SWRT 149 | Dark Endings part 2
March 19, 2020

In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert continue our discussion on dark endings. We talk about satisfying readers, and when dark endings just don’t work!

 

 

VIDEO

 

 

 

AUDIO

 

 

 

SHOW NOTES

 

If you haven’t heard part one of this episode yet, check it out here!

How does it affect the reader? We explore all sorts of dark endings, including twists, gut punches, and those that leave no hope remaining. The ultimate question you have to ask yourself is how it affects the reader. Because ultimately, if your reader is satisfied, the ending can be as dark as you want it to be!

What we talked about:

What is the payoff for a twist? (0:35)

Think about the element of the gut-punch. (2:44)

Can you have an ending where the main character both doesn’t get what they want and also doesn’t get what they need? (3:35)

Examples of plays with dark endings. (5:08)

How does it affect the reader? (8:00)

A Dark Ending is different from a sad ending. (10:25)

Do sad endings always have hope left at the bottom? (13:15)

What about short stories? (13:45)

Have we encountered dark endings that didn’t work? (16:53)

 

 

LINKS

 

Things we mentioned:

Peter O’Toole 
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf 
Long Days Journey Into Night 
The Sixth Sense 
Twilight Zone 
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 

Want more about these topics? Check out:

SWRT33: Endings
SWRT 016 Cliffhangers
SWRT 069 How to End A Story

Have thoughts, questions, other examples? Join the conversation at the Story Works Writers Facebook group