FICTION FOCUS
THE LAST GOODBYE
How do you create an effective ending in fiction? Margaret James has advice on how to wrap up your stories.
Margaret James
While you’re reading some kinds of stories, it’s advisable to keep a box of tissues handy, especially as you race towards the end.
I certainly made use of my own stack of Kleenex while I was turning the final few pages of Jojo Moyes’ bestseller Me Before You and had realised that very soon the two central characters were going to be saying their last goodbyes.
Saying a final farewell to someone we love –a child, a sibling, a parent, a friend – is one of the hardest and saddest thing we ever have to do in real life. It can be almost as difficult to say goodbye to characters in a novel or even a short story, especially if we’ve become their friends, have been on challenging journeys with them, and know that we’ll miss them so much that we’ll be reluctant to return to the real world.