoming Procrastination
• Lessons from a Leadership Role
• Exploring Diversity on Campus
• Exploring Passion for Environmental Conservation
• An Eye-Opening Course That Changed My Perspective
• Living with Roommates: Challenges and Lessons
• The Significance of Extracurricular Activities
• The Influence of a Professor on My Academic Journey
• Discussing Mental Health in College
• The Evolution of My Career Goals
• Confronting Personal Biases Through Education
• The Experience of Attending a Conference or Symposium
• Challenges Faced by Non-Native English Speakers in College
• The Impact of Traveling During Breaks
• Exploring Identity: Cultural or Personal
• The Impact of Music or Art on My Life
• Addressing Diversity in the Classroom
• Exploring Entrepreneurial Ambitions
• My Experience with Research Projects
• Overcoming Impostor Syndrome in College
• The Importance of Networking in College
• Finding Resilience During Tough Times
• The Impact of Global Issues on Local Perspectives
• The Influence of Family Expectations on Education
• Lessons from a Part-Time Job
• Exploring the College Sports Culture
• The Role of Technology in Modern Education
• The Journey of Self-Discovery Through Education

Narrative Essay Comparison

Narrative essay vs. descriptive essay.

Here’s our first narrative essay comparison! While both narrative and descriptive essays focus on vividly portraying a subject or an event, they differ in their primary objectives and approaches. Now, let’s delve into the nuances of comparison on narrative essays.

Narrative Essay:

Storytelling: Focuses on narrating a personal experience or event.

Chronological Order: Follows a structured timeline of events to tell a story.

Message or Lesson: Often includes a central message, moral, or lesson learned from the experience.

Engagement: Aims to captivate the reader through a compelling storyline and character development.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s point of view, using “I” and expressing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Emphasizes a plot with a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Character Development: Focuses on describing characters, their interactions, emotions, and growth.

Conflict or Challenge: Usually involves a central conflict or challenge that drives the narrative forward.

Dialogue: Incorporates conversations to bring characters and their interactions to life.

Reflection: Concludes with reflection or insight gained from the experience.

Descriptive Essay:

Vivid Description: Aims to vividly depict a person, place, object, or event.

Imagery and Details: Focuses on sensory details to create a vivid image in the reader’s mind.

Emotion through Description: Uses descriptive language to evoke emotions and engage the reader’s senses.

Painting a Picture: Creates a sensory-rich description allowing the reader to visualize the subject.

Imagery and Sensory Details: Focuses on providing rich sensory descriptions, using vivid language and adjectives.

Point of Focus: Concentrates on describing a specific subject or scene in detail.

Spatial Organization: Often employs spatial organization to describe from one area or aspect to another.

Objective Observations: Typically avoids the use of personal opinions or emotions; instead, the focus remains on providing a detailed and objective description.

Comparison:

Focus: Narrative essays emphasize storytelling, while descriptive essays focus on vividly describing a subject or scene.

Perspective: Narrative essays are often written from a first-person perspective, while descriptive essays may use a more objective viewpoint.

Purpose: Narrative essays aim to convey a message or lesson through a story, while descriptive essays aim to paint a detailed picture for the reader without necessarily conveying a specific message.

Narrative Essay vs. Argumentative Essay

The narrative essay and the argumentative essay serve distinct purposes and employ different approaches:

Engagement and Emotion: Aims to captivate the reader through a compelling story.

Reflective: Often includes reflection on the significance of the experience or lessons learned.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s point of view, sharing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Emphasizes a storyline with a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Message or Lesson: Conveys a central message, moral, or insight derived from the experience.

Argumentative Essay:

Persuasion and Argumentation: Aims to persuade the reader to adopt the writer’s viewpoint on a specific topic.

Logical Reasoning: Presents evidence, facts, and reasoning to support a particular argument or stance.

Debate and Counterarguments: Acknowledge opposing views and counter them with evidence and reasoning.

Thesis Statement: Includes a clear thesis statement that outlines the writer’s position on the topic.

Thesis and Evidence: Starts with a strong thesis statement and supports it with factual evidence, statistics, expert opinions, or logical reasoning.

Counterarguments: Addresses opposing viewpoints and provides rebuttals with evidence.

Logical Structure: Follows a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs presenting arguments and evidence, and a conclusion reaffirming the thesis.

Formal Language: Uses formal language and avoids personal anecdotes or emotional appeals.

Objective: Argumentative essays focus on presenting a logical argument supported by evidence, while narrative essays prioritize storytelling and personal reflection.

Purpose: Argumentative essays aim to persuade and convince the reader of a particular viewpoint, while narrative essays aim to engage, entertain, and share personal experiences.

Structure: Narrative essays follow a storytelling structure with character development and plot, while argumentative essays follow a more formal, structured approach with logical arguments and evidence.

In essence, while both essays involve writing and presenting information, the narrative essay focuses on sharing a personal experience, whereas the argumentative essay aims to persuade the audience by presenting a well-supported argument.

Narrative Essay vs. Personal Essay

While there can be an overlap between narrative and personal essays, they have distinctive characteristics:

Storytelling: Emphasizes recounting a specific experience or event in a structured narrative form.

Engagement through Story: Aims to engage the reader through a compelling story with characters, plot, and a central theme or message.

Reflective: Often includes reflection on the significance of the experience and the lessons learned.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s viewpoint, expressing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Focuses on developing a storyline with a clear beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Character Development: Includes descriptions of characters, their interactions, emotions, and growth.

Central Message: Conveys a central message, moral, or insight derived from the experience.

Personal Essay:

Exploration of Ideas or Themes: Explores personal ideas, opinions, or reflections on a particular topic or subject.

Expression of Thoughts and Opinions: Expresses the writer’s thoughts, feelings, and perspectives on a specific subject matter.

Reflection and Introspection: Often involves self-reflection and introspection on personal experiences, beliefs, or values.

Varied Structure and Content: Can encompass various forms, including memoirs, personal anecdotes, or reflections on life experiences.

Flexibility in Structure: Allows for diverse structures and forms based on the writer’s intent, which could be narrative-like or more reflective.

Theme-Centric Writing: Focuses on exploring a central theme or idea, with personal anecdotes or experiences supporting and illustrating the theme.

Expressive Language: Utilizes descriptive and expressive language to convey personal perspectives, emotions, and opinions.

Focus: Narrative essays primarily focus on storytelling through a structured narrative, while personal essays encompass a broader range of personal expression, which can include storytelling but isn’t limited to it.

Structure: Narrative essays have a more structured plot development with characters and a clear sequence of events, while personal essays might adopt various structures, focusing more on personal reflection, ideas, or themes.

Intent: While both involve personal experiences, narrative essays emphasize telling a story with a message or lesson learned, while personal essays aim to explore personal thoughts, feelings, or opinions on a broader range of topics or themes.

A narrative essay is more than just telling a story. It’s also meant to engage the reader, get them thinking, and leave a lasting impact. Whether it’s to amuse, motivate, teach, or reflect, these essays are a great way to communicate with your audience. This interesting narrative essay guide was all about letting you understand the narrative essay, its importance, and how can you write one.

Order Original Papers & Essays

Your First Custom Paper Sample is on Us!

Timely Deliveries

No Plagiarism & AI

100% Refund

Try Our Free Paper Writing Service

Related blogs.

Connections with Writers and support

Privacy and Confidentiality Guarantee

Average Quality Score

BibGuru Blog

Be more productive in school

• Citation Styles

How to write a narrative essay [Updated 2024]

A narrative essay is an opportunity to flex your creative muscles and craft a compelling story. In this blog post, we define what a narrative essay is and provide strategies and examples for writing one.

What is a narrative essay?

Similarly to a descriptive essay or a reflective essay, a narrative essay asks you to tell a story, rather than make an argument and present evidence. Most narrative essays describe a real, personal experience from your own life (for example, the story of your first big success).

Alternately, your narrative essay might focus on an imagined experience (for example, how your life would be if you had been born into different circumstances). While you don’t need to present a thesis statement or scholarly evidence, a narrative essay still needs to be well-structured and clearly organized so that the reader can follow your story.

When you might be asked to write a narrative essay

Although less popular than argumentative essays or expository essays, narrative essays are relatively common in high school and college writing classes.

The same techniques that you would use to write a college essay as part of a college or scholarship application are applicable to narrative essays, as well. In fact, the Common App that many students use to apply to multiple colleges asks you to submit a narrative essay.

How to choose a topic for a narrative essay

When you are asked to write a narrative essay, a topic may be assigned to you or you may be able to choose your own. With an assigned topic, the prompt will likely fall into one of two categories: specific or open-ended.

Examples of specific prompts:

• Write about the last vacation you took.
• Write about your final year of middle school.

Examples of open-ended prompts:

• Write about a time when you felt all hope was lost.
• Write about a brief, seemingly insignificant event that ended up having a big impact on your life.

A narrative essay tells a story and all good stories are centered on a conflict of some sort. Experiences with unexpected obstacles, twists, or turns make for much more compelling essays and reveal more about your character and views on life.

If you’re writing a narrative essay as part of an admissions application, remember that the people reviewing your essay will be looking at it to gain a sense of not just your writing ability, but who you are as a person.

In these cases, it’s wise to choose a topic and experience from your life that demonstrates the qualities that the prompt is looking for, such as resilience, perseverance, the ability to stay calm under pressure, etc.

It’s also important to remember that your choice of topic is just a starting point. Many students find that they arrive at new ideas and insights as they write their first draft, so the final form of your essay may have a different focus than the one you started with.

How to outline and format a narrative essay

Even though you’re not advancing an argument or proving a point of view, a narrative essay still needs to have a coherent structure. Your reader has to be able to follow you as you tell the story and to figure out the larger point that you’re making.

You’ll be evaluated on is your handling of the topic and how you structure your essay. Even though a narrative essay doesn’t use the same structure as other essay types, you should still sketch out a loose outline so you can tell your story in a clear and compelling way.

To outline a narrative essay, you’ll want to determine:

• how your story will start
• what points or specifics that you want to cover
• how your story will end
• what pace and tone you will use

In the vast majority of cases, a narrative essay should be written in the first-person, using “I.” Also, most narrative essays will follow typical formatting guidelines, so you should choose a readable font like Times New Roman in size 11 or 12. Double-space your paragraphs and use 1” margins.

To get your creative wheels turning, consider how your story compares to archetypes and famous historical and literary figures both past and present. Weave these comparisons into your essay to improve the quality of your writing and connect your personal experience to a larger context.

How to write a narrative essay

Writing a narrative essay can sometimes be a challenge for students who typically write argumentative essays or research papers in a formal, objective style. To give you a better sense of how you can write a narrative essay, here is a short example of an essay in response to the prompt, “Write about an experience that challenged your view of yourself.”

Narrative essay example

Even as a child, I always had what people might call a reserved personality. It was sometimes framed as a positive (“Sarah is a good listener”) and at other times it was put in less-than-admiring terms (“Sarah is withdrawn and not very talkative”). It was the latter kind of comments that caused me to see my introverted nature as a drawback and as something I should work to eliminate. That is, until I joined my high school’s student council.

The first paragraph, or introduction, sets up the context, establishing the situation and introducing the meaningful event upon which the essay will focus.

The other four students making up the council were very outspoken and enthusiastic. I enjoyed being around them, and I often agreed with their ideas. However, when it came to overhauling our school’s recycling plan, we butted heads. When I spoke up and offered a different point of view, one of my fellow student council members launched into a speech, advocating for her point of view. As her voice filled the room, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I wondered if I should try to match her tone, volume, and assertiveness as a way to be heard. But I just couldn’t do it—it’s not my way, and it never has been. For a fleeting moment, I felt defeated. But then, something in me shifted.

In this paragraph, the writer goes into greater depth about how her existing thinking brought her to this point.

I reminded myself that my view was valid and deserved to be heard. So I waited. I let my fellow council member speak her piece and when she was finished, I deliberately waited a few moments before calmly stating my case. I chose my words well, and I spoke them succinctly. Just because I’m not a big talker doesn’t mean I’m not a big thinker. I thought of the quotation “still waters run deep” and I tried to embody that. The effect on the room was palpable. People listened. And I hadn’t had to shout my point to be heard.

This paragraph demonstrates the turn in the story, the moment when everything changed. The use of the quotation “still waters run deep” imbues the story with a dash of poetry and emotion.

We eventually reached a compromise on the matter and concluded the student council meeting. Our council supervisor came to me afterward and said: “You handled that so well, with such grace and poise. I was very impressed.” Her words in that moment changed me. I realized that a bombastic nature isn't necessarily a powerful one. There is power in quiet, too. This experience taught me to view my reserved personality not as a character flaw, but as a strength.

The final paragraph, or conclusion, closes with a statement about the significance of this event and how it ended up changing the writer in a meaningful way.

Narrative essay writing tips

1. pick a meaningful story that has a conflict and a clear “moral.”.

If you’re able to choose your own topic, pick a story that has meaning and that reveals how you became the person your are today. In other words, write a narrative with a clear “moral” that you can connect with your main points.

2. Use an outline to arrange the structure of your story and organize your main points.

Although a narrative essay is different from argumentative essays, it’s still beneficial to construct an outline so that your story is well-structured and organized. Note how you want to start and end your story, and what points you want to make to tie everything together.

3. Be clear, concise, concrete, and correct in your writing.

You should use descriptive writing in your narrative essay, but don’t overdo it. Use clear, concise, and correct language and grammar throughout. Additionally, make concrete points that reinforce the main idea of your narrative.

4. Ask a friend or family member to proofread your essay.

No matter what kind of writing you’re doing, you should always plan to proofread and revise. To ensure that your narrative essay is coherent and interesting, ask a friend or family member to read over your paper. This is especially important if your essay is responding to a prompt. It helps to have another person check to make sure that you’ve fully responded to the prompt or question.

Frequently Asked Questions about narrative essays

A narrative essay, like any essay, has three main parts: an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Structuring and outlining your essay before you start writing will help you write a clear story that your readers can follow.

The first paragraph of your essay, or introduction, sets up the context, establishing the situation and introducing the meaningful event upon which the essay will focus.

In the vast majority of cases, a narrative essay should be written in the first-person, using “I.”

The 4 main types of essays are the argumentative essay, narrative essay, exploratory essay, and expository essay. You may be asked to write different types of essays at different points in your education.

Most narrative essays will be around five paragraphs, or more, depending on the topic and requirements. Make sure to check in with your instructor about the guidelines for your essay. If you’re writing a narrative essay for a college application, pay close attention to word or page count requirements.

Make your life easier with our productivity and writing resources.

For students and teachers.

