1. The definite ending. You know you love this one. Everything is neatly wrapped up at the end. Loose ends all tied. Conflicts all resolved. The story is over. Nothing more to think about. Think of the classic fairy tale ending: And they all lived happily ever after. I hate this kind of ending. So contrived. So unrealistic. So boring.
2. The up in the air ending. No resolution at the end. They did not live happily ever after. The reader asks, "That's it? Is it over?" This can be frustrating. The reader is left to his or her own devices. The story continues on after the writer stops writing. This is the kind of ending Ralph Waldo Emerson had in mind when he wrote: "'tis a good reader that makes a good writer."
I advocate for this kind of ending to my students who usually resist. But as we all know "Resistance is futile." to quote the Borg.
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