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Narrative Story Ending

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Basics on the topic Narrative Story Ending

How to End a Narrative Story

A narrative story is a fictional story that is written to entertain readers and has a beginning, middle, and an end. What is a good narrative ending? When writing the ending of a story, it is important to think about how the character has grown or changed as a result of the main event in the story. You may be thinking about how to end a narrative writing, the next section will explain different story ending types you can use for your next story!

Different Types of Endings – Surprise Ending

There are many different types of story endings. Let’s look at two examples of endings with explanations to get a better understanding of the different endings to narrative stories.

A surprise ending, also known as a twist, is when the story takes an exciting and unexpected turn.

Let's look at Ernie and Jane's version of the story Rapunzel with a surprise ending. Rapunzel was locked in a tower by an evil witch.

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One day, Princess Charming decided to climb the hair to the tower.

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She reached the top and said, "I'm here to rescue you!" Rapunzel replied, "Rescue? Excuse me? I don't rescuing, I'm actually waiting for Prince Charming to bring me the dinner I ordered, and he should be here any minute."

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Rapunzel's reaction to Princess Charming may have been surprising to the reader, so this is a surprise ending.

Different Types of Endings – Cliffhanger

When writing a good ending to a narrative, you can also use a cliffhanger ending.

A cliffhanger ending is an open ending used by the author to excite the reader into reading more by leaving them hanging, or wanting to know more.

Let's look at their version of Rapunzel with a cliffhanger ending. When she reached the top, she saw Rapunzel was dressed for battle. Rapunzel handed her a shield, and said, "I've been waiting for you, let's go defeat the witch!"

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This is a cliffhanger ending because this may excite the reader to read, or want to know more, about how they will defeat the witch.

How to End a Narrative Story – Summary

Now that you’ve seen a couple how to end a narrative examples, let’s summarize!

Remember, story endings should provide a sense of closure to the reader. When creating a story ending, it is important to think about how the character has grown or changed as a result of the main event in the story.

There are many different types of story endings. Let’s look at the two types of narrative endings we examined in this text:

Type of ending Meaning
surprise ending Also known as a twist, is when the story
takes an exciting and unexpected turn.
cliffhanger An open ending used to excite the reader
into reading more by leaving them hanging,
or wanting to know more.

When choosing which type of ending to use, think about the main event in the story and which ending you want to use to reflect your own creative style! Want some to see some more ending stories examples? On this website you can practise writing story endings with interactive exercises, worksheets and more activities!

Transcript Narrative Story Ending

Narrative story ending "One stormy night, I decided to explore Bran Castle. A few steps into the corridor, I started to smell a rancid scent. As I walked further, I heard laughter. Oh no! Then suddenly, I saw someone! The end!" "What! Who did you see!? You can't just end it there!" Jane just told Ernie a scary story that had a beginning and a middle, but no end! A story ending that is abrupt, such as, "Then, suddenly, I saw someone! The end!" is not very satisfying for the reader or listener. Story endings should provide closure to the reader. When creating a story ending, it is important to think about how the character has grown or changed as a result of the main event in the story. There are many different types of story endings. A surprise ending, also known as a twist, is when the story takes an exciting and unexpected turn. Let's look at Ernie and Jane's version of the story Rapunzel with a surprise ending. Rapunzel was locked in a tower by an evil witch. One day, Princess Charming decided to climb the hair to the tower. She reached the top and said, "I'm here to rescue you!" Rapunzel replied, "Rescue? Excuse me? I don't need rescuing, I'm actually waiting for Prince Charming to bring me the dinner I ordered, and he should be here any minute." Rapunzel's reaction to Princess Charming may have been surprising to the reader, so this is a surprise ending. A cliffhanger ending is used by the author to excite the reader into reading more by leaving them hanging, or wanting to know more. Let's look at their version of Rapunzel with a cliffhanger ending. When she reached the top, she saw Rapunzel was dressed for battle. Rapunzel handed her a shield, and said, "I've been waiting for you, let's go and defeat the witch!" This is a cliffhanger ending because this may excite the reader to read, or want to know more, about how they will defeat the witch. A resolved ending leaves the story with a resolution, or solution, to the main problem. Often, this ending is seen in fairytales, using the line, 'and they lived happily ever after'. Let's look at their version of Rapunzel with a resolved ending. Princess Charming came to the top and Rapunzel threw open her arms and hugged her. Rapunzel was finally free, and they lived happily ever after. This is a resolved ending because it leaves the reader with no questions since it solves the main problem in the story. Before we see which type of story ending Jane will choose, let's summarise. Remember, story endings should provide a sense of closure to the reader. When creating a story ending, it is important to think about how the character has grown or changed as a result of the main event in the story. There are many different types of story endings. When choosing which type of ending to use, think about the main event in the story and which ending you want to use to reflect your own creative style! "One stormy night, I decided to explore Bran Castle. A few steps into the corridor, I started to smell a rancid scent. As I walked further, I heard laughter. Then suddenly, I saw someone! The lights flicked on, and the figure said, 'Oh, hi! I wasn't expecting anyone, but not to worry! Do you want to stay for dinner? It's almost ready!'. So I stayed for dinner and got to know Draculana, and realised she isn't so scary after all!"

