The Final Word: Tips for Writing a Compelling YA Novel Ending

Do you know the right ending for your story? When writing YA fiction, the ending of a book is almost, if not just, as important as your story’s hook in the beginning. It’s where you resolve all dangling questions, tie up any subplots, and where your main character learns a lesson or comes to terms with the book’s events. You want your story to have a well-deserved ending that will keep the reader thinking about it long after finishing. So, let’s look at writing a compelling YA ending and how you can create a satisfying end to your YA novel.

How Are YA Endings Different?

YA stories typically have optimistic, hopeful endings, not to be confused with things wrapping up happily ever after ending. You want the main character to feel confident that there’s a better future ahead after battling whatever challenges and obstacles they’ve encountered, even if life has more struggles in store.

Leave readers with at least a glimpse of hope for the main character regardless of any grim events that took place. If you’re writing a series, things don’t need to wrap up as nicely as an overarching thread will carry readers forward, but key events in this particular story should be concluded, for better or worse.

However you decide to end your novel, readers should feel something after reading the final word and be satisfied that the main conflict is finally resolved.

Craft an Ending that Sticks

Many YA endings unfold after the story’s conflict reaches its highest intensity between the main character and whatever antagonistic force they are dealing with, commonly called the “climax” of a novel.

Consider your story’s theme or themes and use that as the most important element in your ending. Usually, there is a main theme with smaller ones less central to a story’s plot, but as the heart of your story, ensure to wrap them all up at the end.

Your story’s message needs to be clear in the last chapter of your book, though YA readers generally prefer that it not be obvious. Unlike children’s stories, YA doesn’t require some heavy-handed moral at the end — if you’re a teen or remember your teen years, you’ll recall teens hate being told what to think or do.

Still, a lesson should be somewhat evident to your readers, as it’s pointless having a message if your audience can’t recognize it. People read YA because it aligns with their life lessons, so give them something to reflect upon that will linger in their minds once they finish your book.

How to Write Your YA Ending

If you’ve taken anything from my past advice, it’s that building tension with high stakes is key to ensuring your ending will be a compelling read. Throwing in believable, challenging obstacles your protagonist needs to struggle through will build suspense.

And in these vital moments, you want your readers to believe the hero may not achieve the ultimate goal they’ve been striving to achieve. You can also throw in a surprise plot twist that will test the main character’s wits and keep readers guessing.

Eventually, your protagonist’s final struggle will become the climax of your story, where they deal with the antagonist head-on in their most intense battle (be it literal or figurative). Through all the moments of tension, combined with an unexpected obstacle, you’ll have this intense climatic scene that will make the payoff more rewarding for your readers when the hero succeeds.

Afterward, everything you’ve submitted your protagonist to should leave them, and possibly your secondary characters, changed. Remember that growth is intrinsic to writing YA fiction. If your main character doesn’t show any positive transformation or personal development by the story’s end, your ending will feel lackluster. So, however they started the novel, be sure to leave the hero changed for the better by the tale’s end.

What if You’re Ending Part of a Series?

A great ending for an entry in a YA novel series will leave room for interpretation and speculation as readers wait for the next installment. To keep readers engaged, authors have several devices to can utilize when writing YA fiction.

One is the cliffhanger, which is good for a chapter or book ending. As mentioned, so long as your story’s main conflict or quest is resolved, you don’t have to tie up every loose end when an overarching plot hangs over your YA series. With the cliffhanger, readers need to continue on to the next book if they want to know how your protagonist resolves their present predicament.

You can see how that’s enticing. But that doesn’t mean just leaving your book with no ending. No, the lead into a cliffhanger must be carefully crafted, with the final moment being as believable as the rest of the obstacles in your story. If readers aren’t invested enough in your protagonist’s struggle, they won’t care if there are answers to questions forthcoming.

An Exception to the Rule

Alternatively, you can choose to have an ambiguous ending for your story and have your readers decide what becomes of the main character. Of all the conclusions, the ambiguous one demands the most involvement from the reader since they are actively invited to think about the significance of events for themselves.

However, some dislike this style, preferring their stories to be wrapped up once they reach the end, which is something for you to consider. But if you want your readers to reflect on the meaning of your book, then this is the ending for you.

While a resolved ending may satisfy readers, an ambiguous ending might help them get closer to what you are trying to say as an author. If done well, purposely leaving certain questions unanswered will leave readers thinking about your book well after reading the last page.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid with Your Endings

While it’s up to you to decide how to end your YA novel, there are some mistakes or pitfalls you’d be best to avoid.

Everything Falls Into Place

Readers may think your ending is contrived if you end your story with a quick, all-too-convenient resolution. Again, struggle leads to tension leads to a well-earned conclusion. Keep this in mind when writing a compelling YA ending.

Wait, That’s It?

If you end your novel abruptly, the ending can come off as rushed or unfinished if you don’t flesh out the resolution after the climax. Great story endings resolve the storyline over the course of several scenes or chapters that tie up all the character’s arcs smoothly and wind down the action.

End Happy, But Not TOO Happy

The “happily ever after” ending, where your characters don’t experience any hardships by the book’s end, can come off as entirely unrealistic to your audience, as real life is never perfect. That doesn’t mean you can’t end your story on the happier side of things, but make sure it stays in the realm of realism. As I mentioned above, leave the audience hopeful for better rather than blissful perfection that they’ll never achieve in their own lives.

Nothing Really Matters

The book is about to end, and suddenly the main character wakes up from a dream. In what’s called the drawn-out dream, you risk undermining all the events of the book up until that point by suggesting they never take place.

While this contrivance has worked in certain films, it typically annoys readers, accusing the author of copping out, feeling the writer has betrayed their trust and downplayed the emotions felt throughout the story and their commitment to reading the story.

You don’t want your audience wondering if any real change ever affected the protagonist. I mean, how often do you wake from a dream and suddenly feel like you should rethink your entire life’s trajectory?

Endings are tough, it’s true. A lot is riding on those final moments to provide a payoff for your readers. These basic tips can steer you in the right direction of writing a compelling YA ending, however, and help you to build a better conclusion when writing YA fiction.

If you’re looking for a more involved look into more tips on writing a compelling YA ending, I explain more about that in my online course. So check it out, and feel free to reach out to me at jsims@jairesims.com with any questions about the course or how to best wrap up your manuscript.