The End is a Good Place to Start a Story

The most famous story I know that started at the End was ‘Rebecca’ written by Daphne de Maurier.

The story starts with a dream and a flashback to a beautiful home called Manderley, now deserted. Nature is encroaching on the ancestral estate of the heroine’s husband, Maxim de Winter. The story draws the reader in to continue reading to the very end, to find out why such a tragic state befell a once beautiful home, destroyed by fire.

The writer takes the reader back to the beginning of the story and weaves the tale so expertly that to abandon the book before the end, seems impossible.

To achieve real mastery, the ending must be shocking, unexpected but totally believable. The twist of fate no one could anticipate, leaving the reader enthralled, and the haunting story — unforgettable.

Finding the Conclusion

Sometimes, when I’m trying to find inspiration for a story, the question of ‘how will this end?’ is the first thought. The story can then sometimes be built back from this conclusion.

A strong conclusion leaves the reader wanting more:

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.” ― Quote from J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Most writers struggle with this. In the book A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, the writer agonized over the ending writing 47 versions of the final pages, before he was satisfied.

Back to Front

A friend of mine always reads the last few pages of a book first. She says that if she likes the ending, she will like the story. I can’t go quite that far, but I get her point. If the ending is weak, with no value, why would she waste her time on the rest of the book?

Most of us start at the beginning, and if we can’t get into the book in the first few chapters, we often abandon it.

So it should be with Vocal writers. If you can just find that hook to keep your reader curious enough to keep reading, this really is a skill.

Re-writing an experience

It can be very easy to talk ourselves out of a course of action because of negative experiences in our past. The time may not have been right, or the people involved may not have been fully committed. If you're thinking about having another try at something you failed earlier, it's never too late, and who knows, you may be very successful this time around.

Getting to the End

When Relationships end, have you ever noticed that the party who ends a relationship, rarely has fond memories of their previous partner. If they’ve arrived at a place where there is no turning back, the final taste sours the memories.

Unlike the involuntary, injured party, who longs for another day, another chance, another story. And will look back with bitter-sweet memories of that time. The sadness and finality of something that was once very beautiful, but fragile, takes a huge amount of healing and soul searching. The romance will remain enigmatic and a story of unrequited love.

It is that feeling, that as writers, we should seek to evoke in the reader.

…and finally, a quote by Sidney Sheldon:

Usually, when people get to the end of a chapter, they close the book and go to sleep. I deliberately write a book so when the reader gets to the end of the chapter, he or she must turn one more page…

Thank you for reading to the end. If you liked this story please consider leaving a Heart ❤