The Silence After the Last Line

Endings That Linger

The most haunting endings are rarely the ones that tie up every loose thread. In fact, total closure can often feel like a door being slammed in the reader’s face. Today, I am studying endings that refuse to finish.

A strong ending should feel like a resonance—a sound that continues to vibrate long after the bell has been struck. If you answer every question and solve every problem, the reader has nothing left to do. They close the book and forget it. But if you leave one small question open—one door slightly ajar—the reader carries the story home with them.

They become the one who has to find the answer. They become the character’s companion in the afterlife of the story. Resist the urge to be “neat.” Leave one small question unanswered today. Let the reader inhabit the silence.

The Monroe Minute Leave one small question open in your current draft. Let the reader finish it.

Until the next page,
Sloane S. Monroe

Sloane Shay Monroe

I don’t write to idealize love, but to explore it honestly, with emotional precision and depth.