The Hero’s Journey Part 12 – Return with the Elixir

Now we arrive at the end of the Journey.  There’s a few important things to consider.  The first one is, how is the Hero’s return going to change his ordinary world?  Who needs to be punished and who will find freedom?  What will our hero have learned about himself and the world?  Will the elixir the hero has returned with truly do what he thought it would, or will the outcome be a surprise?

As a writer, a more important consideration, this is where you will part ways with your reader.  What do you want to leave them with?  How do you want them to feel when they close the book?  So much consideration is given to how a book begins.  We agonise over opening paragraphs and first chapters because we want to hook our reader and get them to read on.  But don’t you also want to  ensure they come back for another of your future books?  So you need to give even greater consideration to how everything ends.

There are two major forms to endings, the Cyclical and Open.  I’ll discuss those first, then talk a bit about other pitfalls and things you can do to your ending.

Cyclical Endings

The Hero’s Journey really does reinforce this sort of ending.  If we look at the journey, the hero starts in his world, and in the end, returns to it.  There is a closed cycle of events.  Sometimes this is criticised as being a “too clean” sort of end.  All the loose ends are tied up, the character’s progression is clearly visible and the hero accomplishes precisely what he set out to do.  There’s no real surprises when this one is done.  We usually get exactly what we were looking for.  This is the sort of ending most commonly found in fairy tales and happy Disney movies.

The other point to make here is that this sort of ending will leave very little, if any, room for another tale featuring the same characters.  Ever watched a movie and the end was so final, so tidy, you couldn’t think for a second how anything else even needs to be told?  Yup, that’s a cyclical ending.

Open Endings

This one should be pretty obvious.  The story ends, but there’s wiggle room.  Remember the ending of the original Star Wars: A New Hope?  It felt like the movie was over.  The heroes had won, there was joy, the threat destroyed.  But, we didn’t see the Empire destroyed completely.  In fact, we saw Darth Vader very much alive flying away to safety.  There was closure, but we knew that there was more to be done.

The ultimate pitfall of the open ending; how do you make your reader feel like they’ve reached a satisfying end, yet leave enough loose ends that they are enticed back for more?  As best as I can tell, the threat needs to be so large in part 1, that even if the story doesn’t continue, the reader can see that the hero will still succeed.  Naturally that brings you to the pitfall that future stories will need to be as big, if not bigger, in their threats as part 1.

Surprise Endings

If you’ve set up a certain ending, be very careful if you decide to pull a gotcha and surprise your reader.  While this is not always a bad thing, such as the Sixth Sense, you need to ensure everything that has happened to this point still leaves your surprise possible.  When you go back and watch the Sixth Sense knowing the ending, you realise that everything you thought you saw was a misdirection.  When Bruce Willis’s wife looks at him at the dinner table, she is in reality looking at the man coughing behind him.  Bruce wears various combinations of the clothes he was shot in, etc.  When viewed again, you realise that the truth was staring you in the face but you missed it.  Be careful to ensure the seeds of the surprise get planted along the route.  It’ll make the ending more fulfilling and make you look super clever!

Things To Avoid

Unresolved Subplots

A good story has subplots. Make sure all of these are resolved by the end of your hero’s journey.  I talked about leaving some carrots dangling if you’re writing an open ending, but you need to be very critical ,and careful, about what you leave teasing your audience.  Ask yourself, would I be angry if this subplot didn’t get resolved here and now?  Is this subplot really part of a larger story, or is it something I could, and should, wrap up now?  The items we leave an audience wondering about should make them hunger for more, not think you dropped the ball and forgot to tie a few loose ends up.

Too Many Endings

The end should be the summation of the hero’s major quest.  Subplots should be resolved, for the most part, by now.  Keep your ending simple, clear and to the point.  I recall the movie Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.  The way Peter Jackson chose to end that film, with numerous fades that suggested the film was over, only to return for more.  After about the third time, the audience started to groan.  While everything he showed was valid, and in a work so large it seemed fitting to show the end of the many characters, it was done in a way that audiences found tedious.  If you get to a point where the book could be closed with satisfaction, yet you keep writing, chances are you’ve gone too far.

Abrupt Endings

Your hero has been on a long journey.  As people who have become emotionally invested in your hero’s plight, your audience needs some time to bid your characters farewell.  Ending in a manner that seems you couldn’t be bothered to finish the character’s journey will seem ignorant and leave your audience less likely to pick up your next book.

To Sum Up

• Your hero has returned with the elixir.  What does that mean for the world and the hero?
• Is your ending cyclical or open? If cyclical, make sure you tie everything up. If open, ensure your open questions don’t make the current journey feel unfinished. They should only suggest future journeys.
• Consider that this is where you and your reader part ways. How do you want them to feel?  Are there questions you want them to be wondering about?
• Surprises are great if they make sense in context with the rest of the story.  Pulling a surprise out of thin air will make your reader feel cheated.
• Your story should end, period. Not end, then end, then end, then end.
• Allow your reader to say goodbye. Don’t just hang the phone up in their ear.

Thanks for following along.  This is the end of the Hero’s Journey cycle.  There’s still much to be said, but these are the main steps of the journey.  Bear in mind that not every step needs to be included and some steps can be repeated.  This is a tried and true story format that when done properly can create a satisfying tale.  Audiences relate, because so much of the Hero’s Journey is a reflection of life.  It’s one of the greatest reasons we love to see the hero win.