You might see the ending of a story referred to as its climax, conclusion, denouement, or simply ending. These terms are all slightly different in meaning although they are often used interchangeably.
An epilogue is the final chapter at the end of a story that often serves to reveal the fates of the characters. Some epilogues may feature scenes only tangentially related to the subject of the story.
Regardless what has come before, the ending provides the final commentary. The ending is what indicates whether the author finds this story's series of events to be tragic, comedic, triumphant, ironic, or even unclear.
These elements are character, plot, setting, theme, point of view, conflict, and tone. All seven elements work together to create a coherent story. When you're writing a story, these are the fundamental building blocks you should use. You can approach the seven elements in any order.
There are eight elements of a story: theme, plot, characters, setting, conflict, point-of-view, tone and style.
They are true masters at combining the five key elements that go into every great short story: character, setting, conflict, plot and theme.
The plot of a book, film, or play is the series of events that unfolds from start to finish. The plot explains not just what happens but also the causality—how one event leads to another. In Poetics, Aristotle identified the basic form of a plot as containing three parts: a beginning, middle, and end.
In literary fiction, a good ending has certain elements that leave readers satisfied, meaning that the story arc has come to its logical end and the character has achieved their main goal.
Generally, the conflict in a short story needs to have some sort of resolution. Without this closure, a story can feel unfinished and leave the reader frustrated. In that sense, yes, stories should have conclusions. However, resolutions in short stories usually aren't comprehensive.
The Specifics of the Short Story Format
Put the word count and rights offered in the top right corner. Put the story's title, centered in all caps, approximately one-third of the way down the page from the top margin. Skip a line and write “by” in lowercase, then skip another line and put your name in all caps.
On this page you'll find 83 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to ending, such as: closure, completion, denouement, finale, outcome, and period.
Closing A Manuscript
An epilogue: An epilogue appears in fiction. An afterword: An afterword can be used for fiction and non-fiction. An appendix: An appendix is usually reserved for non-fiction, to add resources or definitions.
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction.
A cliffhanger is a plot device in which a component of a story ends unresolved, usually in a suspenseful or shocking way, in order to compel audiences to turn the page or return to the story in the next installment.
If you're using a cliffhanger as a gimmick, you risk annoying your readers. And you should never end on a cliffhanger just because you don't know how else to end your story! Only do it if it fits with the story you're telling.
A climax is a dramatic turning point in a narrative—a pivotal moment at the peak of the story arc that pits the protagonist against an opposing force in order to resolve the main conflict once and for all.
What Makes A Good Short Story? The four elements necessary for your story structure are character, plot, setting, and tension. Balancing these elements is the first step to making your creative writing amazing.
Short story length is always between 1,000 and 10,000 words, and usually 1,500-7,500 words. How long should a short story be in pages? A short story is 3-30 pages long. This number of pages works best when published in a literary magazine or similar publication.
1. To define four major story elements: character, setting, plot, and theme.
End, close, conclusion, finish, outcome refer to the termination of something.
close. complete. terminate. wind up. round (off or out)