This is it, folks. The last post in this series. If you’ve hung around this long, thank you! I really hope you’ve found it interesting and helpful.

Last time we talked about the falling action of the story, and now we’ve come to the end.

The Resolution

What is the resolution of the story?

“The End,” right? Well, yes. But it’s not wrapping everything up; it’s wrapping everything up well, so the reader feels satisfaction with the ending. You don’t want to end a story that makes the reader slam the book and throw it against the wall with a vow “never to read anything by that author ever again!” Literally or figuratively. (Please don’t throw your Kindle against the wall.) I’ve done this exactly twice. I won’t tell you the books because you would probably recognize them. The endings were shocking and terrible and I hated them. I’ve also never read another by either of the authors. Has that ever happened to you?

Here’s where we left our story last time:

The mayor is arrested. Sophia’s parents have expressed their remorse and grief about everything. And Sophia determines to bring Cassidy home.

The conclusion is the final wrap-up. Sophia finds her sister with her parents’ help. Her parents learn their fate for their participation in an illegal adoption, but it wasn’t a kidnapping. So the penalty is labeled a misdemeanor. (This depends on the state.) They are given their sentencing, which includes community service. (This is where I would do a little more research and consult with a lawyer in the state on how this would legally be handled.)

They didn’t know that the mayor killed the poor girl who gave birth. He told them he came across the baby; and as long as they didn’t ask questions, they could have her. They agreed. Sophia and Cassidy are happily reunited now that the threat is gone. The mayor ends up dead in the end, Cassidy’s birth mother gets a funeral attended by Sophia, Cassidy, and Oliver. And Oliver and Sophia have feelings for each other and decide to date.

THE END (whew!)

Now, if you’re reading these blog posts one after the other, you may notice a few inconsistencies in the structure of the story. (I don’t know; I haven’t gone back through it yet.) But that’s okay! Seriously, this is how I get the bones of my story down. But that doesn’t mean it’s finished by a long shot. It’s now time to start weaving the subplots throughout, deepening characterization, fixing anything that doesn’t work in the structure, etc. But that’s a whole other blog post series coming your way soon.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series and you found it helpful. Feel free to ask questions if you have them.

How about your story? How does it end? What do you leave with the reader when the final word is read? Satisfaction? A sense that all is well? A feeling of having learned something? Sometimes it’s hard to know until you get that reader feedback, but take a guess.

Until next time.