Choose Your Test

• Search Blogs By Category
• College Admissions
• AP and IB Exams
• GPA and Coursework

3 Great Narrative Essay Examples + Tips for Writing

General Education

A narrative essay is one of the most intimidating assignments you can be handed at any level of your education. Where you've previously written argumentative essays that make a point or analytic essays that dissect meaning, a narrative essay asks you to write what is effectively a story .

But unlike a simple work of creative fiction, your narrative essay must have a clear and concrete motif —a recurring theme or idea that you’ll explore throughout. Narrative essays are less rigid, more creative in expression, and therefore pretty different from most other essays you’ll be writing.

But not to fear—in this article, we’ll be covering what a narrative essay is, how to write a good one, and also analyzing some personal narrative essay examples to show you what a great one looks like.

What Is a Narrative Essay?

At first glance, a narrative essay might sound like you’re just writing a story. Like the stories you're used to reading, a narrative essay is generally (but not always) chronological, following a clear throughline from beginning to end. Even if the story jumps around in time, all the details will come back to one specific theme, demonstrated through your choice in motifs.

Unlike many creative stories, however, your narrative essay should be based in fact. That doesn’t mean that every detail needs to be pure and untainted by imagination, but rather that you shouldn’t wholly invent the events of your narrative essay. There’s nothing wrong with inventing a person’s words if you can’t remember them exactly, but you shouldn’t say they said something they weren’t even close to saying.

Another big difference between narrative essays and creative fiction—as well as other kinds of essays—is that narrative essays are based on motifs. A motif is a dominant idea or theme, one that you establish before writing the essay. As you’re crafting the narrative, it’ll feed back into your motif to create a comprehensive picture of whatever that motif is.

For example, say you want to write a narrative essay about how your first day in high school helped you establish your identity. You might discuss events like trying to figure out where to sit in the cafeteria, having to describe yourself in five words as an icebreaker in your math class, or being unsure what to do during your lunch break because it’s no longer acceptable to go outside and play during lunch. All of those ideas feed back into the central motif of establishing your identity.

The important thing to remember is that while a narrative essay is typically told chronologically and intended to read like a story, it is not purely for entertainment value. A narrative essay delivers its theme by deliberately weaving the motifs through the events, scenes, and details. While a narrative essay may be entertaining, its primary purpose is to tell a complete story based on a central meaning.

Unlike other essay forms, it is totally okay—even expected—to use first-person narration in narrative essays. If you’re writing a story about yourself, it’s natural to refer to yourself within the essay. It’s also okay to use other perspectives, such as third- or even second-person, but that should only be done if it better serves your motif. Generally speaking, your narrative essay should be in first-person perspective.

Though your motif choices may feel at times like you’re making a point the way you would in an argumentative essay, a narrative essay’s goal is to tell a story, not convince the reader of anything. Your reader should be able to tell what your motif is from reading, but you don’t have to change their mind about anything. If they don’t understand the point you are making, you should consider strengthening the delivery of the events and descriptions that support your motif.

Narrative essays also share some features with analytical essays, in which you derive meaning from a book, film, or other media. But narrative essays work differently—you’re not trying to draw meaning from an existing text, but rather using an event you’ve experienced to convey meaning. In an analytical essay, you examine narrative, whereas in a narrative essay you create narrative.

The structure of a narrative essay is also a bit different than other essays. You’ll generally be getting your point across chronologically as opposed to grouping together specific arguments in paragraphs or sections. To return to the example of an essay discussing your first day of high school and how it impacted the shaping of your identity, it would be weird to put the events out of order, even if not knowing what to do after lunch feels like a stronger idea than choosing where to sit. Instead of organizing to deliver your information based on maximum impact, you’ll be telling your story as it happened, using concrete details to reinforce your theme.

3 Great Narrative Essay Examples

One of the best ways to learn how to write a narrative essay is to look at a great narrative essay sample. Let’s take a look at some truly stellar narrative essay examples and dive into what exactly makes them work so well.

A Ticket to the Fair by David Foster Wallace

Today is Press Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, and I’m supposed to be at the fairgrounds by 9:00 A.M. to get my credentials. I imagine credentials to be a small white card in the band of a fedora. I’ve never been considered press before. My real interest in credentials is getting into rides and shows for free. I’m fresh in from the East Coast, for an East Coast magazine. Why exactly they’re interested in the Illinois State Fair remains unclear to me. I suspect that every so often editors at East Coast magazines slap their foreheads and remember that about 90 percent of the United States lies between the coasts, and figure they’ll engage somebody to do pith-helmeted anthropological reporting on something rural and heartlandish. I think they asked me to do this because I grew up here, just a couple hours’ drive from downstate Springfield. I never did go to the state fair, though—I pretty much topped out at the county fair level. Actually, I haven’t been back to Illinois for a long time, and I can’t say I’ve missed it.

Throughout this essay, David Foster Wallace recounts his experience as press at the Illinois State Fair. But it’s clear from this opening that he’s not just reporting on the events exactly as they happened—though that’s also true— but rather making a point about how the East Coast, where he lives and works, thinks about the Midwest.

In his opening paragraph, Wallace states that outright: “Why exactly they’re interested in the Illinois State Fair remains unclear to me. I suspect that every so often editors at East Coast magazines slap their foreheads and remember that about 90 percent of the United States lies between the coasts, and figure they’ll engage somebody to do pith-helmeted anthropological reporting on something rural and heartlandish.”

Not every motif needs to be stated this clearly , but in an essay as long as Wallace’s, particularly since the audience for such a piece may feel similarly and forget that such a large portion of the country exists, it’s important to make that point clear.

But Wallace doesn’t just rest on introducing his motif and telling the events exactly as they occurred from there. It’s clear that he selects events that remind us of that idea of East Coast cynicism , such as when he realizes that the Help Me Grow tent is standing on top of fake grass that is killing the real grass beneath, when he realizes the hypocrisy of craving a corn dog when faced with a real, suffering pig, when he’s upset for his friend even though he’s not the one being sexually harassed, and when he witnesses another East Coast person doing something he wouldn’t dare to do.

Wallace is literally telling the audience exactly what happened, complete with dates and timestamps for when each event occurred. But he’s also choosing those events with a purpose—he doesn’t focus on details that don’t serve his motif. That’s why he discusses the experiences of people, how the smells are unappealing to him, and how all the people he meets, in cowboy hats, overalls, or “black spandex that looks like cheesecake leotards,” feel almost alien to him.

All of these details feed back into the throughline of East Coast thinking that Wallace introduces in the first paragraph. He also refers back to it in the essay’s final paragraph, stating:

At last, an overarching theory blooms inside my head: megalopolitan East Coasters’ summer treats and breaks and literally ‘getaways,’ flights-from—from crowds, noise, heat, dirt, the stress of too many sensory choices….The East Coast existential treat is escape from confines and stimuli—quiet, rustic vistas that hold still, turn inward, turn away. Not so in the rural Midwest. Here you’re pretty much away all the time….Something in a Midwesterner sort of actuates , deep down, at a public event….The real spectacle that draws us here is us.

Throughout this journey, Wallace has tried to demonstrate how the East Coast thinks about the Midwest, ultimately concluding that they are captivated by the Midwest’s less stimuli-filled life, but that the real reason they are interested in events like the Illinois State Fair is that they are, in some ways, a means of looking at the East Coast in a new, estranging way.

The reason this works so well is that Wallace has carefully chosen his examples, outlined his motif and themes in the first paragraph, and eventually circled back to the original motif with a clearer understanding of his original point.

When outlining your own narrative essay, try to do the same. Start with a theme, build upon it with examples, and return to it in the end with an even deeper understanding of the original issue. You don’t need this much space to explore a theme, either—as we’ll see in the next example, a strong narrative essay can also be very short.

Death of a Moth by Virginia Woolf

After a time, tired by his dancing apparently, he settled on the window ledge in the sun, and, the queer spectacle being at an end, I forgot about him. Then, looking up, my eye was caught by him. He was trying to resume his dancing, but seemed either so stiff or so awkward that he could only flutter to the bottom of the window-pane; and when he tried to fly across it he failed. Being intent on other matters I watched these futile attempts for a time without thinking, unconsciously waiting for him to resume his flight, as one waits for a machine, that has stopped momentarily, to start again without considering the reason of its failure. After perhaps a seventh attempt he slipped from the wooden ledge and fell, fluttering his wings, on to his back on the window sill. The helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death. I laid the pencil down again.

In this essay, Virginia Woolf explains her encounter with a dying moth. On surface level, this essay is just a recounting of an afternoon in which she watched a moth die—it’s even established in the title. But there’s more to it than that. Though Woolf does not begin her essay with as clear a motif as Wallace, it’s not hard to pick out the evidence she uses to support her point, which is that the experience of this moth is also the human experience.

In the title, Woolf tells us this essay is about death. But in the first paragraph, she seems to mostly be discussing life—the moth is “content with life,” people are working in the fields, and birds are flying. However, she mentions that it is mid-September and that the fields were being plowed. It’s autumn and it’s time for the harvest; the time of year in which many things die.

In this short essay, she chronicles the experience of watching a moth seemingly embody life, then die. Though this essay is literally about a moth, it’s also about a whole lot more than that. After all, moths aren’t the only things that die—Woolf is also reflecting on her own mortality, as well as the mortality of everything around her.

At its core, the essay discusses the push and pull of life and death, not in a way that’s necessarily sad, but in a way that is accepting of both. Woolf begins by setting up the transitional fall season, often associated with things coming to an end, and raises the ideas of pleasure, vitality, and pity.

At one point, Woolf tries to help the dying moth, but reconsiders, as it would interfere with the natural order of the world. The moth’s death is part of the natural order of the world, just like fall, just like her own eventual death.

All these themes are set up in the beginning and explored throughout the essay’s narrative. Though Woolf doesn’t directly state her theme, she reinforces it by choosing a small, isolated event—watching a moth die—and illustrating her point through details.

With this essay, we can see that you don’t need a big, weird, exciting event to discuss an important meaning. Woolf is able to explore complicated ideas in a short essay by being deliberate about what details she includes, just as you can be in your own essays.

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

On the twenty-ninth of July, in 1943, my father died. On the same day, a few hours later, his last child was born. Over a month before this, while all our energies were concentrated in waiting for these events, there had been, in Detroit, one of the bloodiest race riots of the century. A few hours after my father’s funeral, while he lay in state in the undertaker’s chapel, a race riot broke out in Harlem. On the morning of the third of August, we drove my father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass.

Like Woolf, Baldwin does not lay out his themes in concrete terms—unlike Wallace, there’s no clear sentence that explains what he’ll be talking about. However, you can see the motifs quite clearly: death, fatherhood, struggle, and race.

Throughout the narrative essay, Baldwin discusses the circumstances of his father’s death, including his complicated relationship with his father. By introducing those motifs in the first paragraph, the reader understands that everything discussed in the essay will come back to those core ideas. When Baldwin talks about his experience with a white teacher taking an interest in him and his father’s resistance to that, he is also talking about race and his father’s death. When he talks about his father’s death, he is also talking about his views on race. When he talks about his encounters with segregation and racism, he is talking, in part, about his father.

Because his father was a hard, uncompromising man, Baldwin struggles to reconcile the knowledge that his father was right about many things with his desire to not let that hardness consume him, as well.

Baldwin doesn’t explicitly state any of this, but his writing so often touches on the same motifs that it becomes clear he wants us to think about all these ideas in conversation with one another.

At the end of the essay, Baldwin makes it more clear:

This fight begins, however, in the heart and it had now been laid to my charge to keep my own heart free of hatred and despair. This intimation made my heart heavy and, now that my father was irrecoverable, I wished that he had been beside me so that I could have searched his face for the answers which only the future would give me now.

Here, Baldwin ties together the themes and motifs into one clear statement: that he must continue to fight and recognize injustice, especially racial injustice, just as his father did. But unlike his father, he must do it beginning with himself—he must not let himself be closed off to the world as his father was. And yet, he still wishes he had his father for guidance, even as he establishes that he hopes to be a different man than his father.

In this essay, Baldwin loads the front of the essay with his motifs, and, through his narrative, weaves them together into a theme. In the end, he comes to a conclusion that connects all of those things together and leaves the reader with a lasting impression of completion—though the elements may have been initially disparate, in the end everything makes sense.

You can replicate this tactic of introducing seemingly unattached ideas and weaving them together in your own essays. By introducing those motifs, developing them throughout, and bringing them together in the end, you can demonstrate to your reader how all of them are related. However, it’s especially important to be sure that your motifs and clear and consistent throughout your essay so that the conclusion feels earned and consistent—if not, readers may feel mislead.

5 Key Tips for Writing Narrative Essays

Narrative essays can be a lot of fun to write since they’re so heavily based on creativity. But that can also feel intimidating—sometimes it’s easier to have strict guidelines than to have to make it all up yourself. Here are a few tips to keep your narrative essay feeling strong and fresh.

Develop Strong Motifs

Motifs are the foundation of a narrative essay . What are you trying to say? How can you say that using specific symbols or events? Those are your motifs.

In the same way that an argumentative essay’s body should support its thesis, the body of your narrative essay should include motifs that support your theme.

Try to avoid cliches, as these will feel tired to your readers. Instead of roses to symbolize love, try succulents. Instead of the ocean representing some vast, unknowable truth, try the depths of your brother’s bedroom. Keep your language and motifs fresh and your essay will be even stronger!

Use First-Person Perspective

In many essays, you’re expected to remove yourself so that your points stand on their own. Not so in a narrative essay—in this case, you want to make use of your own perspective.

Sometimes a different perspective can make your point even stronger. If you want someone to identify with your point of view, it may be tempting to choose a second-person perspective. However, be sure you really understand the function of second-person; it’s very easy to put a reader off if the narration isn’t expertly deployed.

If you want a little bit of distance, third-person perspective may be okay. But be careful—too much distance and your reader may feel like the narrative lacks truth.

That’s why first-person perspective is the standard. It keeps you, the writer, close to the narrative, reminding the reader that it really happened. And because you really know what happened and how, you’re free to inject your own opinion into the story without it detracting from your point, as it would in a different type of essay.

Stick to the Truth

Your essay should be true. However, this is a creative essay, and it’s okay to embellish a little. Rarely in life do we experience anything with a clear, concrete meaning the way somebody in a book might. If you flub the details a little, it’s okay—just don’t make them up entirely.

Also, nobody expects you to perfectly recall details that may have happened years ago. You may have to reconstruct dialog from your memory and your imagination. That’s okay, again, as long as you aren’t making it up entirely and assigning made-up statements to somebody.

