A saying goes: Readers pick your current novel if you impress them on the first page, and they’ll buy your next novel if you wow them on the last page.

Though all readers enjoy an impressive beginning, the impact of a strong ending can’t be overlooked. Think back to the experience of finishing the last novel you enjoyed, and you’ll recognize the importance of its ending. You savored the final words. You reflected on the meaning of the story. Perhaps you even hugged the book and became devoted to the author.

Why is the last page important? A novel’s conclusion may come in various flavors — funny, bittersweet, ambiguous, tragic, optimistic — but to many readers it is the most profound part. The closing scene renders the story whole. Real-life issues don’t always resolve in neat, meaningful conclusions, so we savor a sense of unity where we can find it.

 The last page also suggests what might happen next to the characters, what could lie beyond the present story. A reader who has been moved by these people and their situations and feels as though the story has actually happened relishes hints about the future.

It is therefore crucial that we provide our audience a gratifying ending. Some even call it the dessert of the meal. This ending should grow naturally from the plot, although, if executed skillfully, the reader will not be able to guess it ahead of time. Note that the caracters don’t necessarily have to live happily ever after. But the closure should appear to be the best possible eventuality under the circumstances, convincing and emotionally satisfying, as though the whole book has been steadily progressing toward this moment.

How do you keep the audience engaged till dessert time?

Preparation is the key
Many writers workshop the first 50 pages to death. They pride themselves in tweaking the lead paragraph hundreds of times. They don’t always take the same care, however, to add grace notes to the finale. Try to avoid this pitfall. Once you’ve written your main scenes, allow sufficient time to compose and revise the book’s conclusion. This comprises not only the last paragraph or the last page, but an entire section of the book.

Consider a story as a whole. Most genre and mainstream novels can be divided into three parts. The first quarter of a book is the beginning, where you introduce the heroine and have her encounter an obstacle to her desire. The next half is the middle, where she sets out for action, determined to get what she wants. And the last quarter is the ending, where she achieves her goal or doesn’t, but grows from that experience. If you can envision this last quarter early on, you’ll be able to throw in new twists or a shocking turn of events at appropriate points in your manuscript.

Let’s examine two important terms related to this last quarter, climax and final comments.

Throughout your book you create complications for your protagonist, meant to teach her life lessons. As the external conflict worsens, she finds herself in an increasingly unbearable condition and, finally, dramatic tension reaches its breaking point. Precisely when she has just about had it, the climax occurs in the form of a final crisis. The protagonist digs deeper and adopts a course of action that resolves the issues. A mystery might be solved; a relationship might break; goals may be attained or lost. The resolution may or may not prove advantageous to your protagonist, but it alters her destiny.

The climax is often the most emotionally engaging part of the novel and the resolution that follows provides appropriate closure. The temptation is to end the book at the climactic point, causing a swift and surprise exit. Most writers, however, continue beyond this stage to what is known as the “final resolution” or “final comments.” These concluding pages are meant to depict the effect of the life-changing events on the main and side characters and wrap up the loose ends.

What should your final comments consist of?
First, just as you set up characters, place and situations in the beginning, you tidy up the mess and settle things before saying good-bye to your characters. In other words, in these last pages you get an opportunity to sort things out and settle minor issues. You can also make a final statement about the meaning of your story, provided you do so in a subtle manner.

Second, this is a place where you have a chance to deal with your heroine’s inner conflicts. In fact, you can show the emotional growth of all your characters, how they have suffered and learned and, it is hoped, been changed by the plot events throughout the book, as well as the climax. The term “character arc” refers to this phenomenon. Depending on the nature of the story, the character arc might be long or short.

Here are some additional tips for writing the end pages or the final paragraph effectively.

Avoid the deus ex machina type of conclusion
The Latin phrase literally means “god from the machine.” Dramatists of an earlier era resorted to this method when unable to solve plot problems. A platform carrying an actor playing the role of a deity would descend to the stage. The divine presence would miraculously save the situation for the protagonist and set things in order.

Modern readers feel manipulated by such a plot device. They prefer that the protagonist (perhaps aided by the supporting cast) use her resources to climb out of her predicament. Readers are also skeptical about coincidences, such as the sleuth accidentally overhearing the murderer’s confession. Another device to avoid is the luck factor — a man winning the lottery and thereby solving a financial catastrophe.

Do get your message out
Round off your story by summarizing the thematic meaning.

In his novel No End To the Journey, author S. Shankar spends the last paragraph on a character’s realizations about his life. Note that the author also returns to the title in his ending.

All around Gopalkrishnan, as he watched Parvati through the window, the rain fell in torrents, as if to atone for all its days of denial. So much to do. So much to set right. There was time yet. He would learn. He was not too old. He had no idea what he would do about the trouble Suresh was in. But he would not give up. There was time yet. For Suresh. And for him. There was no end to the journey.

Alternatively, you might choose to leave the decoding for the reader. Either way, as you wrap up, you should know what you’re trying to imply through your plot, conflicts, setting and characters. Understanding what the story is about will aid you in composing the last few paragraphs with confidence.

