Weekly Creative Writing Tip: To Hell with Resolution

March 29th, 2008 · No Comments

typewriter Drop Your Reader off the Edge: Build to a Climax and Leave Them There

The crisis or climax is the turning point of the story. It’s the most exciting or dramatic moment. The crisis may be recognition or resolution. The character realizes what must be done and finally decides to get off their butt and do it, right?

As you know timing is crucial. If the climax occurs too late, readers will get impatient, but if the crisis occurs too early, readers will expect another turning point…

End at the Climax and Skip the Resolution All Together

Who says you have to have a resolution, eh? I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that you need the solution to the conflict. Follow the standard plot guideline. Some tips recommend that the resolution is necessary, but it can be minimized to simply showing that your character is beginning to change in some way or starting to see differently.

I Say To Hell With That!

What about the open ending? Let your readers determine the meaning. Let the story linger with them as they come up with their own ending. This allows your reader to interact with your story and is sure to leave a lasting impression, not to mention giving them instant gratification which seems to be more popular with increased demands on our time.

Remember the objective of your work isn’t just becoming “great literature”, but actually meaning something to your readers too. For your work to achieve this goal you need to let your stories take on a universal meaning. You want each and every one of your readers to feel a part of your story, to be a character in your story, to empathize and gain an insight into the world surrounding them and for a second stop it from just going by in the mad rush of their day.

I know I’ve run this one into the ground, but what could be more universal than letting each reader decide how the story ends?

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