Dialog is a powerful tool. A good conversation can add flavor and interest to a story, as we saw demonstrated in David Foster Wallace’s essay. As previously mentioned, it’s okay to flub it a little, especially because you’re likely writing about an experience you had without knowing that you’d be writing about it later.

However, don’t rely too much on it. Your narrative essay shouldn’t be told through people explaining things to one another; the motif comes through in the details. Dialog can be one of those details, but it shouldn’t be the only one.

Use Sensory Descriptions

Because a narrative essay is a story, you can use sensory details to make your writing more interesting. If you’re describing a particular experience, you can go into detail about things like taste, smell, and hearing in a way that you probably wouldn’t do in any other essay style.

These details can tie into your overall motifs and further your point. Woolf describes in great detail what she sees while watching the moth, giving us the sense that we, too, are watching the moth. In Wallace’s essay, he discusses the sights, sounds, and smells of the Illinois State Fair to help emphasize his point about its strangeness. And in Baldwin’s essay, he describes shattered glass as a “wilderness,” and uses the feelings of his body to describe his mental state.

All these descriptions anchor us not only in the story, but in the motifs and themes as well. One of the tools of a writer is making the reader feel as you felt, and sensory details help you achieve that.

What’s Next?

Looking to brush up on your essay-writing capabilities before the ACT? This guide to ACT English will walk you through some of the best strategies and practice questions to get you prepared!

Part of practicing for the ACT is ensuring your word choice and diction are on point. Check out this guide to some of the most common errors on the ACT English section to be sure that you're not making these common mistakes!

A solid understanding of English principles will help you make an effective point in a narrative essay, and you can get that understanding through taking a rigorous assortment of high school English classes !

Trending Now

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Take?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Get Your Free

Find Your Target SAT Score

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by an Expert Full Scorer

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading and Writing

How to Improve Your Low SAT Score

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading and Writing

Find Your Target ACT Score

Complete Official Free ACT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer

Get a 36 on ACT English

Get a 36 on ACT Math

Get a 36 on ACT Reading

Get a 36 on ACT Science

How to Improve Your Low ACT Score

Get a 24 on ACT English

Get a 24 on ACT Math

Get a 24 on ACT Reading

Get a 24 on ACT Science

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

• Craft and Criticism
• Fiction and Poetry
• News and Culture
• Lit Hub Radio
• Reading Lists

• Literary Criticism
• Craft and Advice
• In Conversation
• On Translation
• Short Story
• From the Novel
• Bookstores and Libraries
• Film and TV
• Art and Photography
• Freeman’s
• The Virtual Book Channel
• Behind the Mic
• Beyond the Page
• The Cosmic Library
• The Critic and Her Publics
• Emergence Magazine
• Fiction/Non/Fiction
• First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
• The History of Literature
• I’m a Writer But
• Lit Century
• The Lit Hub Podcast
• Tor Presents: Voyage Into Genre
• Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
• Write-minded
• The Best of the Decade
• Best Reviewed Books
• BookMarks Daily Giveaway
• The Daily Thrill
• CrimeReads Daily Giveaway

Exit Strategies: So How Are You Supposed to End a Story?

Allegra hyde on fiction’s favorite endings.

“I hate endings. Just detest them,” said Sam Shepard in an interview with The Paris Review. “Beginnings are definitely the most exciting, middles are perplexing and endings are a disaster.”

Shepard is hardly alone in his aversion. For writers working in all mediums, ending a work can be the most challenging aspect of the writing process. Sure, there are outliers—Toni Morrison purportedly said: “I always know the ending; that’s where I start”—but for many of us, finding that conclusive beat is slippery, maddening, even disastrous.

As a writer and teacher of fiction, I can attest that few fiction workshops pass without the utterance of an ending-related critique. What’s more, those critiques tend to fall into one of two categories. The first: “This ending wasn’t satisfying.” And the second: “This ending wasn’t earned.” In other words: either a story’s ending was a letdown—given what the story seemed to promise—or the big swings taken by a story’s ending are not justified by what happens earlier.

So what’s a writer to do?

To start, maybe turn a critical eye upon those critiques themselves. Do we really want a story to satisfy? To earn ? Recently, I sat on a panel with Dantiel W. Moniz, who pointed out that this language smacks of consumer capitalism. She’s more interested in pursuing endings with “resonance.” This feels like a better framework to me as well. Resonance is a way to talk about the music of a work of fiction, as well as the multitude of ways a piece might impact a reader.

My guess is that most writers (or perhaps the ones reading Lit Hub ) are not working toward the goal of customer satisfaction. We’re trying to make art. We’re trying to disturb, or subvert, or illuminate, or render a literary experience so vibratingly transcendent that it resonates inside a reader long after the last page.

Okay, so what’s an anticapitalist writer to do?

I’ve been on a mission to find an answer, which is why I recently turned to the greatest source of wisdom and truth: Twitter. I wanted to get a sense of what made an ending especially compelling, so I asked the people of the internet to share their favorite endings in fiction. Responses poured in .

Middlemarch came up a number of times. So did a lot of Cormac McCarthy. On the ending of One Hundred Years of Solitude , one responder wrote: “It felt explosive the first time I read it, like I had been eaten up by the story myself.” This tracked with the intensely emotional way many people talked about their relationships to favorite endings. “I cried at the end,” people said; “I was wrecked”; “I had to lie down.” One person noted that a set of novel endings had pulled them out of a deep depression.

Powerful endings often elicit powerful emotions. Got it. But how can this (fairly obvious) observation help us as writers flailing around in the morass of an unfinished story or novel?

After reading through people’s favorite endings, I can say that a pattern did emerge. For all the complexity of pulling together the threads of a fictional narrative at the end of a piece, emotional impact was often created by an author’s manipulation of one particular craft element—an element so foundational that is often overlooked.

I’m talking about time.

All fiction operates along a narrative timeline. Whether or not the fictional work is written chronologically, there is an intrinsic sequence of events that exists in the universe of the story—and at the end of a piece, an author must decide where along that timeline they’d like a work to conclude. That decision has the potential to unlock a final beat of meaning and emotion for a reader. To put this another way: by being intentional about time at the end of a work, an author can create pattern, contrast, connection; they can generate resonance.

What form might such a temporal decision take? I’d argue that there are three major moves one can make at the end of a work of fiction:

• Flash back (the ending takes a retrospective turn) • Stay in the present (the ending maintains linear chronological motion) • Flash forward (the ending gestures to a future beyond the events depicted in the story)

Below, you’ll find a series of novel and story endings that have been categorized in these temporal terms. These examples demonstrate different “exit strategies” for creating resonance at the end of a work of fiction. I’ve tried to use well-loved works—both classic and contemporary—to minimize “spoilers.” But I’m talking about endings, so obviously proceed at your own risk.

Endings that flash backwards:

“ Bullet in the Brain ” by Tobias Wolff (back to the way beginning) “The bullet is already in the brain; it won’t be outrun forever… But for now Anders can still make time. Time for the shadows to lengthen on the grass, time for the tethered dog to bark at the flying ball, time for the boy in right field to smack his sweat-blackened mitt and softly chant, They is, they is, they is.”

At the end of “Bullet in the Brain,” we know that Anders is going to die—but the story doesn’t end with his demise in a bank after getting on the nerves of a bank robber. Instead, we end in a memory. Not just any memory, either: a memory that gestures to the origins of Anders’s love of language. This shift to the past connects early events in Anders’s life to the very last: getting shot in the head for his semantic snickering. This ending also offers a gentler portrait of a person who is otherwise pretty unpleasant—and that contrast creates resonance.

  Real Life by Brandon Taylor (back to the beginning) “They finally appeared, his fated friends, four or five people, coming toward him on the sidewalk…Wallace was giddy, almost sick with excitement, to be in this place, among these people… Someone wanted to make a toast… To life, they said, imbuing those words with all their hope and their desires for the future. Their laughter rang through the night and through the trees, and on the shore they had left behind, people were eating dinner and laughing and crying and going about things as they always had and always would.”

The last chapter in Real Life takes readers to a scene that precedes everything that has already occurred in the novel—namely, Wallace’s miserable time studying biochemistry at a Midwestern university, where aggressions both micro and macro are unleashed upon him by the community and his supposed friends. As readers, we know what is going to happen to Wallace. This makes the ending note of Wallace’s innocent expectation all the more poignant.

  The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka (back to the middle/end) “One last memory. By the time you finish your third novel she has not spoken in more than a year… You give her a copy of your book and watch her slowly leaf through the pages… And when she gets to your face, she stares into your eyes with wonder. She does this loop again…And every time, when she gets to your face, she looks as if she is about to speak.”

  As The Swimmers explicitly states, it is a novel that ends with a memory. A middle aged author visits her mother, Alice, who is nearing the end of her life in a care facility for dementia. At this point in the novel, we know that Alice will—has—died. The ending loops us back in time, offering a moment of grace, as well as a resonant sense of suspension that captures an important symbolic touchstone in the book: swimming laps in a pool, over and over.

  “ Lockwood ” by Bryan Washington (back to the near-end) “The morning before, Roberto’d shown me this crease on my palms. When you folded them a certain way, your hands looked like a star…Then he cupped his hands between us, asked if I’d found the milagro in mine.

I couldn’t see shit, just the outline of his shadow, but we squeezed our palms together and I called it amazing anyways.”

  “Lockwood” follows the brief and clandestine relationship between the narrator and his next door neighbor Roberto. The story ends when Roberto’s struggling family must flee Houston, and after the narrator’s family does nothing to help. The story’s final move—to return to a moment of intimacy just before Roberto’s departure—offers a moment of togetherness for the two young men, as well as the sweetness of a white lie that balances the sadness of the situation.

Endings that end in the present:

Bridge by Evan S. Connell (the inescapable present) “Having tried all four doors she began to understand that until she could attract someone’s attention she was trapped. She pressed the horn, but there was not a sound… Finally she took the keys from the ignition and began tapping on the window, and she called to anyone who might be listening, “Hello? Hello out there?”

But no one answered, unless it was the falling snow.”

  In Mrs. Bridge , we follow the life and times of an upper-middle class housewife in the mid-twentieth century. She is trapped by conventions, manners, expectations. The novel’s ending, in which we leave Mrs. Bridge imprisoned in her old Lincoln in the garage, could come across as jarringly abrupt—but the palpable stuckness of the moment resonates as a summative symbol for the novel. Mrs. Bridge has been stuck her entire life; there’s a strange catharsis in having her realize her predicament, at least in a literal sense.

  “ The Husband Stitch ” by Carmen Maria Machado (the decisive present) “‘Do you want to untie the ribbon?’ I ask him. ‘After these many years, is that what you want of me?’

…My weight shifts, and with it, gravity seizes me. My husband’s face falls away, and then I see the ceiling, and the wall behind me. As my lopped head tips backward off my neck and rolls off the bed, I feel as lonely as I have ever been.”

Machado’s short story reimagines the urban legend “The Girl with the Green Ribbon” and, like in the original tale, the story ends with the narrator’s head falling off. Ending in the narrative present works, in part, because spooky urban legends are generally told chronologically—and sometimes end with a jump scare. In Machado’s story, the final moment is in some ways a small triumph—the narrator has proven why she could never remove her green ribbon—but mostly it’s a decapitative defeat, and this simultaneous import creates resonance.

  “ Fable ” by Charles Yu (a present between the past and future) “His lunch hour was over. The man got up to leave. On his way out the door, he said, See you next week, and the therapist said, Maybe. He turned to look at her.

She said, Let’s see where you go from here.

The man went down the hall, relieved himself, washed his hands, splashed water on his face. As he stepped back out into the hallway, that was when he saw it…In the carpet, the faintest outline.

Where did it lead? Was it a way out? Or a way in?

And the man said to himself, All right, then, maybe she’s right. If this is where your story starts, then so be it.”

In a similar vein to “The Husband Stitch,” Yu’s “Fable” borrows from the form of fables and fairy tales by ending in the present . The protagonist has finished a therapy session in which he has used allegory to process his struggles as a father of a child with special needs. The story concludes with a glimpse of the protagonist discovering that new possibilities may await him. The present moment is thus a hinge between processing the past and facing the future. It’s not happy ever after , but it is a chance for greater happiness.

  “ Pioneer ” by Lydia Conklin (an epiphanic present) “Really, the end of the simulation was just the beginning. Coco knew that now. Not even Ms. Harper could help her. She pulled away and turned to face the yellow field, the milkweed, the curved path of cones. The sun was a low white hole in the sky. She would go on her journey now. She would set off.”

The ending of “Pioneer” makes its relationship to time conspicuous: the end is “just the beginning.” Like in “Fable,” the ending marks a shift between the protagonist’s past and future. Coco has endured an Oregon Trail reenactment, rejecting her gendered assignment despite the social costs (she chooses to be an ox, rather than a matriarch). There’s a sense of allegory here, as well as an epiphany about what the future holds. In this way, the narrative resonantly ends in a manner that feels both expansive and conclusive.

  Endings that flash forward into the future:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (zooming forward with an epilogue) “ Being a partial transcript of the proceedings of the Twelfth Symposium on Gileadean Studies, held as part of the International Historical Association Convention, which took place at the University of Denay, Nunavit, on June 25, 2195… As all historians know, the past is a great darkness…Voices may reach us from it; but what they say to us is imbued with the obscurity of the matrix out of which they come… Are there any questions?”

Atwood ends her novel with a transcript from an academic conference taking place a few hundred years in the future from the rest of the novel. The transcript reveals that the story of Offred trying to survive in the patriarchal dystopia of Gilead is the product of confessional tapes discovered in a locker in Bangor, Maine. This future vantage serves to answer potential questions we might have about the trajectory of Gileadean society, as well as Offred’s fate. Whatever optimism this glimpse of the future might grant, however, is tempered by the chilling moral relativism of the male professor giving the talk. Thus, The Handmaid’s Tale ’s move into the future offers both solace and an unsettling sense that patriarchal oppression might persists.

  Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (a potential future) “She’d go back. She’d probably been missed, already, and felt a little guilty over not leaving a note…Maybe her parents would cry over what they didn’t know and what they did…Maybe Ruth would empty the dishwasher and G. H. would take out the garbage, and maybe the day would truly begin, and if the rest of it…was unclear, so be it. If they didn’t know how it would end—with night, with more terrible noise from the top of Olympus, with bombs, with disease, with blood, with happiness, with deer or something else watching them from the darkened woods—well, wasn’t that true of every day?”

