IS THE END IN SIGHT?

After weeks, months or years of sweating over your manuscript, you've finally reached the end. You've resolved the conflict. You've tied up the loose ends. You've placed everybody exactly where you want them to be.

Time to reward your readers with a final moment that will linger in their minds for years to come. Read the scenarios below. Can you can spot the most powerful endings?

1. An astronaut has spent the entire story searching for a way home from outer space. He fails. Which is the powerful ending?

   a) He stares at distant Earth as he freezes to death.
   b) Aliens come along and whisk him off to another planet.
   c) A hundred years later, a Russian spacecraft bumps into his body suit.

2. A male accountant and a female carpenter have spent the entire story denying their attraction to one another. Finally they lock eyes. Which is the powerful ending?

     a) They kiss.
     b) They make love, eat breakfast, turn cartwheels in the park.
     c) Six months later, they marry.

3. A poor mother has spent the entire story searching for the perfect house for her kids. She finds it. Which is the powerful ending?

     a) She unlocks the door and steps into her new abode.
     b) She goes through extensive and humorous renovations.
     c) A year later, the house burns to the ground.

4. An overweight teenager has spent the entire story training to be a linebacker. He makes the team. Which is the powerful ending?

     a) The tough coach personally delivers the good news.
     b) He suffers an injury in the fourth game, but continues to play.
     c) Nine years later, he opens a sports bar.

5. An elderly couple has spent the entire story franticly searching for the parents who left a baby on their porch. They fail. Which is the powerful ending?

     a) They sign adoption papers.
     b) They change diapers, prepare baby formula, take turns getting up at night.
     c) Twenty-two years later, the child graduates from college.

The A endings cause readers to lower the book with a satisfying Ahhhh. Nothing more needs to be said.

The B and C endings cause readers to squirm. Will this story ever end? Find the powerful conclusion to your story, then stop! Let your readers' imagination carry it onward.