Narrative Story Ending exercise

Would you like to apply the knowledge you’ve learnt? You can review and practice it with the tasks for the video Narrative Story Ending.
  • How are narratives structured?

    Hints

    The beginning comes at the start of a narrative.

    Which part of the story provides closure to the reader? This comes at the end.

    Solution

    Narratives follow this structure:

    • Narratives start with a beginning.
    • The middle follows.
    • And finally, the end. Narratives can have different types of endings.

  • What are the traits of a story ending?

    Hints

    A cliffhanger is a type of story ending.

    These are two traits of a story ending.

    Solution

    There are three correct options. The traits of a story ending are:

    • Story endings should provide closure to the reader.
    • Story endings should show how the character has grown, or changed, as a result of the main event in the story.
    • Story endings can be in the form of cliffhangers, surprises or resolved endings.

    A story ending is at the end of a story, not the beginning.

  • Match the types of story endings.

    Hints

    A surprise ending is something the reader did not expect to happen at the end of a story.

    A resolved ending can be what the reader expected to happen, such as the ending of a fairytale being, "...and they lived happily, ever after".

    Solution
    • Three examples of story endings are: cliffhanger ending, resolved ending and surprise ending.
    • Cliffhanger ending: "Watch out! The dragon is flying right towards us!"
    • Resolved ending: "...and they lived happily, ever after."
    • Surprise ending: The evil witch was not so evil, she was just so hungry!
  • What type of story ending is it?

    Hints
    Solution

    Surprise Ending

    • Rapunzel replied, "I don't need rescuing, I need to dance!" Then they all danced and had fun at Rapunzel's tower party. Princess Charming wasn't expecting Rapunzel to dance, so this is a surprise.
    Cliffhanger Ending
    • Rapunzel shouted, "Hop on!" The author has written an exciting ending that the reader would like to know more about, so this is a cliffhanger ending.
    Resolved Ending
    • Rapunzel replied, "I'm so happy to see you! Now let's leave this tower!" The story has a resolution so this is a resolved ending.

  • What is a narrative ending?

    Hints

    A narrative ending provides closure to the reader.

    A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end.

    A narrative ending is not how a story begins.

    Solution

    A narrative ending is how a story ends. The ending comes after the beginning and the middle parts of a story.

  • Identify the type of story ending.

    Hints
    Solution

    Resolved Ending

    • The whale wiggled its way back to the water and swam away happy! Everyone on the beach cheered.
    Surprise Ending
    • The whale began to wiggle and suddenly floated up into the air! This was a flying whale that was just taking a rest on the beach. Everyone was amazed!
    Cliffhanger Ending
    • The whale began to wiggle and then two legs popped out! The whale began to walk towards the ocean.