Leave the World Behind keeps readers turning pages by dangling mysterious unknowns throughout the novel. By the end, many questions remain unanswered, so it seems fitting that the novel gestures mostly toward potentialities. Here, we are offered a vision of the possible future via both small domestic details and earth shattering events. Tragedy is likely to be an ongoing occurrence for the novel’s characters, but the positioning of this potential future leaves space for hope. The best and the worst of what’s to come is, after all, a “maybe.”

“ Manzanos ” by Kirstin Valdez Quade (a desired and anticipated future) “If I could time my death, I would time it thus: exactly fifteen seconds after my grandfather. I would like to die in my sleep, but I must be certain I outlive him. I will lay my ear against his thin chest, listen to the silence beneath his lumped sternum, and then, when I am sure, it will be my turn…

In a moment my grandfather will pat me again, and his hand will stay there, resting on mine. I’ll look down, run a finger along the veins knotted and bruised under his thin brown skin. I wait for his touch. But for now we watch the horses separately, sitting as still as we know how.”

Technically, the last line of “Manzanos” returns to the present moment, but the main thrust of this ending is toward a desired and then an anticipated future. The story’s protagonist, Ofelia, wishes to die right after her grandfather. Odds are good that she won’t—and yet, by suggesting how that death might happen, the story captures her doomed conviction. Moreover, by following Ofelia’s death wish with a near-future vision of grandfatherly hand-patting, we end on a more likely future moment: one that is freighted with Ofelia’s awareness of her grandfather’s love.

“ Burn ” by Morgan Talty (a multiverse of futures) “I kept going, wondering, Hair or pot first? Pot made the most sense…No. I’d grab Fellis’s hair from the swamp on my way home. With Fellis on his unmade bed, me on a torn beanbag in the corner, each of us with a tall boy and the pot smoke hazing gray the room, we’d keep poking and squeezing the hair, waiting for it to dry, waiting to burn it.”

  “Burn” ends with a choice. Our narrator can first collect Fellis’s recently severed hair, or purchase pot. By describing the likely experience of pursuing each option, the story opens into the multiverse. The beauty of Talty’s ending is that even when the narrator ultimately elects to get the pot first, we know that he may not follow through. There are so many other possibilities—so many ways for things to go wrong—and this lends resonance to the seeming definitiveness of his choice.

How does one end an essay on endings?

Maybe, by taking one’s own advice. Thus, I offer you three endings to this essay using three different temporal moves. You can decide which one resonates the most.

Flashback Before writing this essay, I spent a while thinking about what endings mean in the context of real life. I thought about the end of relationships, the end of my twenties, the end of living in one city and then another, the end of sixth grade, the end of my one-time favorite show Even Stevens, the end of liking bubblegum flavored ice cream. Life is a constant stream of endings—and so often we don’t realize their significance until it’s too late. Perhaps that’s why fiction so often looks backward, why characters lose themselves to memory, why a novel might end not with a vision of sailing into the future but rather in a floundering boat “borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Staying in the present So there you have it: my theory on endings. I’m not the first person to have one (According to Jeanette Winterson: “There are only three possible endings…revenge, tragedy or forgiveness. That’s it.”) and I likely won’t be the last. But I hope that you’ve found something useful in this essay. And if not, well, now we’re done (mic drop).

Flashforward What will happen now, with this essay on endings finally finished? Well, the writer may stand up and stretch. She might pet her cat, then walk outside into a bright spring afternoon. Maybe she’ll see a patch of purple crocuses, a little stand of yellow daffodils newly blooming after a long damp winter under a gray midwestern sky. Maybe she’ll remember that nothing really ends, it just goes back to the beginning.

________________________

Allegra Hyde’s The Last Catastrophe is available now from Vintage.

Allegra Hyde

Previous article, next article.

• RSS - Posts

Literary Hub

Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature

Sign Up For Our Newsletters

How to Pitch Lit Hub

Advertisers: Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Support Lit Hub - Become A Member

Become a Lit Hub Supporting Member : Because Books Matter

For the past decade, Literary Hub has brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall. But our future relies on you. In return for a donation, you’ll get an ad-free reading experience , exclusive editors’ picks, book giveaways, and our coveted Joan Didion Lit Hub tote bag . Most importantly, you’ll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving on the internet.

Become a member for as low as $5/month

When You Write

How to End a Short Story: Crafting A Satisfying Conclusion

For some writers, starting a short story is usually easier than writing the ending. For others, it’s the end that falls into place quite easily.

But with fiction writing, every part of the story takes huge amounts of creativity and effort, so I wouldn’t conclude that the ending of a short story ought to be the easier part.

As a matter of fact, we―more often than not―write the ending to our short story lastly. By this time, we are probably tired, have exhausted a lot of time trying to approach the conclusion, and are likely out of ideas.

So it’s okay if you usually don’t have the littlest ideas of how to end a short story.

Don’t sweat it though, I have you covered. In this post, I have included the best and worst ways to end a short story. And… I have also added some examples of short story endings, among other tips.

Let’s get started.

The best Ways To End A Short Story

1. a cliffhanger.

A cliffhanger ending leaves the story unresolved, the end still leaves an aura of suspense, and it is said to be cliff-hanging. This plot device is used to compel the readers to anxiously wait for or, if it’s already published, rush for the story’s next installment.

A cliffhanger can end the short story with a main character facing peril, or it can end the short story with a very shocking revelation.

2. Resolved Ending

This is the “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” type of ending. A resolved ending packages the whole story in one read, and everything is concluded once the reader finishes reading it.

A resolved ending leaves no speculations or questions; all the plotlines and character stories are closed with the ending.

3. Twist ending

Writers can introduce an exciting surprise at the end of a short story, a set of unexpected events that catch the reader off-guard.

This type of ending can turn the narrative on its head and reveal the mirage in the story. In some stories, a twist may involve a villain turning out to be the hero (or vice versa), or a character being someone else who had disappeared in the early stages of the story.

A twist ending can either disappoint the reader or offer them relief from a tragic scene (in which a character ‘died’ but wasn’t dead). Either way, this type of ending evokes an emotional response from the reader.

4. Implied ending

An implied ending involves some sort of explicitness in the way the story is concluded or ended.

This type of ending can frustrate the reader or get them in all sorts of conversations with other readers, trying to figure out what really happened.

Authors hold back some of the details or intentionally cut out bits of logical explanations, leaving the readers some clues to piece the ending together on their own.

With no clear ending, readers usually end up with a blizzard of questions.

An ending like this works effectively for the story and author because it leaves the readers talking and thinking about the story longer than they would if the story just ended normally. This means that the author can reap some rewards because the story solicits engagement long after it has been read, and that may lead to an increase in the number of people looking at your work.

5. A Bare Ending

The writer reveals the ending at the beginning of the story. Although the reader is robbed of the suspense that comes with an unknown ending, the writer can still throw in lots of twists and turns as the story fleshes out.

A bare ending provides the writer with a clear direction of the story, and they can enjoy writing it, knowing where exactly the story is headed. Any event added to the story is intended to counterpoise anything that might have seemed to steer the story in a different direction, thereby leading it toward the known ending of the short story.

How to Write Great Closing Lines

Closing lines are important in short stories because they complement the perfectness of the delicious story you’ve just dished to the reader.

Fiction is all about creativity, and as such, there can be no rules on how to write final sentences, but there are tips that help you write good closing lines:

1. Be Poetic

Fiction doesn’t need to be overly flowery, but with the final sentence, you can unleash the poet in you and give the reader an aesthetic ending.

Don’t get carried away; maintain the simplicity. Do not stuff the ending with ineffectual decorative words that will leave the reader looking them up in a dictionary.

Simple words, if used creatively, can take on a poetic, symbolic form. It’s not a must that you end a short story poetically, so don’t try too hard. Sometimes, a poetic ending can happen by chance.

2. Use Impeccable Wording

It’s not that easy, but you have to make sure that you revise your last sentence over and over until every word in it sounds perfect, and every period, comma, or dash is in its place.

The truth of the matter is you are not a poet (well, some of you sure aren’t), and coming up with a poetic ending is a tough ask. But, you can still give your most important sentence—the closing line—some time and effort and keep housekeeping your ending until it’s just perfect.

Good Story Endings Examples

The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which Animal Farm, George Orwell.

George Orwell’s conclusion of his novel Animal Farm is one delivered on a plate of parables, and it indirectly, cleverly, and touchingly remarks on human nature.

Charles Dickens created some of the best cliffhangers of all time. He gave both the readers and his fellow writers the allure of a cliffhanger. And he did this in the early nineteenth century when cliffhangers were really a thing.

He served his novel The Old Curiosity Shop in weekly installments. The most exciting, one that kept readers waiting for weeks, was about a character called Little Nell whose death was used by the author to play with the reader’s emotions—effectively, might I add.

The Worst Ways to End a Short Story

1. abruptly introduce a resolution.

You can easily ruin things when you suddenly introduce a resolution to a seemingly impossible situation. There should be no magic wand with the way your story is resolved; it doesn’t have to be realistic, but the way it is eased into the story has to have a logical connection with the rest of the story.

2. Have a predictable End

In an earlier section, I talked about a bare ending that involves the writer disclosing the ending before the story gets there. If you start that way, the end isn’t predictable but known.

However, if you haven’t disclosed the ending, it’s not going to do you any good if the average reader can predict the way the story is going to conclude. Your readers aren’t looking for a plainly realistic ending; they want you to surprise them.

3. Take too long to end the story

I always emphasize the importance of ending a story just after the climax. The story doesn’t have to die down completely; you have to end on a thrashing wave.

If your story takes longer to end, it might bore the reader and force them to leave the story before they get to the end.

4. End a story too soon

Ending a short story should neither take long nor be rushed. A good ending concludes naturally, following a logical sequence. Most often, a writer can feel when a story nears a logical conclusion (if you end it sooner, you’ll ruin it).

Of course, we all know that a short story has a small word count—usually not enough for an extensive plotline—but you have to compress the story in a way that ends it no sooner or later than natural.

5. Kill Favorite Characters

The worst psychotic murderers that I know are writers. It’s like they get intense pleasure from killing characters. They usually do it so masterfully that they get away with it most of the time, but if they kill favorite characters at the wrong time (like at the end), they might upset readers who are emotionally invested in the story.

Killing a favorite villain is more excusable (maybe because the story has to carry a moral element) but killing the hero’s baby right at the end does the writer no favors.

6. Tie Everything Up Too Neatly

Your readers aren’t dumb (well… at least not all of them). You can’t just give the end every detail there was, let them establish some things by deduction. This way, you let them feel clever and relate to the story more.

What Are Cliff Hangers and Why Are They Important?

As I introduced it, a cliffhanger is a plot device that ends the narrative without a definitive end (unresolved) and leaves the reader with a lot of suspense.

A cliffhanger can be used to end a short story , chapter of a novel, a movie episode, a movie scene, a play, et cetera.

Usually, cliffhangers are used to keep readers or audiences engaged in the story. If the story is delivered in installments, the prequel usually ends in an exciting cliffhanger so that the audience comes back for the next installment.

Cliff-hanger endings might come in the form of the main character facing peril or a shocking, narrative-changing revelation being introduced right before the story installment concludes.

Tips for Writing Cliffhangers

There are many tips for writing cliffhangers, but here are a few of them:

• Move the resolution to the installment (quite obvious, right?).
• Introduce an event or scene that the reader didn’t anticipate.
• Employ the use of brusque sentences or phrases to cue in some perilous events/scenes.
• Use flashbacks to introduce new bits to the narrative. These bits have to help you leave the reader on tenterhooks.

Ending the ‘How to End a Short Story’ Article

Short fiction doesn’t give you a wide ground to loosen up your writing; everything is in limited supply—character arcs, plotlines, action. Therefore, every sentence should prove to be effective.

Most importantly, the finale has to be some sort of big bang; you have to try your best to give your short story a killer ending. But, I also have to tell you that you don’t have to force lest you should ruin the short story.

Always craft a natural end; neither too realistic nor overly fantastical.  

Recommended Reading...

What is a premise in writing why should you write it first, how to write a good climax (narrative) – professional tips, how does the setting contribute to the story, what is a love square.

Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

© 2024 When You Write

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Writing

How to Conclude an Essay (with Examples)

Last Updated: July 22, 2024 Fact Checked

Writing a Strong Conclusion

What to avoid, brainstorming tricks.

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams and by wikiHow staff writer, Aly Rusciano . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,221,045 times.

So, you’ve written an outstanding essay and couldn’t be more proud. But now you have to write the final paragraph. The conclusion simply summarizes what you’ve already written, right? Well, not exactly. Your essay’s conclusion should be a bit more finessed than that. Luckily, you’ve come to the perfect place to learn how to write a conclusion. We’ve put together this guide to fill you in on everything you should and shouldn’t do when ending an essay. Follow our advice, and you’ll have a stellar conclusion worthy of an A+ in no time.

Tips for Ending an Essay

• Rephrase your thesis to include in your final paragraph to bring the essay full circle.
• End your essay with a call to action, warning, or image to make your argument meaningful.
• Keep your conclusion concise and to the point, so you don’t lose a reader’s attention.
• Do your best to avoid adding new information to your conclusion and only emphasize points you’ve already made in your essay.

• “All in all”
• “Ultimately”
• “Furthermore”
• “As a consequence”
• “As a result”

• Make sure to write your main points in a new and unique way to avoid repetition.

• Let’s say this is your original thesis statement: “Allowing students to visit the library during lunch improves campus life and supports academic achievement.”
• Restating your thesis for your conclusion could look like this: “Evidence shows students who have access to their school’s library during lunch check out more books and are more likely to complete their homework.”
• The restated thesis has the same sentiment as the original while also summarizing other points of the essay.

• “When you use plastic water bottles, you pollute the ocean. Switch to using a glass or metal water bottle instead. The planet and sea turtles will thank you.”
• “The average person spends roughly 7 hours on their phone a day, so there’s no wonder cybersickness is plaguing all generations.”
• “Imagine walking on the beach, except the soft sand is made up of cigarette butts. They burn your feet but keep washing in with the tide. If we don’t clean up the ocean, this will be our reality.”
• “ Lost is not only a show that changed the course of television, but it’s also a reflection of humanity as a whole.”
• “If action isn’t taken to end climate change today, the global temperature will dangerously rise from 4.5 to 8 °F (−15.3 to −13.3 °C) by 2100.”

• Focus on your essay's most prevalent or important parts. What key points do you want readers to take away or remember about your essay?

• For instance, instead of writing, “That’s why I think that Abraham Lincoln was the best American President,” write, “That’s why Abraham Lincoln was the best American President.”
• There’s no room for ifs, ands, or buts—your opinion matters and doesn’t need to be apologized for!

• For instance, words like “firstly,” “secondly,” and “thirdly” may be great transition statements for body paragraphs but are unnecessary in a conclusion.

