How does it end? Who wins?

 A novel needs a climax, a point at which the story comes to a critical point and then something happens to steer it toward a resolution. Here there are three possibilities: the "good" side prevails; the "bad" side prevails... or no one prevails. Look at the consequences of each path.

When the "good" sided prevails we feel good about the story as long as the good wins out in a logical way.

If the "bad" side prevails, we are either left upset or left telling ourselves, "yes, life is really like that."

While I like the feeling of the good side winning, when writing I find myself favoring the ending where everything is set right, no matter how badly this disappoints our desire for retribution. Really don't we want to see harmony in the universe? There can be no harmony in a world where there are only winners and losers. Writing a win-win ending that pleased the reader can be a challenge, but one well worth the effort.

 -- Philip Goutell

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