How to Write an Epilogue: 5 Easy Tips

Are you looking for a creative way to tie up loose ends or show your readers what happens to your characters after their happily ever after?

You might consider writing an epilogue. Not all books have them, but when used appropriately, then can add another element to your story and provide closure for your readers. In this post, we’ll show you how to write an effective epilogue using five simple tips.

How to Write an Epilogue

Consider these 5 tips when writing an epilogue for your novel or memoir.

1. Show character development.

If you’ve written a great protagonist—and hopefully you have—your readers will be eager to know what’s happened to them after the story ends.

You can set your epilogue in the future—near or distant, whichever makes sense for your novel—to reveal what your characters have been up to.

However, don’t just spell out every detail for your readers. Use this is an opportunity to continue character development and illustrate how the story’s events have affected the character, or to illustrate how the character has changed over the course of the story.

2. Tie up loose ends.

If the ending of your novel was particularly suspenseful or full of action, make your epilogue a place where readers can catch their breath and get some relief from all that tension.

You don’t necessarily need to provide a “happily ever after” here, but in general, your epilogue should be a section of declining action (or none at all).

Try to put yourself in the reader’s shoes, and think about what lingering questions they might have. You don’t have to answer all of them—but you should try to leave as few holes as possible, especially when it comes to essential plot points or character development.

3. Stay true to your theme.

Your epilogue should not stray far from your story’s main theme. You don’t need to explicitly spell out the point, or “moral,” of your story—your readers are smart enough to figure it out. But your epilogue should support and stay in line with the “so what?” of your narrative.

In other words, you should use the epilogue as one last opportunity to leave your readers with something to think about.

For example, the epilogue of The Handmaid’s Tale offers a final discussion on moral relativism. It’s presented as a transcript of a speech recorded 200 years after the novel’s conclusion.

4. Don’t compensate for a weak ending.

Though still part of your “main story,” your epilogue is separate from your actual conclusion and denouement.

As such, you should not try to use the epilogue to compensate for a weak ending. It can add to, clarify, or supplement your actual conclusion, but should not be used as a substitute.

5. Consider setting up for a sequel.

If you’re thinking about writing a series, an epilogue could be a good place to wink at your readers and drop hints of what’s to come.

However, if you’re going to create a cliffhanger, be careful not to overdo it. Your story should have incorporated enough foreshadowing that readers have something to base their speculations on. If your epilogue presents a cliffhanger straight out of left-field, your readers will be confused and likely frustrated by this utter lack of closure.

You know how in certain movies, after the end credits roll, there’s sometimes another minute or two that sets the stage for a sequel? Some people already trashed their empty popcorn bags and left the theater; they were satisfied by the main conclusion of the film, and aren’t missing any key bits that are necessary to understand the movie.

But the viewers who stuck around will be rewarded with a nod of what’s to come in the next installment, and they’ll have something to speculate about as they try to guess what could happen next. That’s kind of how your epilogue should be.

The Final Word

If you think your story could be enhanced with an epilogue, check out these epilogue examples to see what types of books have successfully used them.

But while an epilogue is one way to tie up your story, note that it isn’t the only one. You can also write a traditional conclusion, where you answer your readers’ most important questions about the characters and their journeys.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

 

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

• What Is an Epilogue? Definition, Purpose, and Examples
• What Is a Prologue? Definition, Tips, and Examples
• What Is a Denouement? How to Tie Up Your Story’s Loose Ends
• How to Write a Conclusion: Tips and Examples for a Strong Final Word

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