• For instance, say you began your essay with the idea that humanity’s small sense of sense stems from space’s vast size. Try returning to this idea in the conclusion by emphasizing that as human knowledge grows, space becomes smaller.

• For example, you could extend an essay on the television show Orange is the New Black by bringing up the culture of imprisonment in America.

Community Q&A

Reader Videos

Share a quick video tip and help bring articles to life with your friendly advice. Your insights could make a real difference and help millions of people!

• Always review your essay after writing it for proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and don’t be afraid to revise. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Have somebody else proofread your essay before turning it in. The other person will often be able to see errors you may have missed!

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/support/helps/self-help-resources/grammar/transition-signals
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/argument_papers/conclusions.html
• ↑ http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/conclude.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/ending-essay-conclusions
• ↑ https://www.pittsfordschools.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=542&dataid=4677&FileName=conclusions1.pdf
• ↑ https://www.cuyamaca.edu/student-support/tutoring-center/files/student-resources/how-to-write-a-good-conclusion.pdf
• ↑ https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185935

About This Article

To end an essay, start your conclusion with a phrase that makes it clear your essay is coming to a close, like "In summary," or "All things considered." Then, use a few sentences to briefly summarize the main points of your essay by rephrasing the topic sentences of your body paragraphs. Finally, end your conclusion with a call to action that encourages your readers to do something or learn more about your topic. In general, try to keep your conclusion between 5 and 7 sentences long. For more tips from our English co-author, like how to avoid common pitfalls when writing an essay conclusion, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Eva Dettling

Jan 23, 2019

Did this article help you?

Mar 7, 2017

Jul 16, 2021

Gabby Suzuki

Oct 17, 2019

Nicole Murphy

Apr 26, 2017

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve

• Scriptwriting

How to End a Story — Different Types of Story Endings Explained

H uman beings have been telling stories for as long as we have roamed this Earth. Storytelling has gone from oral tradition to a natural part of the cinematic landscape. And in-between it all, we have learned how to end a story. Throughout our years telling stories, we have learned that there are ultimately four ways to end one. We will be going over each of these four ending types and explaining their characteristics for knowing how to end your screenplay. Let’s begin at the beginnings before we end with the endings! 

Get your FREE  Character Arcs & Endings Worksheet

Enter your email so we can send you the free writing worksheet (made in Google Drive).

How to End a Story

Four endings & "want" vs "need".

How will your story end? If you want to know how to end a story, you have to know the hero’s “want” and “need.”

A “want” is an external desire that the hero is fully aware of. This external want is what will, at least initially, drive the plot. That want could be any number of things — a trophy, a bank heist, saving the world, and so much more.

A “need” is an internal desire that the hero is not aware of, but ends up driving them through their character arc. And unlike an external want, an internal need is much more relatable to audiences, as these needs are usually universal in nature. Needs can include learning to value friendship over money, accepting love from others, or realizing what really matters by the story's end.

The four ending types that we will be looking at involve combining and mixing the wants and needs of the heroes. These specifically are endings where the protagonist gets:

• what they want and need ( sweet )
• neither ( bitter )
• only what they need ( semi-sweet )
• only what they want ( bittersweet )

For our examples, we will utilize StudioBinder’s screenwriting software for script excerpts. This also makes it easier for you to read a script excerpt here, along with accessing the whole script to better understand how to end a story. In this way, you will have the clearest view of how to end your screenplay with one of the four endings.

So, without further ado, let’s get right to it.

How to End Your Story

The sweet ending.

We start our journey with the sweet ending, which is where the hero gets what they want along with what they need. And there are not many examples much sweeter than Back to the Future .

How to End a Story  •   Subscribe on YouTube

In the film, Marty McFly wants to be a rock star, but he lacks the proper confidence to make it work. This is fueled by his father George, who is completely lacking in confidence (or self-worth). So Marty’s need is to be the opposite of his father, while also achieving his want of  being a rock star.

However, Marty’s wants and needs change when he is sent from 1985 to 1955. He accidentally takes his dad’s place when he meets his mom and now he’s at risk of being erased from existence. Luckily, Marty succeeds in upping his dad’s confidence and getting his parents to fall in love.

Additionally, he’s able to realize his initial want of being a rock star at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.

How to End a Screenplay  •   Read the script here

A sweet ending like this, where the hero archives his wants and needs, can be hard to pull off. But if Marty hadn’t gone back in time in the first place, the ending would never have happened. What’s more, against all odds, he, along with Doc Brown’s help, got his parents back together and was able to get back to his own time.

If the screenwriters had trouble knowing how to end a script, Marty might have succeeded through dumb luck or by doing nothing himself, and these are not the best ways to end a story.

For more, including a complete breakdown, read the entire screenplay for Back to the Future .

How Do You End a Story

The bitter ending.

So how will your story end when the hero gets neither what they want or what they need? In that case, you get a bitter ending, which is exemplified wonderfully in Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo's adaptation of Puzo’s The Godfather .

In The Godfather , Michael Corleone does not want to be like his family. He may be at his sister’s wedding, but he lets his girlfriend Kay know that the business his family deals in does not represent who he is or who he wants to be. For Michael, his want is to live a normal, legitimate life.

However, once Michael hears about his father’s assasination, his want changes from “live a normal life” to “revenge.” His need, however, remains unchanged: he needs to remain a good person, to avoid the darkness that comes from living the life of a crime boss.

However, due to his drive for revenge, Michael kick starts his downward spiral into darkness. He kills the men who tried to kill his father and later he takes over the family business.

By the final scene in the film, we know Michael is forever changed. For no matter how much he may have tried, Michael chose to be part of the life he so vigorously opposed. And in the end, he achieves neither his want nor his need.

How to End a Script  •   Read the scene here

It’s important to know that a bitter ending is also a tragic one, which is how to end a script like The Godfather’s . And in a great tragedy, the hero makes it to their bitter end all on their own. If the bitter end happens out of nowhere, or because of outside influences, it can feel cheap, as they are bad ways to end a story. Other potentially bad ways to end a story are if the negative actions of the hero lead to a sweet ending or if they succeed in some positive way.

For more, including a complete breakdown, read the entire  screenplay for The Godfather .

The Semi-Sweet Ending

The semi-sweet ending is one of the most common endings used. It’s when the hero gets what they need, but not what they want, often through a positive change character arc. So, if you want to know how to end a script semi-sweetly, look no further than Rain Man .

How to End a Story  •  Rain Man

Rain Man is the story of Charlie Babbitt, a man whose only concern when his dad dies is to get his inheritance. Charlie’s want is as clear as day, but someone stands in his way: his long-lost brother, Raymond — the beneficiary. Charlie then “kidnaps” Raymond to ensure that he gets his share of the inheritance.

However, over the course of the movie, Charlie’s want makes way for his emerging need: to reconnect with his family. He learns to understand Raymond as a person and this helps heal deep wounds tied to Charlie's relationship with their father. In the end, Charlie rejects the money.

How to End a Screenplay  •   Read the scene here

Additionally, Charlie sacrificing his want of inheritance for the need to keep Raymond as his brother (and as a family connection) is a strong example of positive character development. This is the primary reason the semi-sweet ending is so common, as it provides the most opportunity for a character to positively change over the course of a story. Strong character development is thus one of the great ways to end a story.

The Bittersweet Ending

Our last ending is the bittersweet, when the hero gets what they want, but not what they need. As the name might suggest, it’s just behind “bitter” for the lowest ending a story can have. Even when it looks like the hero has won, the hero themselves has to wonder if it was worth it.

So how will your story end if it’s bittersweet? Let’s take a look at the ending of Paul Thomas Anderson ’s There Will Be Blood . 

If you’re familiar with the ending, you may be thinking: what on earth is sweet about this ending? True, it’s more bitter than sweet, but let’s think about the definition we’ve laid out. Daniel’s goal from the outset of the film was to become exorbitantly rich.

By the end of the runtime, Daniel has achieved his goal: he is exorbitantly rich. Let’s look at how Anderson begins the final scene of the film:

How to End a Screenplay  •  Read the script here

Anderson emphasizes just how wealthy Daniel has become, describing his home as a mansion, and detailing the bowling alley as a “very large party area” within the “Plainview Estate.”

So Daniel got what he wanted. But Anderson is just as quick to point out that he didn’t get what he needed: “There are empty liquor bottles around… signs of a mess/booze/trouble.”

Daniel’s in bad shape, and it’s because he sold his soul for a profit. It’s only natural that when his nemesis, Eli, arrives, he has no patience for him

It can be hard knowing how to end a story, as endings are sometimes the hardest part of a story to write. But knowing these four ways to end a story can help ensure that you not only know how to end a story, but that your ending pays off. Making sure character actions are consistent, that plot details get followed up on, and that things come together in a meaningful way will ensure your ending, and ultimately story, have the intended effect.

Choose your ending and construct a perfectly matched character arc with our FREE downloadable and interactive worksheet below.

Free downloadable bonus

Free download , character arc + 4 endings worksheet.

Download this interactive worksheet to help guide both your character's arc and the type of ending you're aiming for. By laying out the Wants and Needs of your character in advance, you'll be able to construct a character arc and ending that are perfectly matched and ultimately satisfying.

Character Archetypes

Now that we’ve gone over how to end a story, let’s get into the types of characters who populate these stories. Our article defines what an archetype is while providing you with in-depth examples from both cinema and television, all of which can help you to better understand how to end your screenplay.

Up Next: Character Archetypes →

Write and produce your scripts all in one place..

Write and collaborate on your scripts FREE . Create script breakdowns, sides, schedules, storyboards, call sheets and more.

Muy buen trabajo el que alli desarrolan.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Pricing & Plans
• Product Updates
• Featured On
• StudioBinder Partners
• Ultimate Guide to Call Sheets
• How to Break Down a Script (with FREE Script Breakdown Sheet)
• The Only Shot List Template You Need — with Free Download
• Managing Your Film Budget Cashflow & PO Log (Free Template)
• A Better Film Crew List Template Booking Sheet
• Best Storyboard Softwares (with free Storyboard Templates)
• Movie Magic Scheduling
• Gorilla Software
• Storyboard That

A visual medium requires visual methods. Master the art of visual storytelling with our FREE video series on directing and filmmaking techniques.

We’re in a golden age of TV writing and development. More and more people are flocking to the small screen to find daily entertainment. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? We’re here to help.

• Making It: From Pre-Production to Screen
• What is a Femme Fatale — Definition, Characteristics, Examples
• What is Method Acting — 3 Different Types Explained
• How to Make a Mood Board — A Step-by-Step Guide
• What is a Mood Board — Definition, Examples & How They Work
• How to Make a Better Shooting Schedule with a Stripboard
• 2 Pinterest

How to Write a Narrative Essay Step by Step

Narrative essays combine personal storytelling with academic reflection. Unlike other essay types, they are not bound by strict requirements or the need for a bibliography. To write a narrative essay successfully, you’ll need to follow these steps: 

Step 1: Pick a personal experience to share.

Step 2: Organize your story's main points.

Step 3: Start narrating your story with vivid details.

Step 4: Improve the flow and clarity.

Step 5: Check for grammar and spelling errors.

A narrative is a story told verbally or in writing. The story's purpose is shown through its events and details. In the following sections, our custom term paper writing will explore various aspects of this type of writing, from choosing a topic to structuring your essay effectively.

What Is a Narrative Essay

Narrative essay , as the name suggests, is characterized by the presence of a narrative. Unlike argumentative essays, which present and defend a position, or analytical essays, which dissect another text, narrative essays tell a coherent story. Their goal is to convey a point or impart a lesson through personal experiences. These essays are frequently assigned in high school and for college admissions.

Where to Use Narrative Essays

A narrative essay serves the purpose of sharing personal experiences and insights. It helps the writer connect with readers on an emotional level and illustrate a point through storytelling. Here are a few occasions where writing a narrative essay is commonly used:

• College Applications : To showcase personal growth and experiences, giving admission officers a glimpse into the applicant's character and background.
• Class Assignments : To develop writing skills and reflect on personal events, helping students learn how to express their thoughts and emotions effectively.
• Personal Blogs : To share life stories and engage with readers, building a personal connection and fostering a sense of community.
• Scholarship Essays : To highlight personal achievements and challenges, demonstrating resilience and dedication to potential sponsors.

Professional Development : To reflect on career experiences and lessons learned, providing insights that can be valuable for personal growth and future endeavors.

5 Steps to Writing a Narrative Essay

Writing a narrative essay can be a rewarding experience as it allows you to share your personal story and insights. Crafting engaging and well-structured ideas for a narrative essay is essential for capturing your reader's attention. To help you learn how to start a narrative essay effectively, follow these five simple steps.

Step 1: Brainstorm Narrative Essay Topics

The first step is brainstorming narrative writing topics. Begin by thinking about personal experiences that have made a significant impact on you. Consider moments of growth, challenge, joy, or change. These experiences can provide a rich foundation for your narrative.

How to Research Narrative Essay Topics:

• Reflect on Personal Experiences : Think about significant moments in your life. What stories do you often share with friends and family? These can be great starting points.
• Read Other Narrative Essays : Look at examples of narrative essays online or in books. This can give you ideas for structure and themes.
• Journaling : Write about your daily experiences and feelings. 
• Ask for Feedback : Talk to friends, family, or teachers about your ideas. They might provide a fresh perspective or remind you of stories you’ve forgotten.
• Consider Your Audience : Think about what stories would resonate with your readers. Choose topics that are engaging and relatable.

10 Narrative Essay Topics:

• Describe a situation where your plans went awry but ended positively.
• Focus on a dish you've cooked or baked. Share the recipe's story, emotional impact, and significance.
• Reflect on a teacher who profoundly influenced your learning experience.
• Describe an encounter with nature's beauty or strength and its impact on your worldview.
• Recall a time you faced and conquered a significant fear, showing personal growth.
• Reflect on an interaction with someone from a different cultural background, exploring lessons learned and challenges faced.
• Explore the memories of a cherished item. How did you acquire it, and what significant events are tied to it?
• Write about a passionate endeavor where failure led to personal growth and resilience.
• Share a song or musical experience that deeply resonated with you and its significance in your life.
• Reflect on losing something valuable and what it taught you about perseverance and resilience.

For more ideas, check out the Narrative Essay Topic list.

Step 2: Make a Narrative Essay Outline

Once you've chosen your topic, start by outlining your narrative essay. For instance, if you're writing about a memorable trip, begin with a scene-setting paragraph. Then, describe key experiences and interactions in subsequent paragraphs. Conclude by reflecting on how the trip affected you. In your conclusion, summarize the main events and their significance to effectively wrap up your story. For a more systematic approach, make sure to check out how to write an essay conclusion .

