After studying first pages and opening scenes for books, I realized I’ve never discussed how to write a good last line for a story. Most writers can just feel when a good ending line hits them, but there are specific types that most authors use. If you are stumped or want to make sure your ending punch is extra good, check out these seven types of last lines for inspiration.
Warning, we will discuss last lines examples which may contain spoilers.
What Makes A Good Last Line?
Before we get into the types, let’s talk about what really makes a last line good. A lot of importance is put on the opening line because you want to hook the reader into buying the book, but the last line is just as important if you want the reader to recommend the book to others. What a person reads last is what they remember. A weak or mediocre story can be saved by a good ending and a nice last line, but a good story can be ruined by a weak ending. To make your book memorable, leave the reader with something that pops and sticks in their head.
So, how do you write something that will pop? Essentially, you must write a line that embodies satisfaction. You have to bring the story full circle. Writers do this by linking back to a major part of their story. That can be the character, theme, tone, premise, etc. Take something that has been the focus of the story and then deliver it to the readers one last time in a snappy way. We’ll discuss how to do this in a more practical way when we get into the types, but for now just remember that last lines equal fulfillment.
Once you know what the sentence should contain, then you work on how to present it. The best advice is to avoid cliches and keep it simple. If you can write something that feels fresh and isn’t overdone, you will make a memorable line. It’s also nice to let the book’s tone carry into the last line. If there is an eerie feeling to the story, then write a line with that in mind like Markus Zusak did in The Book Thief: “I am haunted by humans.” Or, if you are writing humor, you can use a running joke from the book like Chris Grabenstein did in Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library: “There might be balloons!” You can end with something that’s poetic, awe-inspiring, or thought-provoking. Whatever tone you set through the book, let that ring true in your last line.
7 Types Of Last Lines
Now that we’ve seen what a good line includes and how to word one, let’s examine the seven types of last lines for novels.
1. A Promising Future
One of the classics is the Happily Ever After ending. I call this A Promising Future ending because generally readers want to see that life continues for the happy characters. They may be happy, but bring a hint of what’s to come next for them as well.
These are classic endings in romance books. Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly wrote the ending to The Husband List by having the male main character ask the protagonist to marry him. The last line reads:
Her eyes were misty, but her smile was bright when she said, “Jack Culhane, what took you so long?”
There is the tone of humor, and the protagonist’s fulfillment in finally getting the man she’s been chasing after the whole book. Plus, without directly stating it, the line hints at a future wedding. The readers know what’s coming for their favorite characters, and they can see the happiness continuing past the book’s pages.
Another example that isn’t a romance is The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. The book follows a team of thieves who pull off a grand heist. At the end, they must run before they are caught, and Scott ends it with:
The galleon rode south before the winds of the storm, and the last few glimmers of Falselight faded behind them. The lights drew down into the darkness, and then they were gone for good, and the rain swept in like a wall above the surface of the sea.
This ending has an adventurous feel as the heroes sail off into the sunset, but there is also a sense of foreboding. The people they stole from may come after them, much like the storm that breaks out on the sea.
2. Mirror Scenes
Mirror Scene endings are when the author takes the opening scene and echoes it at the end. Usually, these are slightly different from the start to show how the story has changed. These are powerful in bringing the story full circle and getting the readers thinking about the beginning again. It initiates a sense of reminiscence that will hopefully get the readers thinking about the story as a whole and create an attachment to it.
One example of a last line with a mirror scene is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. She starts her story addressing the reader and setting the scene of you entering a mysterious circus. At the end, she narrates you leaving and ends with:
You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus. You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.
The poetic ending gets the reader thinking back on the story and wondering what parts where real and what parts were misleading.
When writing mirror scenes, authors usually show a difference in the character or world to show a change, but Patrick Rothfuss in The Name of the Wind subverts that expectation. His first scene and last scene are almost word for word the exact same, but after reading the book, it is the reader who has changed. We start by reading about a mysterious man, and by the end we understand him more so the last line resonates with us differently. Patrick writes this about the silence of the protagonist:
It was heavy as a great river-smooth stone. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.
