Ending a scene isn’t about wrapping things up—it’s about opening just enough to pull your reader forward. The best scene endings don’t feel like conclusions. They feel like pressure points, choices waiting to be made, or tension left unresolved.
Done right, they create movement and emotion in the same breath—inviting your reader to lean in, not lean back.
Here’s a quick checklist to help you evaluate your scene endings:
1. Does it make the reader care what happens next?
To keep your reader turning pages, you need to give them a reason. They have to care about what happens next. Part of that comes from writing compelling characters—but when it comes to scene endings, curiosity is your best friend.
Curiosity is a “need to know.” It’s an emotional investment. You’re creating a feeling in your reader that demands resolution.
You can spark that with tension, suspense, uncertainty, or unanswered questions. The list is long—longer than this—but whatever approach you use, it should leave your reader emotionally hooked.
Ask yourself: What is the reader now wondering, fearing, or hoping for?
2. Does it create momentum?
Momentum is a pull. It’s direction. It’s movement. And every scene ending you write should naturally move somewhere new. If you give too much closure or tidy things up too neatly, it slows down momentum—or worse, brings your story to a halt.
If the first point—”make your reader care what happens next”—was about emotional investment, this one is about narrative promise. Something will happen next. Maybe your character has a new obstacle to face, a decision to make, or new information to process. Whatever it is, your ending should give the next connected scene something to build on.
If you want your reader to keep going, you need to give your characters reasons to keep going.
Ask yourself: Does the ending suggest there’s more story just around the corner?
3. Does it end at the right moment?
A well-timed ending can do more for your story than a dramatic one. It should feel like the scene stops at the right beat—not too soon, not too late. If it ends too early, it can feel abrupt or confusing. If it drags on, it risks losing energy or overstaying its welcome.
The right moment might be a decision made, a shift in emotion, or a pause that signals something’s about to change. It’s less about finality and more about rhythm and pacing—leaving the reader with the sense that the story knows exactly where it’s going.
Ask yourself: Which beat starts pulling in a new direction? Stop there.
Final Thoughts
Scene endings don’t have to be loud—but they should feel alive. Some will close a loop or offer a breath before the next rise in tension. Others might wrap up a subplot or resolve a long-simmering choice. That’s part of good storytelling.
But even when resolution is necessary, the story shouldn’t feel finished. Something—tone, tension, character, plot—should still be moving. A great scene ending doesn’t say “we’re done here.” It says, “this matters—and there’s more to come.”
If it makes your reader want to keep going, you’ve done what matters most.