Step 3: Write Your Narrative Essay

When you're ready to start writing your narrative essay, refer to your outline to develop each section with clear and engaging language. Unlike academic essays, narrative essays don’t need to follow strict formalities or summarize everything in the introduction.

Tip : Write from your own perspective . Most narratives use the first-person point of view, so feel free to use pronouns like "I" and "me" to describe your experiences.

Tip : Use creative storytelling techniques . Drawing from fiction or creative nonfiction, employ methods like dialogue, flashbacks, and symbolism to captivate readers and convey the themes of your essay effectively.

Tip : Focus on a central theme or message . Identify a central theme or message that your narrative revolves around. This gives your essay coherence and depth, guiding your storytelling towards a meaningful conclusion.

Step 4: Revise Your Narrative Essay

Once you already understand how to write a narrative essay and finish your first draft, revise and refine your essay. Start by taking a break to gain fresh perspective before returning with a clear mind – this is a key strategy for enhancing your writing.

While reviewing, carefully examine it for logical coherence and smooth flow. Address any inconsistencies or gaps in the narrative, refining your writing to improve clarity. Pay attention to details such as tense, point of view, and narrative voice throughout.

Step 5: Proofread and Publish Your Narrative Essay

After writing a narrative essay, take time to thoroughly proofread for any remaining errors or typos. Ensure proper formatting and citation style, if required.

Sharing your essay with trusted individuals such as friends, family, or educators can provide valuable feedback and new perspectives. Incorporate this feedback, along with your own observations from the revision process, to strengthen the impact and effectiveness of your essay.

Meanwhile, if you’re willing to describe your life in greater depth, our guide on how to write an autobiography might be just what you need!

Want to Be Like an Expert Writer? 

Order now and let our narrative essay writer turn your experiences into a captivating and unforgettable tale

Narrative Essay Examples

For more inspiration, check out a narrative essay example below prepared by our essay writer . Feel free to use it as a guide for your own story, ensuring that your unique voice and experiences come through in your work.

Final Thoughts

Now that you understand the basics of writing a narrative essay, you're probably excited to write your own! If you get stuck, our research paper writing service is here to help you. Whether you need a narrative essay or any other type of school paper, our services can provide personalized advice to fit your needs. Focusing on quality, affordability, and on-time delivery, we’ll make sure your story is told effectively!

Unlock Your Potential with Our Essays!

Order now and take the first step towards achieving your academic goals

How Do I Start a Narrative Essay?

What makes a good narrative essay, how to end a narrative essay.

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

• Updated writing steps, samples, outline and FAQ
• Narrative essays. (n.d.). Miami University. https://miamioh.edu/howe-center/hwc/writing-resources/handouts/types-of-writing/narrative-essays.html  
• Mohammed, S. I. (2021). Suggested strategies for writing narrative essay . International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation , 4 (12), 30-39.

Still have questions? Leave a comment

Add Comment

Checklist: Dissertation Proposal

Enter your email id to get the downloadable right in your inbox!

Examples: Edited Papers

Need editing and proofreading services, narrative essay | step-by-step guide with examples.

• Tags: Academic Writing , Essay , Essay Writing

The narrative essay is a unique and creative form of academic writing. It tests your ability to narrate personal anecdotes in a structured, meaningful, and engaging manner. This type of writing vastly differs from other academic writing types, which rely more on facts and statistics. 

In this article, we’re going to understand what is a narrative essay, how to write one, and its various types with the help of plenty of examples. We have also provided a narrative essay outline to help you craft a foolproof essay. But before we get into all of that, let’s start with something simple: what’s a narrative essay in the first place?

Upgrade your essay to perfection with our expert editing services today! Learn more

What is a narrative essay?

A narrative essay is a highly creative form of academic writing which involves recounting personal anecdotes in an organized and climactic format. Although not as frequently used as expository essays or argumentative essays , this type of essay is a common requirement in high schools and creative writing courses in colleges. A personal statement is also a common requirement for many college admissions. 

A narrative essay uses literary devices such as similes, metaphors, and alliteration that add depth and character to your essay. The objective is to express yourself in a creative and compelling way, and not just convey information.

Now that you understand the narrative essay definition, it’s time to look at some common topics you may have to write on.

Topics for a narrative essay

Narrative essay topics can range from a personal narrative and specific essay topics to loose open-ended prompts. Let’s better understand this with the help of a few good narrative essay topics.

Here are a few topics. 

1. Write about your last day of school.

2. Write about your favorite book and your interpretation of its message.

3. An awkward encounter that led to a long-lasting friendship.

4. Your favorite vacation.

5. The moment you realized, you’re finally an adult.

Here are a few narrative essay examples of open-ended prompts.

1. Describe a life changing event and how it impacted you.

2. What is your favorite childhood memory? 

3. A personal accomplishment that you are proud of and how it has shaped you as a person.

4. The time when you overcame a fear or obstacle and how it helped you grow as a person.

5. A moment of personal growth and reflection that helped you realize something important about yourself.

Here are a few personal narrative essay topics.

1. The moment you realized what you wanted to do with your life.

2. A time when you felt like an outsider and how you dealt with it.

3. A moment when you had to make a difficult moral decision.

4. An experience that changed your perspective on a particular issue.

5. A personal passion or interest and how it has impacted your life.

Narrative essay structure

Although less formulaic than an expository or argumentative essay, your narrative essay format still needs to be well-structured and cohesive for it to be impactful. Like all essay types, the narrative format essay consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. However, this structure is less rigid than most essay types and mainly serves as a guideline. 

Let’s look at the main components of the structure of a narrative essay.

1. Introduction

In order to write a well-structured narrative essay, you need to know how to start it. The introduction of a narrative essay plays a crucial role in capturing the reader’s attention and setting the stage for the story that follows. 

A good introduction should include three key elements. First, an attractive, eye-catching opening statement that intrigues the reader and creates suspense. Second, background information that provides context for the story. Finally, a central idea or narrative that serves as a foundation of the story. 

Here are examples of a narrative essay introduction:

• Background information
• Central idea

As I stepped off the plane and took my first breath of the humid air, I knew my life was about to change forever. The next few weeks would be filled with new experiences, new people, and a new perspective that would stay with me for a long time. My study trip to Costa Rica was an unforgettable experience that had a significant impact on me.

2. Body paragraph

You can showcase most of your creative writing skills in the body paragraphs of your narrative essay. Use a topic sentence to introduce each experience, provide detailed elaboration, and conclude with a key takeaway or moral.

The body paragraphs of a narrative essay are also used to showcase numerous artistic elements. These elements may include the introduction of fresh characters, vivid descriptions of settings, subtle hints toward the conclusion, and the build-up of a pivotal event or a climactic situation. You can use these elements to transform a boring piece of writing into an impactful and captivating essay. 

Here’s an example of a vivid and highly descriptive body paragraph:

• Topic sentence with descriptions of setting
• Sensory descriptors elaborating the topic sentences
• Key takeaway

The moment I set foot on Central American soil, I was welcomed by the tropical rainforest, the vibrant colors of the flowers, and the sounds of exotic birds. The air was filled with the sweet scent of fresh fruits, and I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. This trip was not only a cultural and educational experience, but it was also an adventure of a lifetime.

3. Conclusion

When writing the conclusion of a narrative essay, it’s important to include three essential elements: an updated version of your thesis statement, reflections on all your experiences, and your final thoughts and key takeaways. 

You can remind your readers of the central idea you explored throughout your essay, by revisiting your thesis statement. Reflecting on your experiences allows you to explore the personal impact of your narrative. Whereas, your final thoughts help in providing a cohesive and impactful summary of your message.

Here’s an example of a strong conclusion:

• Updated thesis statement
• Reflections on experiences
• Final thought

My study trip to Costa Rica was certainly a transformative experience. This trip taught me how to approach the world with an open mind and strive in the face of difficulties. It also inspired me to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Experiencing the rich culture of Costa Rica is something I would highly recommend to all students. It’s an opportunity to break free from our comfort zones, challenge our perspectives, and immerse ourselves in a world of stunning natural beauty.  

Now that we’ve looked at how to structure a narrative essay, let’s move on to writing a narrative essay.

How to write a narrative essay

Writing narrative essays is not just about telling a captivating story, but also about communicating a message to the reader. Although less formal than other types of essays, it still requires a coherent sequence of events, a clear central idea, a moral or message, and a structured outline.

Let’s understand how to write a narrative essay step by step. 

1. Choose an appropriate topic.

While essay topics are often predetermined, certain classes may give you the freedom to select your own topic. When choosing a topic for your narrative essay, it is crucial to consider the message that you want to convey. 

Simply recounting a one-dimensional, uneventful story can bore the reader. It is necessary to keep the reader in mind and choose an engaging story topic. This topic should encompass surprising plot twists, a recurring theme, and a significant takeaway or moral.

Here are a few examples of narrative essay topics for college:

Describe a moment in your life that challenged your beliefs or values and forced you to reconsider your perspective.

Describe a time in your life when you faced a difficult decision that required you to choose between two equally compelling options.

2. Form a central idea.

Your narrative essay should revolve around a central idea or theme, which is similar to a thesis statement. This idea should be unique and have a moral or message that sets the tone for your entire essay. Keep in mind that the central idea is crucial to your essay, so choose one carefully and make sure it’s unique and impactful.

Here are a few examples of central ideas:

Growing up as a first-generation immigrant, I faced several setbacks. But these setbacks motivated me to overcome language barriers and also taught me the value of hard work, and determination.

My journey of learning a new language in a foreign country challenged me in ways I never imagined. However, it also taught me the importance of persistence, adaptability, and embracing discomfort to achieve personal growth and success.

3. Construct an essay outline. 

While a narrative essay allows for a great deal of creative expression, it still sticks to a loose structure that includes a clear beginning, middle, and end. A well-organized narrative allows readers to follow and understand your story. Before writing your essay it’s crucial to answer key questions in your narrative essay outline. 

Here are a few questions you need to answer before starting your essay:

• What central idea or message do I want to convey through my essay?
• Which personal experiences and anecdotes will best support my central idea?
• In what ways can I incorporate dialogues or other creative expressions to enhance my essay?
• How can I effectively structure my essay to ensure it flows cohesively and logically?
• What techniques can I use to build up to a climactic end that leaves a lasting impression on the reader?
• What key takeaway do I want my audience to have after reading my essay?

4. Begin writing your essay.

The narrative essay differs from other forms of essay writing and typically follows a chronological order. Hence, it’s advisable to start by fleshing out your introduction and providing sufficient background information to give relevance to your central idea.

Written in the first-person point of view, the narrative essay shares several similarities with a short story. These include a clear plot structure with a beginning, middle, and end, vivid and detailed settings, a climactic point or peak, dialogues, and a key takeaway or moral. These elements can be incorporated to add depth and dimension to your essay.

Narrative essay outline

An outline for a narrative essay differs significantly from that of an evidence-based essay. The narrative essay outline provides structure and coherence to your essay, helping you map out a clear and logical flow of your ideas. This can guide your writing and help ensure that your story is well-organized, engaging, and effectively conveys your central message.

Here’s an example of a personal narrative essay outline that focuses on the challenges of low self-esteem and the ways to overcome them.

Journey to Self-Acceptance

I. Introduction

A. Hook: Start with an anecdote or a shocking statistic that highlights the rampantness of low self-esteem.

B. Background information: Explain what low self-esteem is, how it affects people, and how it can manifest in different ways.

C. Thesis statement: Describe your challenges with low self-esteem and how you overcame them.

II. Tackling Challenges

A. Describe the situation that challenged your self-esteem, such as a particular event or a persistent feeling.

B. Explain how it affected your life, such as your relationships, academic and professional performance, or your mental health.

C. Share your thoughts and feelings about the situation, and how they contributed to your low self-esteem.

III. Seeking Help

A. Describe how you recognized that you needed help, and what motivated you to seek it.

B. Discuss the steps you took, such as talking to a friend or therapist.

C. Explain the challenges you faced, such as stigma, fear of judgment, or financial barriers.

IV. Building Self-Esteem

A. Describe the strategies you used to build your self-esteem, such as positive self-talk, affirmations, or therapy.

B. Share your progress, and how you measured it, such as tracking your thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.

C. Explain how these strategies helped you, and how they impacted your life, such as improved relationships, academic or professional success, or mental health.

V. Maintaining Self-Esteem

A. Describe how you maintain your self-esteem on a daily basis, and what routines or habits you have developed.

B. Share your challenges and setbacks, and how you cope with them.

C. Explain the importance of self-care in maintaining self-esteem, and what self-care practices you use.

VI. Conclusion

A. Summarize the key points of your essay, and what you have learned from them.

B. Restate your thesis, and how you successfully overcame the challenge of low self-esteem.

C. Discuss how the experience has impacted your life, and what advice you would give to someone who is struggling with low self-esteem.

Narrative essay examples

To guide you in writing a foolproof narrative essay, we’ve constructed an example of a narrative essay. The following is a personal narrative essay example that explores the challenges faced by a student who was bullied in school. This personal narrative essay example will guide you on how you write a personal narrative essay.

Beyond the Shadows

Starting high school as a timid and shy kid was a daunting experience for me. I craved new opportunities and friendships but was overcome by the fear of being judged. Unfortunately, my fears soon became a reality as I found myself being relentlessly bullied.

It began with verbal abuse but soon escalated to physical aggression. Consulting my teachers was of no help since they did not understand the gravity of the situation. The only option was to ignore the bullies and concentrate on my classes, but the constant harassment made it difficult.

The bullying soon took its toll on my mental health, and I spiraled into a pit of anxiety and depression. I lost faith in myself and I believed I was undeserving of happiness. I retreated from my loved ones and spent my days battling my inner demons.

Despite the pain and anguish, I still decided to hold onto hope. I realized that standing up for myself and others was the only way to combat the bullying. I began speaking out against the harassment and also spoke up for those who were scared to raise their voice.

In an attempt to break out of my shell, I made a conscious effort to socialize with my fellow students and offered support to those going through a tough time. As a result, I encountered several friends who had shared experiences with mine. We bonded over our shared struggles and formed a tight-knit community of support and solidarity. Together, we worked to raise awareness of the devastating impact of bullying.

With time and effort, I began to heal from the trauma of my experiences. I learned to embrace my unique qualities and appreciate myself for who I am. The challenges I faced made me stronger and more resilient. As a result, I became more outgoing and confident, which allowed me to forge genuine friendships with my peers.

