{"id":78,"date":"2015-10-06T19:36:31","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T19:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/?p=78"},"modified":"2015-10-06T19:36:31","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T19:36:31","slug":"how-to-write-a-good-trick-ending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/how-to-write-a-good-trick-ending\/","title":{"rendered":"How to write a good trick ending"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some famous stories that have trick or twist endings are O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi<\/a>,” Shirley Jackson’s “Charles<\/a>,” and Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

\"Magi\"
The ending of “The Gift of the Magi” is pretty unexpected, but it’s meaningful in the context of the story.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

People love it when stories trick them.<\/p>\n

Or do they?<\/p>\n

Sometimes when people read stories that have a trick ending, they get mad. They feel like they’ve been cheated. Why?<\/p>\n

Here are some rules to think about when you are tempted to write a trick ending:<\/p>\n

#1: A trick ending has to be justified by what comes before<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does that mean? If your trick ending comes out of nowhere, people will get mad. They want you to sprinkle clues throughout the story so that when they get to the trick ending, they feel like they were somewhat prepared for it.<\/p>\n

#2: A trick ending can’t be obviously coming<\/strong><\/p>\n

If people know it’s coming, it’s not a good trick ending and they will probably just be annoyed. You have to walk that line between giving them enough information and giving them too much.<\/p>\n

#3: A trick ending should mean something<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Owl
We get all sorts of clues in “Owl Creek Bridge” that what we’re being told is not real.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A good trick ending gives the reader a deeper understanding of what really happened in the story:<\/p>\n