Why Your Endings Feel Flat (And How to Fix Them)

You've spent months crafting your story. Your protagonist is compelling, your plot twists are clever, and your dialogue sparkles. But when you reach the ending, something feels... off. It's not bad, exactly, but it doesn't land with the emotional punch you imagined.

Sound familiar?

Here's the thing: satisfying endings aren't about tying up plot threads neatly. They're about delivering on the emotional promise you made to readers from page one. And to do that, you need two powerful tools working together: Neil Gaiman's "Finish Things" philosophy and Save the Cat's character archetypes.

Let me show you how combining these approaches can transform your endings from "meh" to memorable.

Neil Gaiman's Deceptively Simple Rule

Neil Gaiman has given plenty of writing advice over the years, but one piece stands above the rest: finish things.

It sounds almost too simple, right? But Gaiman isn't just talking about typing "The End" on your manuscript. He's talking about truly completing the emotional and narrative journey you started. In his view, finishing means:

- Honoring the story's inherent promise
- Resolving the central dramatic question
- Delivering the transformation (or deliberate lack thereof) your character arc demands

The problem? Many writers get so caught up in plot mechanics that they forget what their story is actually about. They resolve the external conflict but leave the internal one dangling. Or they nail the character's emotional arc but forget to address the mystery they set up in chapter three.

This is where Save the Cat comes in.

Understanding Save the Cat's Character DNA

Blake Snyder's Save the Cat system categorizes stories into ten genres and identifies key character archetypes that drive narratives. While the book focuses on screenwriting, these character types are universal across storytelling mediums.

The most relevant archetypes for crafting endings include:

The Hero/Protagonist - The character who changes the most, whose internal and external journeys converge at the climax

The Mentor - The guide who provides wisdom, often representing what the hero might become (or must avoid becoming)

The Shadow/Nemesis - Not just a villain, but a dark mirror reflecting the hero's fears or repressed qualities

The Ally/Sidekick - Characters who embody aspects of the theme or represent different choices the hero could make

Understanding these archetypes isn't about fitting characters into boxes. It's about recognizing the functional role each character plays in your story's emotional architecture. And here's the crucial part: your ending needs to resolve not just what happens to these characters, but what they represent.

The Magic of Combining Both Approaches

When you marry Gaiman's completion philosophy with Save the Cat's character framework, something powerful happens: you gain a roadmap for endings that satisfy both intellectually and emotionally.

Here's how to put this into practice:

Step 1: Identify Your Character's True Function

Go back to your beginning. What archetype is your protagonist embodying? More importantly, what does this character represent thematically?

If you're writing about redemption, your hero might start as a shadow version of themselves—selfish, closed-off, morally compromised. The mentor figure represents the path toward redemption. Your ending needs to show whether they complete (or reject) that journey.

Step 2: Track the Promise You Made

Every story makes an implicit promise in its opening pages. Gaiman's "finish things" rule demands you deliver on that promise.

Ask yourself:
- What question did I pose in my opening?
- What change did I suggest was possible (or impossible)?
- What transformation did I hint my character needed?

A romantic comedy promises a hero who learns to love. A revenge thriller promises either successful vengeance or a commentary on vengeance's cost. Your ending must address this promise directly.

Step 3: Use Archetypes to Test Your Resolution

Here's where Save the Cat becomes incredibly practical. Look at each major character archetype in your story and ask:

- The Hero: Have they completed (or deliberately failed) their transformation?
- The Mentor: Has their wisdom been validated, subverted, or evolved?
- The Shadow: Has the dark mirror been confronted, integrated, or overcome?
- The Allies: Have they received resolution that reflects the theme?

If any archetype feels unresolved, you've found your weak spot. An ally left dangling isn't about that character's plot—it's about a thematic thread you haven't tied off.

Step 4: Calibrate Emotional vs. Plot Resolution

This is where many writers stumble. They resolve the plot but not the emotion, or vice versa.

Gaiman's completion principle requires both. The external question (Will they defeat the villain? Solve the mystery? Win the competition?) must resolve. But so must the internal one (Will they learn to trust? Overcome their fear? Accept themselves?).

Use your Save the Cat archetypes as a checklist. The hero's plot victory should reflect their character transformation. The shadow's defeat should represent overcoming an internal obstacle. When external plot and internal character arc align, you get those goosebump-inducing endings readers remember.

Practical Example: Putting It Together

Imagine you're writing a thriller about a detective hunting a serial killer. On the surface, it's about catching the bad guy. But if your detective starts the story as someone who trusts no one (their fatal flaw), and your killer represents the ultimate betrayer (shadow archetype), your ending needs to do more than just catch the killer.

To truly "finish things" Gaiman-style while honoring your character archetypes, your ending might show the detective learning to trust their partner (ally archetype) at the crucial moment, which enables them to catch the killer. The external resolution (catching the killer) becomes inseparable from the internal one (learning to trust).

That's a complete ending.

Your Action Plan

Before you write your next ending, try this exercise:

1. Write down the promise your opening chapters made
2. List your main characters and their Save the Cat archetypes
3. Note what each archetype represents thematically
4. Draft an ending that resolves both plot and theme
5. Ask: Does this honor Gaiman's principle of truly finishing?

The beauty of combining these approaches is that they catch different problems. Gaiman's rule stops you from leaving things incomplete. Save the Cat's archetypes ensure you're completing the right things—the elements that actually matter to your story's emotional resonance.

The Ending About Endings

Great endings don't happen by accident. They happen when you understand both the promise you made and the emotional architecture supporting it. Neil Gaiman teaches us to finish thoroughly. Save the Cat teaches us what needs finishing.

Together, they're the secret to endings that don't just conclude your story—they complete it.

Now go finish that manuscript. Your readers are waiting for an ending that delivers.