The bullying I experienced during high school transformed me in ways I could never have imagined. It instilled in me the value of empathy and courage and compelled me to use my voice to create positive change in the world.

Once you’re done writing your narrative essay, the process of editing and proofreading still remains. You can either choose to do this on your own or consider working with an essay editing service .  

Keep reading with more resources from your loyal editors and proofreaders:

• What is an Expository Essay?
• What are the Different Types of Essays
• What is an Essay and What are the Parts of an Essay
• How to Write an Essay Header
• How to Write an Argumentative Essay 

Found this article helpful?

2 comments on “ Narrative Essay | Step-by-Step Guide with Examples ”

very good https://kabarcikpatiler.com/

your narrative essays have excellent introductions. They are really helpful

Leave a Comment: Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Your vs. You’re: When to Use Your and You’re

Your organization needs a technical editor: here’s why, your guide to the best ebook readers in 2024, writing for the web: 7 expert tips for web content writing.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get carefully curated resources about writing, editing, and publishing in the comfort of your inbox.

How to Copyright Your Book?

If you’ve thought about copyrighting your book, you’re on the right path.

© 2024 All rights reserved

• Terms of service
• Privacy policy
• Self Publishing Guide
• Pre-Publishing Steps
• Fiction Writing Tips
• Traditional Publishing
• Additional Resources
• Dissertation Writing Guide
• Essay Writing Guide
• Academic Writing and Publishing
• Citation and Referencing
• Partner with us
• Annual report
• Website content
• Marketing material
• Job Applicant
• Cover letter
• Resource Center
• Case studies

How To End a Short Story [STRATEGIES & EXAMPLES]

The ending of a short story can stay in the story after the reader puts it down, or it can follow the reader for years to come. As writers, we want the second one. The end of a written piece should feel like a satisfying culmination of the story, whether it leaves readers feeling hopeful, optimistic, unsettled, happy, sad, or anything else. No matter the result, it should be intentional, and it should feel earned . Here are some tips for writing a strong ending for your short story.

Do you need to learn how to start a short story first?

Ways To End a Short Story

Here are some specific strategies for ending your short story.

1. Connect it to the beginning.

In brief story formats, making the narrative feel like it “has a point” can be somewhat tricky. One great way to make things feel like they “click” for a reader is to connect the end of the story to the beginning. This might be referencing an image we got in the opener, an echo of an earlier line, or even a nod at the title, but coming full circle in a narrative gives the tangible feeling of completion.

In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, we’re left with this line:

While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened–there came a fierce breath of the whirlwind–the entire orb of the satellite burst at once upon my sight–my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder–there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters–and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of “House of Usher.” (roll credits)

In another Poe story , The Tell-Tale Heart, we get another click to the beginning. After murdering a man, hiding his body under the floor, and feeling quite pleased with himself for getting away with it, the murderer imagines he hears his victim’s heart beating, and he shouts to the police:

“Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed!–tear up the planks! here, here!–It is the beating of his hideous heart!”

In the end, the heart did not tell the tale at all. The man was driven mad (and already mad) by his own actions, and he told on himself.

2. Make it a gut punch.

The gut punch ending is something you’ll see a lot in memorable short stories. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman is presented as the journal entries of a woman locked in her attic in the late 1800s. In this story, the audience knows a great deal more about her situation than the character does. She suffers from presumably post-partum depression, and her husband and other Male Professionals insist that she “rest” in a locked room with nothing to do. This drives her from what could have been a manageable phase of mental unwellness into full psychosis. She imagines there are women trapped in the yellow wallpaper of her room, and we come to understand the women are her. By the end of the story, she rips the wallpaper down, thrilled to have “freed” herself from the cage.

Her husband finds her crawling around the room, fastened by a rope.

He stopped short by the door. “What is the matter?” he cried. “For God’s sake, what are you doing!” I kept on creeping just the same, but I looked at him over my shoulder. “I’ve got out at last,” said I, “in spite of you and Jane! And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!

This is a softer, slower gut punch ending, since we see her losing her grip on reality throughout the piece, but the image of her crawling over her unconscious husband settles it all into place, leaving the readers with a deep sense of unease.

A gut punch ending makes the reader feel something.

3. Reveal something.

In the flash fiction What Remains from Little Birds , the protagonist spends the beginning of the story collecting roadkill. We don’t get an explanation for this. When she arrives home, she buries the roadkill and gives them their own headstones–we see that her entire yard is a dedicated roadkill cemetery. We still don’t get an explanation.

Then she goes inside, and the point of the story is revealed when she looks at a picture of a newborn baby:

Her baby was ash, long-lost to the wind. She looked out of the window again and wondered if he was there. The mud she stomped off her boots, the sand in the park. She imagined her son with the raccoon, swaddled in the dirt.

The audience isn’t directly told, but we all understand that she’s burying animals because she never got to bury her child after his body burned. A short story can act as a little mystery until right at the end, when it all makes sense.

How To Write a Short Story With An Outline

4. Clarify the theme.

Your last paragraph or line might be some type of realization, but it could simply be an emphatic repetition of the story’s theme.

Your last line is kind of like the punchline, but instead of being funny, it can be thought-provoking, shocking, or existentially devastating. For example, in the short story St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell, a pack of children raised by their werewolf parents go through an education to teach them how to behave like humans. At the end of the story, they return to the den to greet their wolf family. Here’s the last line:

“So,” I said, telling my first human lie. “I’m home.”

This ending hits the audience with a feeling of displacement. The character no longer belongs with her family. She has fully assimilated into human life and can never go back to her childhood home, which is a deeply relatable sentiment for most people. While the themes of displacement, alienation, and assimilation are strong throughout the story, the last line acts almost like a summary paragraph of an academic essay: It’s repeating the thesis.

Read the first line of St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves (it involves piss).

Tips for writing the end of a short story

Here are some bonus tips to help you nail your short story’s conclusion.

1. Try out a few!

The first choice isn’t always the best choice. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different ways to end your story. You might be quite extreme while experimenting, by writing a happy ending, a devastating ending, a cliffhanger or ambiguous ending–try them all, because you never know what will end up working best.

2. Think of how you want the audience to feel.

The last sentence, paragraph, or scene is often what sticks with readers the most. What do you want them to take away from your story? Does the ending properly accomplish that goal? Is there a more effective way to emphasize it?

3. Consider writing past it.

Sometimes we try to end our stories prematurely. If you’re struggling to wrap it up, maybe you haven’t quite finished telling the story yet.

4. To plan or not to plan.

Every writer is different, and really, every story is different. Pantsers and plotters alike, no storytelling process is going to follow the same route. Sometimes it can be helpful to know where you want the story to end up, but it doesn’t always happen the way we think it will. If your predetermined ending isn’t landing the way you expected it to, consider changing things up! Outlining can be a very helpful tool, but never be afraid to shake it up and surprise yourself.

How to know when a short story is finished

Even more difficult than writing an ending is knowing when your story is properly finished. And well, no one can decide that but you! Here are a few things to consider when making the decision to toss your little birdie out the nest for public derision.

1. Let the girl rest.

The first thing your story needs is a break. She has been being written her whole life and has never experienced rest. Shh. Turn off the lights, leave a crack in the door, and work on something else for a bit.

When you go back to the piece with fresh eyes, you’ll likely be able to form a more accurate opinion of where it’s at. When we’re still in Writing mode, we can be blinded to mistakes and shortcoming in the piece, or we might think it’s complete trash just because we’re bitter from wrestling with it for so long.

So give your eyes a chance to recover before you give it another look-over.

2. Do ya feel it in yer bones?

Writer’s instinct is real! If you feel like your story is ready, it probably is. If you feel strongly that it needs more work, give yourself time for that. But be sure you’re listening to a writer instinct, not your clinical anxiety disorder.

3. Let someone else read it.

An outside opinion can shed new light on your story. Ask a few friends to look it over and tell you what they think. Be selective with whom you ask. I think we all know which of our friends will not critique us at all and which friends might be too tough with their feedback and ultimately discourage us from finishing the story. Go for those mild, kind, and honest pals to give you opinions.

4. Give it a shot, then revaluate.

Truth be told, we can revise and edit a story into eternity. At a certain point, you mess with something so much that it ends up worse. Don’t let that happen to you! Get to a place where you’re at least moderately happy with the story, then ship her out. If you’re traditionally publishing , send the story to a few publications and see if you get any bites. After enough rejections, you might give it another look, especially if any of those editor rejections offered feedback.

Writing an effective ending to a short story is an art of balancing a satisfying conclusion with an impactful image or concept to stick with your audience long after they’ve finished reading it. Keep at it!

Read next: How To Start a Short Story

Previous Post Short Stories vs Novels | Which is easier to write?

Next post psychic distance in creative writing: reader-character connection, you may also like.

Short Stories vs Novels | Which is easier to write?

By Jennifer Xue

Table of Contents

Why do we write personal narratives, 6 guidelines for writing personal narrative essays, inspiring personal narratives, examples of personal narrative essays, tell your story.

First off, you might be wondering: what is a personal narrative? In short, personal narratives are stories we tell about ourselves that focus on our growth, lessons learned, and reflections on our experiences.

From stories about inspirational figures we heard as children to any essay, article, or exercise where we're asked to express opinions on a situation, thing, or individual—personal narratives are everywhere.

According to Psychology Today, personal narratives allow authors to feel and release pains, while savouring moments of strength and resilience. Such emotions provide an avenue for both authors and readers to connect while supporting healing in the process.

That all sounds great. But when it comes to putting the words down on paper, we often end up with a list of experiences and no real structure to tie them together.

In this article, we'll discuss what a personal narrative essay is further, learn the 6 steps to writing one, and look at some examples of great personal narratives.

As readers, we're fascinated by memoirs, autobiographies, and long-form personal narrative articles, as they provide a glimpse into the authors' thought processes, ideas, and feelings. But you don't have to be writing your whole life story to create a personal narrative.

You might be a student writing an admissions essay , or be trying to tell your professional story in a cover letter. Regardless of your purpose, your narrative will focus on personal growth, reflections, and lessons.

Personal narratives help us connect with other people's stories due to their easy-to-digest format and because humans are empathising creatures.

We can better understand how others feel and think when we were told stories that allow us to see the world from their perspectives. The author's "I think" and "I feel" instantaneously become ours, as the brain doesn't know whether what we read is real or imaginary.

In her best-selling book Wired for Story, Lisa Cron explains that the human brain craves tales as it's hard-wired through evolution to learn what happens next. Since the brain doesn't know whether what you are reading is actual or not, we can register the moral of the story cognitively and affectively.

In academia, a narrative essay tells a story which is experiential, anecdotal, or personal. It allows the author to creatively express their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and opinions. Its length can be anywhere from a few paragraphs to hundreds of pages.

Outside of academia, personal narratives are known as a form of journalism or non-fiction works called "narrative journalism." Even highly prestigious publications like the New York Times and Time magazine have sections dedicated to personal narratives. The New Yorke is a magazine dedicated solely to this genre.

The New York Times holds personal narrative essay contests. The winners are selected because they:

had a clear narrative arc with a conflict and a main character who changed in some way. They artfully balanced the action of the story with reflection on what it meant to the writer. They took risks, like including dialogue or playing with punctuation, sentence structure and word choice to develop a strong voice. And, perhaps most important, they focused on a specific moment or theme – a conversation, a trip to the mall, a speech tournament, a hospital visit – instead of trying to sum up the writer’s life in 600 words.

In a nutshell, a personal narrative can cover any reflective and contemplative subject with a strong voice and a unique perspective, including uncommon private values. It's written in first person and the story encompasses a specific moment in time worthy of a discussion.

Writing a personal narrative essay involves both objectivity and subjectivity. You'll need to be objective enough to recognise the importance of an event or a situation to explore and write about. On the other hand, you must be subjective enough to inject private thoughts and feelings to make your point.

With personal narratives, you are both the muse and the creator – you have control over how your story is told. However, like any other type of writing, it comes with guidelines.

1. Write Your Personal Narrative as a Story

As a story, it must include an introduction, characters, plot, setting, climax, anti-climax (if any), and conclusion. Another way to approach it is by structuring it with an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should set the tone, while the body should focus on the key point(s) you want to get across. The conclusion can tell the reader what lessons you have learned from the story you've just told.

2. Give Your Personal Narrative a Clear Purpose

Your narrative essay should reflect your unique perspective on life. This is a lot harder than it sounds. You need to establish your perspective, the key things you want your reader to take away, and your tone of voice. It's a good idea to have a set purpose in mind for the narrative before you start writing.

Let's say you want to write about how you manage depression without taking any medicine. This could go in any number of ways, but isolating a purpose will help you focus your writing and choose which stories to tell. Are you advocating for a holistic approach, or do you want to describe your emotional experience for people thinking of trying it?

Having this focus will allow you to put your own unique take on what you did (and didn't do, if applicable), what changed you, and the lessons learned along the way.

3. Show, Don't Tell

It's a narration, so the narrative should show readers what happened, instead of telling them. As well as being a storyteller, the author should take part as one of the characters. Keep this in mind when writing, as the way you shape your perspective can have a big impact on how your reader sees your overarching plot. Don't slip into just explaining everything that happened because it happened to you. Show your reader with action.

You can check for instances of telling rather than showing with ProWritingAid. For example, instead of:

"You never let me do anything!" I cried disdainfully.

"You never let me do anything!" To this day, my mother swears that the glare I levelled at her as I spat those words out could have soured milk.

Using ProWritingAid will help you find these instances in your manuscript and edit them without spending hours trawling through your work yourself.

4. Use "I," But Don't Overuse It

You, the author, take ownership of the story, so the first person pronoun "I" is used throughout. However, you shouldn't overuse it, as it'd make it sound too self-centred and redundant.

ProWritingAid can also help you here – the Style Report will tell you if you've started too many sentences with "I", and show you how to introduce more variation in your writing.

5. Pay Attention to Tenses

Tense is key to understanding. Personal narratives mostly tell the story of events that happened in the past, so many authors choose to use the past tense. This helps separate out your current, narrating voice and your past self who you are narrating. If you're writing in the present tense, make sure that you keep it consistent throughout.

6. Make Your Conclusion Satisfying

Satisfy your readers by giving them an unforgettable closing scene. The body of the narration should build up the plot to climax. This doesn't have to be something incredible or shocking, just something that helps give an interesting take on your story.

The takeaways or the lessons learned should be written without lecturing. Whenever possible, continue to show rather than tell. Don't say what you learned, narrate what you do differently now. This will help the moral of your story shine through without being too preachy.