The poetic line grips our hearts and seizes our breaths. We now understand what he means, and we empathize with the protagonist.
3. Character Arc Fulfillment
Another way to write a last line is to show the character’s sense of fulfillment. You must lay the ground work throughout the book so readers know what fulfillment looks like for the protagonist. If the book is about a woman who lets others walk all over her, have her wish she could stand up for herself. Then you can end with a line about how she is now the one giving orders instead of taking them. Basically, state something about the protagonist getting her goal or highlight how the protagonist has changed from start to end. Writing a last line about the character arc is a way to prove the story had meaning and impacted those involved.
In Pierce Brown’s Red Rising, the story starts with the protagonist as the bottom of the power chain. He’s happy enough though until his life falls apart and he has no power to stop it. The book follows his quest to infiltrate the ranks of the powerful and take them down for what they’d done. Then Pierce hits us with this line at the end:
“Rise for glory, for power, for conquest and dominion over lesser men. Rise, my son. Rise.”
Every reader is squealing in delight at this poetic ending because the protagonist is finally being given power. The character’s position has changed.
Another good character arc ending is in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. The book starts with Harry being tormented by the Dursleys at home, especially Dudley. But after a year of learning magic and gaining confidence, we get this last line:
“They don’t know we’re not allowed to use magic at home. I’m going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…”
The humorous last line leaves us happy to see Harry willing to stand up for himself and maybe even get a little revenge. Because of what happened to him in the book, he’s changed, and his life will change too.
4. Theme Comes Full Circle
The next type of last line is the Theme Comes Full Circle. This is used to leave the reader with a lesson learned. Again, you’ll have to lay the ground work to make sure readers understand what theme or lesson is being portrayed. It doesn’t have to be a lesson on good though. Sometimes people learn evil exists in the world, and that’s fine. Just make sure it’s a thought-provoking ending that forces readers reflect on their own lives and not just the characters’ lives.
A great example of this is in Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. She starts her story with a book whispering its story to a little girl while she sleeps. As the novel progresses, the power of stories is touched on over and over. In the end, the girl decides she wants to be a writer. The last line reads:
As Mo had said: writing stories is a kind of magic, too.
The line makes the reader reflect on the power of stories. After all, they just underwent a journey through magical worlds in Inkheart. If anyone who loves stories reads that line, they very well might think they could write a book too.
Another theme-centered last line appears in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The book is about the themes of transformation, redemption, and self-sacrifice. In the end, a character who has been less than noble decides to sacrifice his life to save another man who has a family. The character’s last words before he dies is:
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
This poetic ending resonates with the reader because no one expected the selfish man to give his life for another. It makes readers think they too might be capable of redemption from their own sins.
5. Touch-back To Premise
The next type of last line is to refer back to the story’s premise. It’s the feeling of wrapping up the whole book’s struggle into a single moment. It should convey the emotion of the journey and the power of either overcoming or surrendering to the conflict. Essentially, it’s the author saying, “Well, that happened.”
One example is Mockingjay, the final book The Hunger Games series written by Suzanne Collins. The entire series is about the protagonist surviving and fighting back against the Hunger Games which force children to kill. It’s about destroying the corruption the games represent. In the end, the protagonist is living her version of a mundane life, trying to always push past the trauma she’s endured. Suzanne leaves us with these words:
It’s like a game. Repetitive. Even a little tedious after more than twenty years. But there are much worse games to play.
It’s an eerie line that is half hope and half warning. Readers may wonder if their own world would descend to such corruption. It’s a punch in the gut that leaves readers thinking back on the whole reason for the story.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer is an origins story for the Queen of Hearts from Wonderland. Readers know how the story will end, that the protagonist must become the villain. Yet Marissa waits until the very end to confirm that the villain is born. It reads:
She spoke without feeling, unburdened by love or dreams or the pain of a broken heart. It was a new day in Hearts, and she was the Queen.
