My writing students are at that point in the term where we're working on conclusion. They have mastered introductions, theses, and the body of essays. Now we're tying it all together.
From years of teaching writing, I know this is tricky. But it's also important, I emphasize, because it's the impression that stays with the reader (or, in their cases, the grader).
But from editing thousands of papers, from reading magazines, and critiquing books, I've happened upon something interesting. There are only so many ways to end.
Honestly.
It seems pretty formulaic.
Take, for example, David Wroblewski's all-the-rage The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. This tale ends with a choice.
Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains? With a quote. Donna Tartt's The Secret History? A journey.
Here are a few other kinds of conclusions I've found: imagery; a summary or revisitation; a question, a lesson, or what the future might bring; hope; a call-to-action. Lots of conclusions fit into more than one category. On Thursday, we found the last sentence of a short story that used five.
Me, I seem stuck in the same kind of conclusion: a peek into the future through imagery.
I might try something for else for my next book, if I ever write another. Because my problem isn't wrapping it up. Like Eve Porinchak, it's how to begin.
(Wah Hoo! My first link!!!)