GoodReads is a great starting point for selecting read-worthy personal narrative books. Here are five of my favourites.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Jane Yolen, the author of 386 books, wrote this poetic story about a daughter and her father who went owling. Instead of learning about owls, Yolen invites readers to contemplate the meaning of gentleness and hope.

Night by Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. This Holocaust memoir has a strong message that such horrific events should never be repeated.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

This classic is a must-read by young and old alike. It's a remarkable diary by a 13-year-old Jewish girl who hid inside a secret annexe of an old building during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in 1942.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

This is a personal narrative written by a brave author renowned for her clarity, passion, and honesty. Didion shares how in December 2003, she lost her husband of 40 years to a massive heart attack and dealt with the acute illness of her only daughter. She speaks about grief, memories, illness, and hope.

Educated by Tara Westover

Author Tara Westover was raised by survivalist parents. She didn't go to school until 17 years of age, which later took her to Harvard and Cambridge. It's a story about the struggle for quest for knowledge and self-reinvention.

Narrative and personal narrative journalism are gaining more popularity these days. You can find distinguished personal narratives all over the web.

Curating the best of the best of personal narratives and narrative essays from all over the web. Some are award-winning articles.

Narratively

Long-form writing to celebrate humanity through storytelling. It publishes personal narrative essays written to provoke, inspire, and reflect, touching lesser-known and overlooked subjects.

Narrative Magazine

It publishes non,fiction narratives, poetry, and fiction. Among its contributors is Frank Conroy, the author of Stop-Time , a memoir that has never been out of print since 1967.

Thought Catalog

Aimed at Generation Z, it publishes personal narrative essays on self-improvement, family, friendship, romance, and others.

Personal narratives will continue to be popular as our brains are wired for stories. We love reading about others and telling stories of ourselves, as they bring satisfaction and a better understanding of the world around us.

Personal narratives make us better humans. Enjoy telling yours!

Write like a bestselling author

Love writing? ProWritingAid will help you improve the style, strength, and clarity of your stories.

Jennifer Xue

Jennifer Xue is an award-winning e-book author with 2,500+ articles and 100+ e-books/reports published under her belt. She also taught 50+ college-level essay and paper writing classes. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, Fortune, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Business.com, Business2Community, Addicted2Success, Good Men Project, and others. Her blog is JenniferXue.com. Follow her on Twitter @jenxuewrites].

Get started with ProWritingAid

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via:

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• How to conclude an essay | Interactive example

How to Conclude an Essay | Interactive Example

Published on January 24, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay . A strong conclusion aims to:

• Tie together the essay’s main points
• Show why your argument matters
• Leave the reader with a strong impression

Your conclusion should give a sense of closure and completion to your argument, but also show what new questions or possibilities it has opened up.

This conclusion is taken from our annotated essay example , which discusses the history of the Braille system. Hover over each part to see why it’s effective.

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Step 1: return to your thesis, step 2: review your main points, step 3: show why it matters, what shouldn’t go in the conclusion, more examples of essay conclusions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an essay conclusion.

To begin your conclusion, signal that the essay is coming to an end by returning to your overall argument.

Don’t just repeat your thesis statement —instead, try to rephrase your argument in a way that shows how it has been developed since the introduction.

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

Next, remind the reader of the main points that you used to support your argument.

Avoid simply summarizing each paragraph or repeating each point in order; try to bring your points together in a way that makes the connections between them clear. The conclusion is your final chance to show how all the paragraphs of your essay add up to a coherent whole.

To wrap up your conclusion, zoom out to a broader view of the topic and consider the implications of your argument. For example:

• Does it contribute a new understanding of your topic?
• Does it raise new questions for future study?
• Does it lead to practical suggestions or predictions?
• Can it be applied to different contexts?
• Can it be connected to a broader debate or theme?

Whatever your essay is about, the conclusion should aim to emphasize the significance of your argument, whether that’s within your academic subject or in the wider world.

Try to end with a strong, decisive sentence, leaving the reader with a lingering sense of interest in your topic.

The easiest way to improve your conclusion is to eliminate these common mistakes.

Don’t include new evidence

Any evidence or analysis that is essential to supporting your thesis statement should appear in the main body of the essay.

The conclusion might include minor pieces of new information—for example, a sentence or two discussing broader implications, or a quotation that nicely summarizes your central point. But it shouldn’t introduce any major new sources or ideas that need further explanation to understand.

Don’t use “concluding phrases”

Avoid using obvious stock phrases to tell the reader what you’re doing:

• “In conclusion…”
• “To sum up…”

These phrases aren’t forbidden, but they can make your writing sound weak. By returning to your main argument, it will quickly become clear that you are concluding the essay—you shouldn’t have to spell it out.

Don’t undermine your argument

Avoid using apologetic phrases that sound uncertain or confused:

• “This is just one approach among many.”
• “There are good arguments on both sides of this issue.”
• “There is no clear answer to this problem.”

Even if your essay has explored different points of view, your own position should be clear. There may be many possible approaches to the topic, but you want to leave the reader convinced that yours is the best one!

• Argumentative
• Literary analysis

This conclusion is taken from an argumentative essay about the internet’s impact on education. It acknowledges the opposing arguments while taking a clear, decisive position.

The internet has had a major positive impact on the world of education; occasional pitfalls aside, its value is evident in numerous applications. The future of teaching lies in the possibilities the internet opens up for communication, research, and interactivity. As the popularity of distance learning shows, students value the flexibility and accessibility offered by digital education, and educators should fully embrace these advantages. The internet’s dangers, real and imaginary, have been documented exhaustively by skeptics, but the internet is here to stay; it is time to focus seriously on its potential for good.

This conclusion is taken from a short expository essay that explains the invention of the printing press and its effects on European society. It focuses on giving a clear, concise overview of what was covered in the essay.

The invention of the printing press was important not only in terms of its immediate cultural and economic effects, but also in terms of its major impact on politics and religion across Europe. In the century following the invention of the printing press, the relatively stationary intellectual atmosphere of the Middle Ages gave way to the social upheavals of the Reformation and the Renaissance. A single technological innovation had contributed to the total reshaping of the continent.

This conclusion is taken from a literary analysis essay about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein . It summarizes what the essay’s analysis achieved and emphasizes its originality.

By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

Your essay’s conclusion should contain:

• A rephrased version of your overall thesis
• A brief review of the key points you made in the main body
• An indication of why your argument matters

The conclusion may also reflect on the broader implications of your argument, showing how your ideas could applied to other contexts or debates.

For a stronger conclusion paragraph, avoid including:

• Important evidence or analysis that wasn’t mentioned in the main body
• Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion…”)
• Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g. “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

The conclusion paragraph of an essay is usually shorter than the introduction . As a rule, it shouldn’t take up more than 10–15% of the text.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2023, July 23). How to Conclude an Essay | Interactive Example. Scribbr. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/conclusion/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples, how to write a thesis statement | 4 steps & examples, example of a great essay | explanations, tips & tricks, what is your plagiarism score.

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

• What Is Cinema?

Armageddon, but with Singing: Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon Face The End

There have been many reports over the years that billionaires have been quietly building survival bunkers around the world—sprawling and well-appointed hideaways where the ruling class plan to spend Armageddon. There they will remain in comfort while the rest of us go to war over resources, contend with the worsening elements, and die off. But won’t they, too, suffer in some way, haunted by who and what they left behind, daunted by a hopeless future, growing sick of one another? That is maybe the argument being made in Joshua Oppenheimer ’s peculiar and intermittently affecting The End , a musical drama that, in its strange empathy, condemns the oligarchs of our world in a way that could almost be called satiric.

Michael Shannon plays a former oil baron who has fled environmental catastrophe and taken his family and a few attendants to a facility built deep inside a cavernous salt mine. Their living quarters are lovely and ornate, filled with priceless art and elegant furniture. He and his wife, played by Tilda Swinton , are devoted to the raising of their twentysomething son, a naive and childlike man played by George MacKay . He was born in the bunker and only knows of the outside world in theory—he’s about as home-schooled as any kid could be.

The family and their doctor ( Lennie James ), butler ( Tim McInnerny ), and friend/nanny ( Bronagh Gallagher ) live in a kind of rigorous harmony, going about their chores and safety drills with little mention of what ruin lives above them, nor of the sorry fact that theirs is an inevitably fading ecosystem, too. But they do sing about it, remarking on how surreal it is that MacKay’s character is most likely the end of the line. The film’s musical interludes—spare, lilting compositions by Joshua Schmidt and Marius de Vries —mostly function as poetic internal monologue, representative of the turmoil of feeling lying under all the tightly managed order.

But disorder does eventually arrive, as it tends to do. A stranger, played by Moses Ingram , somehow finds her way down to the cave, barely having survived the ravages of the land above. The bunker dwellers are wary at first—they reference a past incident in which the butler was shot by invaders; it’s why the father insists that his son practice with firearms—and seem poised to expel this untrustworthy outsider. Then again, she is young and a woman, and thus maybe there could be a lineage-extending benefit to keeping her around. MacKay’s interest certainly seems piqued.

The matter of sex and procreation is not stated plainly in the film, but we feel its heavy implication. Some primal part of us sees that outcome as the only right one; life must carry on. But Oppenheimer also allows room for questioning that instinct. What point would there be in bringing another doomed child into this place? It may in fact be nothing but a cruelty. Perhaps this one rich family’s vanity—the notion that they, over all others, must endure—is the vanity of a whole planet, rapacious with personal need at the cost of everything.

Oppenheimer’s film is firmly an environmentalist one, a soft-spoken excoriation of industries and their leaders who hasten the destruction of our climate. We consumers are at fault, too, though those of us without the resources to build underground arks will feel the consequences sooner. The End perhaps most pities the blameless children: those like MacKay’s character, who are taught all the wrong things, and those like Ingram’s, who can do nothing but struggle and scramble to stay breathing through no fault of her own.

The stranger has her own guilt, though. As do most of the characters in this long and elusive film. Perhaps that is Oppenheimer’s ultimate message: you can flee the havoc, but something will always chase after you. There is no true escape from humanity’s reckless failings. Oppenheimer’s documentary The Act of Killing had Indonesian mass murderers confront their misdeeds through re-enactment; maybe The End is meant to be a precautionary tale for any billionaires who happen to be watching it: your selfishness will not save you.

That said, it is difficult to affix any distinct meaning on the film. Captivating as it often is, it is also ponderous and withholding. Patience is tried as The End slowly, solemnly glides across two and a half hours. Loud, bonk-over-the-head Issues Movies are not necessarily preferable—it’s fascinating to encounter such elliptical art about a big, pertinent topic. But The End ’s difficult construction risks alienating viewers from its worthy concerns.

What remains engaging throughout are the carefully textured performances—MacKay’s study of repressed energy and Ingram’s mix of wariness and gratitude are particular highlights—and the film’s myriad aesthetic graces. While probably not made on a huge budget, The End looks like it cost a zillion dollars. The landscape of the film is richly realized, captured in chillingly elegant chiaroscuro by cinematographer Mikhail Krichman . Humanity’s final residence is a lovely one, and all the more frightening and contemptible for it.

More Great Stories From Vanity Fair

Did Matthew Perry’s Assistant Have a Choice? Hollywood Veterans Aren’t So Sure.

Live Updates From the 2024 Fall Film Festivals

Was Abraham Lincoln a Lover of Men ?

Prince Harry and Prince William Reportedly Kept Their Distance at Their Uncle’s Funeral

Your Ultimate Fall TV Watch Guide

Trump Says He Had “Every Right” to Interfere in a Federal Election

Did You Like Joker ? In Folie à Deux , the Joke’s on You

From the Archive: Inside the Prep School Scandal That Shook 3 Generations

Richard Lawson

Chief critic.

• Boston Red Sox

Red Sox’s Trevor Story Looks MLB Ready After Latest Rehab Performance

Story turned in a terrific performance at the plate.

Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story appeared in his fourth game on his rehab stint with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday night.

Given how Story performed, that might be all Story needed before returning to the Red Sox.

Story sure looked MLB ready on Thursday when he went 4-for-5 at the plate, drove in two runs, scored twice and stole a base against the Rochester Red Wings. Story was in the lineup at shortstop for the third straight game and played seven innings before being subbed out in the top of the eighth inning.

Story went hitless in his previous two games after starting his rehab assignment with a two-hit showing this past Sunday.

Story continues below advertisement

The Boston Globe's Julian McWilliams reported earlier this week that Story could be on the verge of a return. McWilliams noted Story will have Friday off with the team assessing what to do with the two-time All-Star.

The four-hit performance was highly encouraging from Story, who looked like his season was completely lost on April 5 when he injured his shoulder and underwent surgery.

But Story's comeback seems on the precipice of the big leagues and the fading Red Sox, who are 5 1/2 games out of the final American League wild-card spot, could use a jolt in the lineup. Boston's offense scored just eight runs over its current five-game losing streak.

Story wasn't the only member of the Red Sox going through a rehab game Thursday with Worcester. Reliever Liam Hendriks threw an inning of scoreless relief and allowed just one hit. He might make his way to the Red Sox soon, too, as it was his sixth rehab outing and he has yet to allow a run.

About the Author

Greg Dudek gdudek10

Digital Content Producer

An award-winning journalist that has covered nearly everything under the sun for over a decade. Also, an anointed NESN.com media day maven.

In This Article

• Trevor Story

Featured image via WooSox Photo/Ashley Green via USA TODAY NETWORK Images

More From This Article

Red Sox Wrap: Ceddanne Rafaela’s Clutch Hit Lifts Boston Over White Sox

Red Sox Prospect ‘Grateful’ For ‘Dream’ Opportunity Call Up To MLB

Why Red Sox Promoted Hard-Throwing Reliever, DFA’d Rich Hill

Red Sox Rookie To Change Positions Upon Trevor Story’s Return

Alex Cora Reveals When Trevor Story Will Make Red Sox Return

Baseball America Gives Aggressive Ranking To Elite Red Sox Prospect

Red Sox Understand Struggles At Plate, At Home Must Improve

Red Sox Vs. White Sox Lineups: Ceddanne Rafaela Returns

Red Sox Promote Hometown Flamethrower, DFA Rich Hill

Trending on nesn.

Celtics Free Agent Emotionally Begins To Bid Farewell To Boston

Red Sox Prospect Acquired In Mid-Season Trade Dazzles On Mound

Robert Kraft Makes Admission About Replacing Bill Belichick

Former First-Round Pick Reportedly Had Workout With Patriots

Patriots’ Jerod Mayo Has Icy Response To Bill Belichick’s Instagram

DISCLAIMER: This web page is intended to be used for entertainment purposes. Keep sports betting fun by betting responsibly. Visit HaveAGamePlan.org to learn more. Do you or someone you know have a gambling problem?