“Off with his head.”
That last line is a nice nod to the original story and fulfills the premise that a heartless villain emerges in the end.
6. Conflict To Come
Conflict makes great stories, and the same can be said of a last line. Whether it’s a cliffhanger that leads to the next book in the series or the final book in the story, hinting at conflict shows characters still living their lives and striving toward their goals. You have to be careful with these though and make sure it is still a satisfying ending. If you end with too much conflict, it could turn away readers who feel like they didn’t get a true ending.
As the first book in a series, Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer ends with a nice conflict setup for book two. The protagonist finds herself at the end of the book having found answers but lost allies. Determination courses through the protagonist in the last line:
Stepping back, leaving him behind, Evie made her way to the stairs down to the dungeon. Quietly vowing to herself that she would save The Villain…
Or become one trying.
Will she save him? Will she lose her sweet nature to do it? The external and internal conflict is very effective, and makes readers want to know what Evie does next.
One example of a story ending with conflict yet not leading to another book is Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. The story follows a heist team that accomplished impossible tasks, and the last chapter is from a bad guy’s perspective who just got conned by the team. It reads:
He’d drink to the whole sorry lot of them, but mostly, to the poor fools who didn’t know what trouble was coming.
We see the bad guy accept his loss and acknowledge the team’s skill, and there is the idea that they will go on besting other bad guys.
7. Reveal Or Twist
The final type of last lines is one that conveys a plot reveal or twist. These are not the same thing, but they both leave the readers in shock. You can read my post on reveals and twists to learn more, but essentially a reveal changes a reader’s expectations for the future while a plot twist changes the reader’s understanding of what’s already happened. This type of last line is mostly for continuous series as it makes readers eager for more story. While it can be used for a stand-alone, it’s hard to end with a shocking declaration and not let the readers process the information with the characters. Remember, last lines are all about satisfaction, and reveals and twists are more about shock and curiosity. So while these can make snappy endings, they are also the hardest to pull off without upsetting readers.
A good example of a plot reveal is in The Black Prism by Brent Weeks. We follow Gavin as he uses his magic to save his people, and we are told from the beginning that he only has years to live before his magic will kill him. All throughout the book, he narrowly escapes one violent death after another, and the readers get the sense he is invincible. Then at the end of the book, Brent leaves us with these words:
He didn’t have five years left; it was starting now. Gavin was dying.
All those close calls, and he’s dying anyway from his own magic. The reveal makes readers anxious to see if he can stop the inevitable death in the next book.
In Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, a woman is sent to a military school where she must stay alive and bond a dragon to help protect her country. All her siblings have been dragon riders, her brother having died in his service, and she must follow in their footsteps. Slowly, she realizes something is amiss with her leaders though and begins to question if the rebels they’re fighting are really not the bad guys. At the end, she is faced with a shocking reality:
“Brennan?” She stares at her brother in open-mouthed shock. Brennan just grins and opens his arms. “Welcome to the revolution, Violet.”
Not only is her brother alive, but he’s a rebel. This ending is a plot reveal because it leaves readers wondering what he’s planning and what Violet will do about it. Yet it’s also a plot twist because his existence changes the readers’ understanding of some scenes that already happened. I’d also like to point out that Rebecca did an excellent job of delivering a sense of satisfaction as well. Rebecca uses a beloved brother being associated with the revolution to confirm Violet’s suspicions that the rebels aren’t as bad as they are portrayed. Violet was right, which means the readers feel like they were right too.
Final Thoughts
Last lines can be tricky, but it’s best to not overthink it too much. You can combine one or two of these types for a good line, but don’t try to apply them all. Remember, you want a snappy ending that’s clear and impactful. Think about what you want your readers to take away from the story, whether that’s a lesson or a feeling, and then aim for that type of last line. Nail it, and you’ll have readers spreading the word about your amazing book that they can’t forget.
Thanks for reading!
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