I will start by saying that the denouement is the final scene of a narrative text, where the solution to the problem is known. It even presents the final part of the action in a literary work such as a novel. It is the end of the intrigue, the culmination of the investigation, the final result of the story. The word denouement literally means to undo the knot, (knot is called the central part of the story), where the situations become complex, where the obstacles multiply, where the interests at stake are threatened and compromised, where the springs of personal interests become tense and the threads of the intrigue are mixed.
In the same vein, the denouement rather unravels the threads, you discover or end up discovering the whole problem, satisfies the reader's curiosity, and completes the general vision of the work. In it you find the ultimate answer to that series of issues and questions, which ultimately constitute the interest of a reading. There you find the definitive reality or truth and at the moment when all the reader's sympathies are satisfied or, on the contrary, undone, providing an ending.
In that sense, the ending of a novel must be the result of a complex process. It depends a lot on the writer, on the way he has narrated the story, on the conflict he has created, on the attitude of the characters. But that ending must always produce the sensation that the story continues beyond the reader's sight. In fact, we can know the ending as soon as we start the novel. If we already have it in mind, it can guide us throughout the writing process towards that ending. It is good to know because it prevents us from writing blindly, without knowing where we want to go.
The ending may come naturally, following the threads of the story, and sometimes we may find ourselves with several possible endings. But it is always better to have an idea of where to take the story. If the novel is well constructed, the ending may be hidden in the presentation of the conflict. The information contained in the approach already presumes an ending. However, we must be careful when writing, because the desire to finish can lead us to rush the ending. If this happens, it is better to let the story rest and take those days to think of a good ending.
That is why writing the ending is not an easy task. Often one of two problems can occur:
1- You are unable to stop writing. The story has hijacked you and you are having such a good time that you simply put off the ending. So you keep muddling through the plot so you don't write the final word.
2- You don't know how to end your novel. At some point along the development you have lost the thread.
In both cases what happens is that the planning fails. And if the planning of your novel fails, the result will be that you won't know when to write an ending, either because you haven't decided on a denouement or you don't know how to lead the action towards it. There are some steps to follow in order to achieve the ending of a novel, an ending that has a logical sequence and also allows the reader to continue buying other books.
The steps are:
- Ask yourself if the conflict has culminated.
- Look at the protagonist.
- Review your protagonist's goals.
- Make sure his or her ending is logical.
- Check if you have developed the structure you had planned.
To conclude, the word denouement is widely used to refer to an ending, the conclusion of a fact, an event or a story, among other alternatives. The success of your books will depend, almost exclusively, on how good your endings are. A novel without a great ending is like a joke that is too long and not funny. In a reader's head, a bad ending will erase all memory of any great moments they have read. It won't matter how good the dialogue was, they won't care if the characters were cute, deep or funny.
How do you like your stories to end?
P.S.: I am taking a course on the creation of novels, and I decided to share with you through my publications, the knowledge I am acquiring. That way we can learn together.
Dear readers, your opinions are very valuable to me, I will be very attentive to your comments. Thank you for investing your valuable time reading my post, best regards.
Disclaimer: I would like to let you know that English is not my mother tongue, I may even make some mistakes in the elaboration of sentences in my posts. Feel free to correct me attentively. It will help me in my learning process.
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I have written some short stories and even an attempt at a novel, which has left me with a very good taste. And my endings are created before much of the plot; in fact, the endings are the way I develop the story.