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Ten story endings that have lost their shock value
by William Meikle

A logical, satisfying, ending is always required in a short story. But how do you ensure that yours is a new one? One of the ways is to avoid the obvious. Here are some of the common endings seen by editors. Use them at your peril.

"And then I woke up."

The "Dallas" gambit. This is nothing more than a cop out for people with no imagination. Stories should reach a logical conclusion that satisfies the reader and resolves any conflicts. This does neither.

"And then I died."

The "Weird Tales" gambit. This one used to turn up regularly in the horror genre in the early part of the last century, until it was overplayed by, amongst others, H P Lovecraft. Having a diary end in a string of nonsense words as a crawling terror from beyond comes for the author was fine the first time out, but most editors have seen it too many times.

"And I found out I'd been dead all along."

The "Sixth Sense" gambit. This is an old one, which is why people who were well read in the genre spotted the "twist" in the film very early on. A well-used variation is to have someone breaking out of a coffin after a (supposedly) premature burial. Don't do it - the editor will see it coming a mile off.

"And they called him/her Adam/Eve."

The "Bible" gambit or, as Michael Moorcock christened them "Shaggy God" stories. If you start with a nuclear holocaust or human colonists on a new planet, make sure you don't use this ending or the story will be bounced back at you faster than you can say "Let there be light". The other thing to avoid is having a computer become God. That was new in the Forties, but these days an editor will laugh himself out of his chair.

"And then I saw the fangs, just before he bit me."

The "Singles bar pick-up" gambit. Person visits bar. Person is seduced by pale, interesting stranger, stranger (or person) turns out to be a vampire/ghost/werewolf/alien. There are several variations seen nowadays, such as same-gender meetings, and graphic sex scenes before the revelation, but the stories are all the same. And editors know it.

"And then I caught up with the bastards who'd done me wrong and shot the cr*p out of them."

The "Death Wish" gambit, beloved of Michael Winner fanatics and gun nuts. It makes for a very dull story unless you can bring style, energy and a unique vision to it. And then you'd probably be better off trying to sell it as a film treatment. There's a long tradition of revenge movies but in the written word they all come across as the same.

A variant on this is "The Charles Atlas gambit", where the weedy nerd becomes a Kung-Fu expert to wreak revenge on his tormentors. Don't be tempted - editors will know what's coming.

"And the next day I read in the paper that he'd died."

The "I talked to a ghost" gambit This turned up frequently in Victorian literature. It is usually no more than an anecdote turned into a story. Variations include the person talked to being a victim of a plane crash, an auto-wreck or a major catastrophe. Editors see a slew of these after a natural disaster, but whatever caused the death of the person, the stories are all the same.

"And it was a man in a mask all along."

The "Scooby-Doo" gambit. Pretend spooks are a cliché. The whole story builds up a sense of supernatural menace, only to reveal a human agency behind it all. Your readers, and the editor, will feel disappointed and let down.

"And it was my evil twin, separated at birth."

The "Doppelganger" gambit. Stephen King got away with it in The Dark Half and Dean Koontz got away with a variation of having both twins being evil, but unless you have their style and wit I wouldn't attempt it. Another variation, beloved of the romantics among us, is to have the protagonist find out they are really the son/daughter/sibling from a rich family. This is really just wishful thinking on behalf of the writer. You shouldn't be sharing your daydreams with editors.

"I'm really a dog/cat/demon/alien."

The "Non-human storyteller" gambit is tried and tested. And that's the problem. If you don't leave any clues to the fact, then the reader will feel the ending is a cop out. And if you do leave clues, the reader, and editor, will spot the ending coming unless you are very good at disguising the fact.

Remember, people have been writing stories for a long time now. If you've read a similar ending in a story, or seen it in a film,, you can bet that the editor will have too. There are only so many original endings to go around. Make sure yours is one of them.

Copyright William Meikle © 2002

About William: I am a forty something Scotsman, with my debut novel "Island Life" out now and two more novels coming in 2002 from Barclay books. I have over 150 short story credits, and over 20 article credits, and I make my living as a technical author. I am also contributing editor at WritingNow.com
http://www.willie.meikle.btinternet.co.uk