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| And they lived happily ever after. |
There's a lot of focus on beginnings in the writing community, and for good reason. Your beginning is going to make or break you -- it'll either hook an agent, editor, or reader, or it won't. For a good analysis of first lines, see agent Mary Kole's ongoing discussion here.
But endings are just as vital. A good one will lift your reader, make her cry, satisfy her soul. Your ending should set us down (gently or not) at exactly the right place and time. If you've done your job, we'll also be a little sad to leave the book.
So how, exactly, do you accomplish this?
I opened two novels at random this morning and read the last lines. Here's what I found (I swear I did not rig this):
1) We lived happily ever after.
2) Over in England they married and lived happily ever after.
"Oh. My. Gawd!" I can hear you saying. "These are terrible endings!" Not so fast.
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