Epilogue or No Epilogue: Does Your Story Need One?
Within contemporary romance, especially in queer romance, a post–falling action scene is almost expected after the main plot wraps up. Epilogues specifically let readers have a quick peek into the protagonists’ relationship after the happily ever after (HEA) or happy for now (HFN).
The word epilogue comes from the Greek epilogos and the Latin epilogus, both of which mean “conclusion.” The final chapter is the primary wrap-up. The epilogue, then, acts as a tool to tie up any loose ends not mentioned in the denouement.
Of course, how an author chooses to use an epilogue depends a lot on the pacing of the main story arc. Even slow-burn romances may need a bonus scene. Kay Ducas, though, warns,
Epilogues extend the lives of the characters beyond the magic of the resolution of the plot and could possibly diminish them by pulling them into a mundane or ordinary experience which makes them, to some, no longer special.
(Emphasis added.)
It can be hard to let these characters go when you’ve spent so much time in their world. Months, if not years, of your life dedicated to getting their story just right compels you to share minutiae that’s irrelevant. Yet sometimes letting go is just what has to happen.
Read ahead to learn the basics of how and how not to use epilogues. With this foundation, you can then decide what’s best for your story.
Photo by Darwin Vegher on Unsplash
“Yes” to the Epilogue
Your epilogue shows readers what happens to your protagonists after the story has officially ended. You give additional closure, especially in those angst-filled stories. You answer questions left open, show where the characters end up, and—if a sequel’s coming—foreshadow future characters and their individual conflicts.
Another purpose of the epilogue is to give a secondary character the chance to examine the story’s events. Readers see those events from that character’s perspective. That could be significantly different from the protagonists’, or may portend that that character gets their own chance to find their happy ending.
While the epilogue may take place years or even decades later, sometimes it’s best to show the immediate aftermath. Sara Rexford, in fact, recommends that you consider this scene “as the last dance, the final curtain call, or the last speech before your reader closes the book one last time.”
So, how can you enhance your story through an epilogue?
- Provide insight into the main protagonist’s life down the line. This character has undergone massive changes. While you want to avoid too much inner monologuing, here’s an opportunity to let readers that last inch closer to your protagonist’s new mindset.
- Reinforce that this relationship is going to last, or that the protagonists have every intention of continuing to put their all into it. The HFN epilogue offers room for continual individual growth. Simultaneously, readers feel hope that the protagonists will continue to center their love for each other, come what may.
Real-World Example
Rue was born into Old Money. He sees himself as too shallow for a person as honest and hard-working as Sam. His parents expect him to complete medical school, even though his hidden passion is painting.
Meanwhile, Sam hates the environment they themself was born and raised in. Throughout their time in the foster care system, they were always made to feel less than. Behavior problems created barriers to education opportunities, despite Sam’s aptitude for the natural sciences.
Both feel they aren’t good enough for each other. Both Sam’s and Rue’s inner conflicts, then, center around self-worth.
The climax scene shows Sam standing up to Rue’s family when Rue’s parents verbally attack their humble upbringing. They argue that they’re stronger and more confident in who they are because of that. Rue realizes Sam sees him for who he is instead of what Rue can do for them. During that climactic moment, Rue realizes his own worth in light of that. He chooses to walk away from his lavish lifestyle.
The epilogue jumps forward nearly a decade down the road. Rue’s art career and Sam’s time working at several national farming organizations allowed them a modest but satisfying life. With proceeds from both, Sam and Rue purchased the land Sam grew up on. They’ve turned it into a sanctuary for abandoned and low-income adolescent and teen orphans. Rue finds joy in mentoring and supporting young queer artists, while Sam teaches sustainable farming practices.
“No” to the Epilogue
One of your biggest responsibilities as an author—self-publishing or not—is to always put readers first. Write your first draft for you, unquestionably. After that, it’s time to buckle down and trim out the unnecessary stuff that’s bogging your story down. Sometimes that includes excising your epilogue. Indeed, Courtney Carpenter says,
Without a proper purpose for including one, an epilogue might come across as anticlimactic deadweight, inadvertently signaling to your reader that you’re afraid your ending is so weak that [they] won’t be able extrapolate meaning from it without help.
In other words, you don’t trust your reader or your story’s strength as a narrative. Your epilogue serves as a soapbox you stand on going, “Do you see what I did there?? Do you see??”
The last thing you ever want to do is patronize your audience. Your story’s last chapter must be strong enough and compelling enough to tie the story together on its own. If you haven’t successfully ended conflicts in the Dark Moment or Climax, go back to the drawing board and see where you might have gone off-course. Yes, that means you, too, pantsers.
Further elaboration or embellishment of the story implies you assume readers can’t infer what the protagonists’ “happily ever after” looks like. Don’t use it as a way to make up for an ambiguous, confusing ending. As I’ve previously written, it’s your responsibility to give readers the climax they’ve been waiting for since they began on page one.
What’s Best for Your Story?
Although readers are unlikely to DNF (did-not-finish) your book if they’ve made it to the epilogue, bad reviews can tank your chances of getting readers to pick up future books you release. The epilogue is the last thing your audience will read. With that in mind, it can either enrich or taint your readers’ experience.
Ask yourself if the scene leaves the kind of memorable, emotional impact readers feel days and weeks after closing your book. Objectively analyze how it serves the narrative and characters as you’ve shown them in the main story. If it doesn’t serve those aspects, you might consider just letting the story naturally end.
By the same token, an epilogue lets readers see how the narrative changed the characters into who they are. The climax shows they’ve changed. The epilogue shows how those changes have led them to a new point in their life, physically or mentally.
Craft the scene like a short story or flash fiction. Character development, setting, timeframe, and any key events all combine to provide a final ending to the tale. If it adds the extra cherry on top of your story’s ice cream, it might be worth including.
Last, read how other authors in your niche write their epilogues. Study the craft elements I just mentioned, specifically how the epilogue both ties into the main story and how it concludes differently than the book’s final chapter. Test out those elements for your own story.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
To Sum It All Up
I admittedly have an epilogue planned for my current WIP, with a fairly decent time jump. I’ve even started drafting it, adding and trimming as the story itself develops. It’s intended to serve as insight to the depth of changes my characters enacted in the main story. I don’t know yet if I’ll actually use it. It’s entirely based on how the story develops over the first few drafts.
Epilogues are a simple way to clearly show your protagonists are as happy as the final chapter implied. They help your book end neatly, providing that extra bit of closure. Think of it as a bonus scene, a valuable addition that shows a new perspective on the main story.
Balanced against that, Sophie Masson warns that badly written epilogues “can feel like something tacked on for the sake of it.”
You risk jolting readers out of the story-world, trying to tie up too many irrelevant details. Irrelevant details lessen the emotional impact of the story as a whole.
Use these three tips, and the epilogue you do choose to include will have your readers anxious to preorder the next book long before it’s set to release. Better yet, they’ll tell fellow readers about it, and word-of-mouth is a vital part of sharing well-written stories like yours.
Reflecting On Your Story One Word At A Time!