Bring your protagonist on stage
If you’re having difficulty finding an appropriate finish, conjure up your leading lady. Where is she? Is she alone or with somebody? What is her emotional state, her hopes (if any)? Who has become the most important person in her life? How is she different at these closing moments than she was in the beginning? What important lessons has she learned?

Dazzle with a snapshot of the physical surroundings
You can end with a vivid image — a sunset, a bridge, a garden — observed through your point-of-view character. The image should say something about the person or the situation, or should provide a vision of things to come. Here is how Jane Hamilton ends her novel When Madeline Was Young, a multigenerational family story.

When we finished our sandwiches, we turned for the north, leaving the two of them at their places on the deck. The sun was moving beyond the trees and houses, no place in my old town to see it finally slip over the filmy city horizon. Madeline and my father would sit there together until the fireflies appeared and the street lights came on, waiting for the ghostly mothers to ring their bells and sing out the names of their children from the back porches — time, at long last, to come inside.

Pay attention to the prose and the moment
Remember, you’re making lasting impressions here. As you did with your lead paragraph, make sure to spruce up your prose. Even if you use simple diction, make sure your words resonate. You might want to add emphasis with a longer-than-usual sentence or a sentence fragment that calls attention to itself. Here’s the last paragraph in Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Mermaid Chair:

I look toward the window. I want to tell him, Yes, I’m coming back, Hugh. When I die, it will be your face I see hovering over me, whether in flesh or memory. Don’t you know? What I want is you. What I want is the enduring. The beautiful enduring.

Also be aware that on the last page, each moment is significant.

Make the closure appropriate to the genre
Roughly speaking, a crime novel should provide a solution to the crime, a romance novel should bring its main characters together (or not, if current trends continue), and a literary novel should imply some truth about the human condition.

Barry Unsworth closes his book The Ruby in her Navel: A Novel of Love and Intrigue Set in the 12th Century with a short scene that unites the leading man and his love interest:

She clasped the stone for a moment, then looked down at it as it lay in her palm. “When I dance it will always be for you,” she said. “Let us go and see if it fits me well.” She smiled and her eyes looked into mine. “You will play the viele for me, and I will try if the red stone lies in the right place. We will have a dance of the measurements.”

Some contemporary novelists, however, prefer an indeterminate ending in which no definite conclusions are reached. Others leave the ending open for a possible sequel at a later time. Either way, it needs to satisfy the reader.

Use foreshadowing to help your cause
The term foreshadowing means what will come later. Mystery writers foreshadow when they plant clues early on. You can employ this technique in other types of fiction as well. In the character’s backstory, for example, you might reveal a personality trait that could affect the character’s future and the story outcome. The reader will finish the book and be pleasantly surprised, yet have a feeling that the ending fits due to the earlier depiction of the character’s personality. She will ask herself, “Why didn’t I see this?”

Create an epilogue
In some situations, you might take the narrative forward to a future point in time after the book ends. You might, for example, show your leading lady living in a new neighborhood, pursuing a dramatically different career, or re-establishing a connection with an old acquaintance, all given in a summary form.

What if the ending is elusive?
Often you launch a book with great enthusiasm. By the time you arrive at the closing scene, you’re exhausted. A character may have proved to be different than you had expected. You don’t know how to resolve a subplot. Doubts about the entire story may have set in. You wonder if it will be suitable to wind down the narrative the way you had planned. In such a case, it’s best to step away from the manuscript for a few days or weeks, and return with new energy, vision and strategies.

Play with various endings
If you’re not satisfied (and you suspect the reader will not be satisfied), try composing a variety of endings and select the most appropriate one. Check to see if any parts of the beginning or the middle will have to be revamped to speak to the new ending you choose.

Above all, do not rush: A hurried and abrupt finale leaves a reader dissatisfied. Take the time to do the last page right and readers will come back for an encore.

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Workout

Consider free-writing on the last few moments of your book, blowing up each moment on the page, and selecting the best sentences or paragraphs. You can, for example, begin with such phrases as “It was time to …” or “She looked up and …” or “He ran toward …” and write without stopping for five minutes.

Before and After: A more complex ending

Problem
I had to rewrite the last few paragraphs of my novel Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries. Initially, I had planned on showing Sunya, the protagonist, alone, assessing how her trip to Japan and her studies with a Zen baker had transformed her life.

As I lock the door to my bakery, I give a glance to the signboard above.

Then she spends several moments summarizing and reflecting on the turns her life has taken.

In considering the ending further, I decided that I needed to bring Andrew, her lover, into the scene. I needed to bring Andrew into the scene, as Sunya’s personal transformation has been largely affected by her relationship with him.

Solution
I switched the locale to Andrew’s apartment, where Sunya waits for him.

How different the space appears, how remote it feels. The bed, bereft of its sheets, seems somber and cold. … Two half-packed suitcases clutter the floor. … Open suitcases are not only ugly, but also malevolent obstacles that trip you no matter which way you turn.

A man on the move. A man who does what he wants, yesterday’s promises forgotten.

The conclusion continues for several more paragraphs, as Sunya reacts to Andrew’s absence. His physical absence makes her realize he is absent, too, from her new sense of purpose.