The third of the 27 Essential Principles of Story is Explore All Endings.
How you end your story determines what it means. Some writers begin with the end in mind because they have an idea to express. Others believe the writing process is about discovering their core, or main idea. Either way, your ending is critically important. And it’s worth contemplating throughout your process to help guide creative choices. Think of storytelling as having a serious conversation, or even an argument with yourself.
Of Capitalism and Kingship
In 2016 Francis Ford Coppola published The Godfather Notebook. It’s the original novel by Mario Puzo but marked up with handwritten notes. The idea is to learn how a grandmaster approached and built his masterpiece. On the cover Coppola writes:
“… Much of the book fell away in my mind, revealing a story that was a metaphor for American capitalism.”
This is in the early 1970’s when America was in a dark place. It’s mired in the Vietnam war. The White House is scandalized by the Watergate break-ins. The Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations still hang in the air. And there is a strong sense, particularly among young artists like Coppola, that our way of life – free enterprise capitalism – leads to greed, corruption and mass murder.
He sees the novel as, “The tale of a great king with three sons: his oldest was given his passion and aggressiveness; the second his sweet nature and childlike qualities; and the third, his intelligence, cunning and coldness.” These sons, are, of course, Sonny, Fredo and Michael. (Keep this mind it will be important later.)
In the first film, Michael ascends the throne after Vito dies, Sonny is gunned down and Fredo, unable to handle the pressure of mob life, is sent off to Vegas to learn the hotel/casino business. So, The Godfather II, is fueled by the dramatic question, Will Michael lead the family into legitimacy?
Three Basic Endings
Think of your story as a train ride that ends at one of three stations:
- Happy
- Mixed – Happy but with a high price paid or sad but with a silver lining.
- Sad
Whichever station you arrive at your ending must be believable, surprising and resonant. And keep in mind that great stories possess a tight alignment between the storyteller, story and the time the story’s told. Dickens didn’t write “Oliver Twist” to celebrate boom times.
In the early 1970’s Coppola’s mood was dark. But it was not a little dark. It was jet black. Over 50,000 American soldiers – mostly young men – were slaughtered and suffered horrific injuries, as did the people of Vietnam. A famous photo at the time featured a naked, agonized Vietnamese girl on fire. And few believed the war was even necessary, that it was fought so that the so-called “military industrial complex” could profit off the carnage.
Now put yourself in Coppola’s shoes as you write the end of The Godfather II. Technically anything can happen but we’re only exploring endings that might be written by someone with a brain. Obviously Michael will not wake up and realize it’s all a dream or be abducted by aliens in need of a ruthless leader. So here are some real possible endings:
Michael defeats his rivals, retains his soul, protects his family, avoids jail and smoothly transitions the family into the hotel and casino business. You rule this one out because you don’t believe it. It’s fake happy bullshit.
Michael wins but he pays a high price. He defeats his rivals but his wife leaves him, or his reputation is damaged, or his children are murdered. This is better.
His rivals defeat him but his family still loves him. And he becomes an average joe. It sucks to be a puppet who must dance on the strings of more powerful men but he saves his soul. Meh.
Michael is murdered or jailed for life. These are okay but trite. What’s the message? Crime doesn’t pay? And deep down you feel that America and Michael are winners.
The Most Powerful Ending
You’re feeling dark – jet black. You need to put a shocking ending on a six-hour saga. And above all, you want to warn the world that the American Dream is dying, that we are failing to live up to our potential.
So you go back to basics and you look at why people loved your first film so much. It’s because they love Vito Corleone. He came to America without a cent in his pocket, sickly and traumatized by the brutal murder of his entire family in Sicily. He built an empire on the dark side because that’s the only hand he could play. But his heart is pure and he wants to be a decent man.
Vito believes in family. He says, “You never take sides against your family.” Family is everything.
The Godfather II is a tragedy. It’s a perversion. So you ask what is the most perverse, disgusting, vile thing that could happen? It’s not Michael dying or winding up in jail or even failing. It’s betraying his father – just like Cain betrayed his father, God, by killing his own brother, Abel.
You go back to your initial inspiration for directing The Godfather in the first place – to tell the tale of a king and his three sons. Fredo represents the Don’s “sweet nature and childlike qualities.” Killing Sonny would be one thing. But killing Fredo – the Don’s sweet nature and childlike qualities – is a whole other ball game.
And the metaphor works. America is still strong. It can destroy the Earth a thousand times over. But it’s lost its soul. So you make Michael, in the final shot, a living corpse. He’s more powerful than ever. But he’s got no soul. He kills his own brother in cold blood, after planning it for months, after his own sister begged him to make peace, and he watches the murder. And his brother is shot in the back of the head while he’s praying. Try to conceive of a more horrible, sickening ending.
Define Your Perfect Ending
The perfect ending to your story is one that is surprising, believable, resonant and above all – one that articulates your vision of how life works. If you want to write something inspired, if you want to get published and produced, if you want to fulfill your potential, good enough isn’t good enough. How you end your story is critical. Think of any story you love and I guarantee you the ending blows the cheeks off your ass. Consider every possibility. And don’t settle until the thought of it makes it hard to breathe, let alone write.
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