"I didn't like the ending," I said to my favorite college professor. It was my junior year of undergraduate, and I was doing an independent study on Victorian literature. I had just finished reading The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, and I was heartbroken with the ending. Prof. Gracie, with all his patience, asked me to think about it beyond whether I liked it or not. He suggested I think about the difference between endings that I wanted for the characters and endings that were right for the characters, endings that satisfied the story even if they didn't have a traditionally positive outcome. Of course, I would have preferred a different ending for Tom and Maggie Tulliver, but the ending they got did make the most sense for them.

This was an aha moment for me, and I never thought about endings the same way again. From then on, if I wanted to read an ending guaranteed to be happy, I'd pick up a love romance. If I wanted an ending I couldn't guess, I'd pick up a mystery . One where I kind of knew what was going to happen, historical fiction. Choosing what to read became easier.

But writing the end—that's hard. It's hard for writers because endings carry so much weight with readers. You have to balance creating an ending that's unpredictable, but doesn't seem to come from nowhere, one that fits what's right for the characters.

That's why this issue of Writer's Digest aims to help you figure out how to write the best ending for whatever kind of writing you're doing. If it's short stories, Peter Mountford breaks down six techniques you can try to see which one helps you stick the landing. Elizabeth Sims analyzes the final chapters of five great novels to see what key points they include and how you can adapt them for your work.

This issue won't tell you what your ending should be—that's up to you and the story you're telling—but it might provide what you need to get there.

Questions:
question_stem: Why did the author go to Prof. Gracie?
choices: tag: A
text: To discuss a novel.

tag: B
text: To submit a book report.

tag: C
text: To argue for a writer.

tag: D
text: To ask for a reading list.
answer_key: A

question_stem: What did the author realize after seeing Prof Gracie?
choices: tag: A
text: Writing is a matter of personal preferences.

tag: B
text: Readers are often carried away by characters

tag: C
text: Each type of literature has its unique ending

tag: D
text: A story which begins well will end well
answer_key: C

question_stem: What is expected of a good ending?
choices: tag: A
text: It satisfies readers' taste.

tag: B
text: It fits with the story development.

tag: C
text: It is usually positive.

tag: D
text: It is open for imagination.
answer_key: B

question_stem: Why does the author mention Peter Mountford and Elizabeth Sims?
choices: tag: A
text: To give examples of great novelists.

tag: B
text: To stress the theme of this issue.

tag: C
text: To encourage writing for the magazine.

tag: D
text: To recommend their new books.
answer_key: B