Resolving The Issue
How Does It All End?
Note: I’m not talking about cliff hangers here. The purpose of a cliff hanger is to leave the reader waiting for the next instalment. This is an equally divisive topic, but not one I intend to look at here.
Most crime novels provide some sort of clear resolution at the end. Indeed, it is the certainty that, unlike in real-life, the villain will usually get their comeuppance that makes the genre so popular. In an uncertain world, it’s good to know that in fiction at least, crimes will be punished and the perpetrator face justice.
Of course, that isn’t a hard and fast rule. The culprit might actually get away with it, but the writer will usually tell the reader who did it, again providing resolution. The villain might escape justice, or go free to continue their crimes in later stories, but at least we the readers have the satisfaction of knowing if we were right or wrong.
But occasionally, writers buck that trend. Unfortunately, by its very nature, I can’t give specific examples here – they would be huge spoilers and I’m not going to disrespect the writers or future readers by giving away any endings. However, there are some very good recent examples where resolution isn’t given. In fact the reader is left to make up their own mind at the end.
I’m going to lay my cards on the table and say that I don’t mind the occasional open-ending. In fact, there are certain books in which I believe that is the only ending which serves the story. These are the stories that make you think. That make you wonder what you might do in that solution, or decide who the culprit was.
But a lack of a clear answer seems to really upset some readers. Comments in a recent Facebook thread stated that if a reader wanted to write their own ending, they’d be a writer. Another poster suggested that it was a sign of lazy writing. Still others felt that it seemed as though the author had run out of ideas and just stopped writing.
Each to their own opinion, but I strongly disagree with the last two statements. In fact, I feel they are needlessly offensive, and I suspect that the posters would probably shy away from saying such a thing to an author’s face. The anonymity of social media makes us all braver than we really are.
The fact is that everything in a book is a choice. And it is usually a choice that has been vetted by editors and beta-readers before the book is published. The likelihood is that author either knew when they started what the ending would be, or, as the book unfolded, they saw that was the best and only ending that would satisfy them.
I would even go as far as to say that a deliberately ambiguous ending is more difficult to pull off effectively. Tipping the scales in favour of suspect A rather than suspect B is relatively easy. And as resolution is typically expected, the reader will usually accept your decision. On the other hand, crafting the book so that decision is up in the air, so that your readers are divided over the culprit or what happens next, is a real skill.
But, as the heated debates show, making such a decision can be fraught with danger.
So what should you consider if you feel that your book should be left unresolved?
Give enough clues that the readers can decide for themselves.
The best thing about an open-ending done properly is that the book lingers with the readers, rather than closing with, ‘and the suspect was arrested, and they all lived happily ever after. The End’, leaving the reader free to pick up another book immediately. What you want is for the reader to stop and think. For them to find themselves trying to work out who did it, or what they think will happen next.
Ensure that there are compelling reasons for either interpretation of the ending.
To pull this off, it is vital that either interpretation is plausible. If 99{116e99e3060c0213f694e8966224caadfb5351d823ecf0441615e58de6882445} of your readers are convinced it was suspect A, or that the victim was murdered, rather than dying as a result of an accident or suicide, then the chances are that they are just going to be left wondering why you didn’t say that at the end.
Never use it as an excuse to avoid making difficult decisions.
We all write ourselves into corners occasionally (see TuesdayTip98), but as a writer it is part of our job to figure a way out of that dead end. If you decide the best way to solve this problem is to just leave it up to the reader, it will probably backfire. You need to decide whether you should work harder to make that decision, or if you should go back and make sure that an open-ending is fair on the reader (see above) and a genuine creative choice.
Decide if this is genuinely an open-ending or a cliff-hanger.
When writing a series, it is tempting to try and hook the reader into feeling compelled to buy the next in the series. One way to do this would be to have the investigator come close to solving the mystery, then as the culprit is about to be revealed, basically tell the reader to read the next in the series to receive that answer.
DON’T!!! This is a very manipulative and dishonest way of getting people to buy your next book, and you will quite rightly be hammered in the reviews for it. That’s a cliff-hanger, not an open-ending. It belongs at the end of a chapter not the end of a book. You have cheated the reader.
It’s fine to have an ongoing investigation spread over several books, but you still have to reward the reader at the end of each book with something. Perhaps have a person arrested for the crime, but have your investigator realise that they are just part of a bigger plot? That way the reader feels satisfied, but is now excited to read what happens next.
Maintain an air of mystery.
Something you need to be prepared for is for readers to ask you ‘so who actually did it’? My advice is to not commit to an answer. It’s fine to have your own theory. And that might even change over time. But I think it’s better to state that you have your own thoughts on the matter, but that you are more interested to hear what they think.
So, where do you stand on open-endings? Should a book always have a firm resolution, or do you enjoy being left to make up your own mind?
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time, all the best.
Paul.
