How to Write Beginnings and Endings That Satisfy

Use these tips to engage your readers, carry them along, and leave them on the right note.

Lewis Carroll’s indispensable wit lives rent-free in my head. One of my favorite quotes is from Alice in Wonderland, in which the white rabbit, having taken the stand at Alice’s trial, asks where to begin his testimony. The king replies, “Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

While this advice may sound laughably obvious, it bears consideration. Many writers like to warm up their fingers with long soliloquies before they reach their article’s point, or spend epic passages dressing their characters before they get to the action.

Likewise, too many writers keep rambling after they’ve reached their story’s or article’s conclusion. And I get it: goodbyes are hard. But you must let your reader get on with their life.

Let’s look at three things to consider about beginnings.

1. Begin at the beginning

All stories have a driving force behind them, and force requires action. And that concludes your physics lesson for today. But this is a good tidbit to keep in mind. In prose, you should drop your reader into your story in media res, which is how they say “when things get juicy” in Latin.

In other words, where does the action begin? What is the catalyst that sparks the story? It’s not the part where your character is staring off longingly into a windblown field, or regarding their features in the mirror.

If you’re writing articles, think back to your college or high school classes, where you were forced to write essays about painfully boring dynasties or dead presidents. You probably learned this common and redundant formula: State what you’re going to tell your reader, tell your reader the thing, and then tell your reader what you just told them.

Snooze. You don’t have to Velcro yourself to this formula but do consider it. You should start your articles by defining what you’re about to discuss and why it matters.

2. Set the tone

No matter what you’re writing, your opening sets the tone for the entire article. Think about your writer’s voice, here. Are you a loud fist-pumping proclaimer? A bespectacled sipper of tea who appreciates delicacy? Are you adorkable? Your opening should set the tone your reader can expect throughout the piece.

In fiction, this is where your character’s voice should shine. You want your readers to understand who they’re about to spend time with. That doesn’t mean you need to describe every mole on their back on page one, but you should give your reader a good sense of character right away. This will set the tone for your entire story.

3. Bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses

Not to get all Professor Snape on you, but bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses is a great approach to opening your piece. Readers are a keen bunch. If they sense your writing is a bit under or overripe, they’re going to curl their lips and move on.

In fiction, you must start with conflict and action of some kind. Don’t tiptoe around, just get to it. This will ensnare your reader better than any other approach.

In articles, you must pose an interesting topic up front that will pull your reader forward. Sometimes even the right image at the top of your article can begin this process.

Now let’s talk about endings.

1. Go on till you come to the end: then stop

Seriously, this is harder than it seems. A lot of writers struggle with endings. It stands to reason, too, because in the greater scheme of things, death is the only actual ending we can experience (and even that is debatable). The world keeps turning.

People move in and out of your life and sometimes show up out of the blue to deliver a fruitcake at Christmas. Lessons come and go, and sometimes we learn them all over again (curse you, financial responsibility!).

So where do you stop? In fiction, you must establish character needs. You can’t have a good story without a core, fundamental, human need attached to your protagonist. The ending comes when this need is met or resolved in some fashion.

So ask yourself: what does your character want? If he wants a Red Ryder BB gun, the story should end shortly after he nearly shoots his eye out. If she needs to learn maturity, it should end after she wakes from her dream of Wonderland and returns home with a new appreciation for sanity.

In articles, you should end after you’ve reinforced your thesis with a few solid backing points. This article ends after I’ve harangued you long enough about both beginnings and endings. If you’re writing about the joys of doilies, which I hope you aren’t, you should end after you feel (probably incorrectly) that you’ve convinced your reader of their merit.

2. Complete your arc

Every story, whether fiction or non, has an arc. It’s that great rainbow that stretches between your opening and closing. If you haven’t thought about your arc, you probably don’t have a successful piece on your hands.

Go back and review your point. Does your ending satisfy the beginning? Have you owned up to the promises you made to your reader? Do we finally get to learn the fate of Westeros, or are you going to spend another twenty years making us wait to find out? Ahem.

This is what all endings are about. Not true finality, but a full-circle completion of your point or your character’s emotional journey.

3. Say goodbye

If you have to spend a lot of time belaboring your point or your character’s resolution at the end, trust me, the body of your writing is too flimsy. Go back and beef up your plot points and characterization, land your whys and whens throughout your article, and then your ending will write itself.

You must release your reader back into the wild with a nice taste in their mouth, or they won’t return to your work. Even if your subject isn’t particularly light and fluffy, you should at least have a bit of a mic-drop at the end so your reader mentally thinks: yaas queen.

The Takeaway

While beginnings and endings are often the most difficult part of any story, landing them can make or break your writing. Think about them carefully before you start writing, and your work will start to feel more complete. And to leave you with a nice taste in your mouth: pizza.

Now get out there and get scribbling.

For more information about story structure, check out this article: