Novel Ending Quotes

In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end

'The Return Of The King' has a conclusion.

To be true to life, a novel must have an ending that is inevitable given the specific personalities of the characters involved. The novelist must not impose an ending upon them.

I consciously try to end my novels at a point where I won't have to wonder about my characters ever again.

A brief short story may require only a few paragraphs after the climax. On the other hand, in his massive novel 'The World According to Garp,' John Irving's denouement consisted of 10 separate sections, each devoted to an individual character's fate and each almost a story in itself.

A man is like a novel: until the very last page you don't know how it will end. Otherwise it wouldn't be worth reading.

A surprising number [of novels] have been read aloud to me, and I like all if moderately good, and if they do not end unhappily-against which a law ought to be passed.

The very best moment of writing 'Swamplandia!' was when I figured out what the ending should be. And even though I changed the prose of it, that realization was an ice cube melting in my chest.

The door of the novel, like the door of the poem, also shuts. But not so fast, nor with such manic, unanswerable finality.

The end of a novel, like the end of a children's dinner-party, must be made up of sweetmeats and sugar-plums.

I work very deliberately, with a plan. But sometimes I come to a point that I planned as the end and it needs softening. Ending a novel is almost like putting a child to sleep - it can't be done abruptly.

But then in novels the most indifferent hero comes out right at last. Some god comes out of a theatrical cloud and leaves the poor devil ten thousand-a-year and a title.

In real life, things don't all end at the nice same place. To keep the story real, there has to be kind of a ragged edge at the end of a novel.