The end.

It comes at the end of a book.

It comes at the end of a season.

It comes at the end of a pool game.

I am writing my fourteenth book. Every time I think I’m at the end, the Lord assures me to “Just Keep Writing.”

What does that mean?

Does it mean I can go onto the next book, the next project? Go clean the toilet? Finish the calligraphy project staring me in the face? Go pull some weeds? (It’s that time of year, right?)

When I write a book, I get to where I feel Act 1 might end, I print the entire act, get my red pen, and read it out loud. Reading aloud gives me a better feel for how it might flow as audio.

I then note any changes I made in the software and just keep writing. (It’s a thing that God does with me—just keep writing.)

And on to Act 2, Act 3.

I don’t technically divide each act, but I can feel the pause or transition into the next act. Usually. Note to self: underline usually.

I’m past the rough draft, so I’m fully in edits.

Act 1? Check.

Act 2? Check, but might need edits.

But now that I’m fully into Act 3, it’s important to pull back and not rush the end.

The more I learned, went to conferences, and read more books, the more I began to hear a word that I had never heard from my farmer dad’s mouth or my nurse mom’s mouth. Don’t get me wrong. They both had four years of college under their belts, and Mom had nursing school on top of that!

The word is denouement.

I know. It has nothing to do with the price of hogs or the medical term for “Mom, I’m sick.”

I’ve heard this word many times at conferences or writing workshops since then. The man I credit the most with teaching me this word? David Wolverton. Or better known by his pen name of David Farland. Met him. I have his book, Million Dollar Outlines (Affiliate Link), signed by him. Yes, I’m a fan, but unfortunately, he’s passed now.

I quote from that book: “And of course, in the end, you want your resolution to be as poignant as possible, so you’ll consider all possible endings with an eye toward choosing the most emotionally powerful and satisfying ending available.”

That works for the end of a book, the end of a season (soon, fall, soon!), and maybe even for the end of a pool game!