How to Write the Ending of Your Play

Finding the End

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The ending of a play can turn out to be the hardest part to write. You've worked so hard on the characters and the conflicts, how is it all supposed to end? Here are a few ways to find that perfect ending to your story.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Listen to your characters. You have made them into individuals, so why not see how they would like to tell the story? Allowing them to wander through the world for a while in your free writes can help uncover some truths that you may not have otherwise noticed or planned on.

Step2

Go to the beginning and list the questions you have set up. How many of these questions have been answered in the play so far? What would happen if you left some unanswered at the close?

Step3

Figure out if you are writing a comedy or a drama or something in between. Look back on the old structures of comedy and drama. Research plot points in well structured plays in your genre.

Step4

Decide what the message is. What is the point of this play? What do you want the audience to walk away with at the end of sitting in a theater for two hours?

Step5

When in doubt, make a list of different endings and try them all on for size. Which is the most emotionally satisfying? Which adheres to your universal message?

Tips & Warnings

As with any moment of writer's block, free writing can help flex your writing muscles and open up your mind to new avenues you have never explored before.
If you had an ending planned from the beginning, don't feel as if you have to adhere to it. Plays evolved as you write, and certain issues may have become more prominent than before.