（写作中什么样的结尾才算完美和圆满？但愿这篇文章能给您带来启发——笔者注）
"我不喜欢这个结局。"我曾对着最敬爱的大学教授这样抱怨。那时是我本科三年级，正进行维多利亚文学的专题研究。刚读完乔治·艾略特的《弗洛斯河上的磨坊》，故事的结局让我怅然若失。
葛雷西教授以他特有的耐心引导我："不妨超越个人喜好的维度思考。你应当辨析——自己渴望角色拥有的结局，与真正适合他们的结局之间有何不同。那些契合故事本质的终章，纵使不符合传统意义上的圆满，也自有一种完满。"
诚然，我多么希望汤姆和麦琪·塔利弗能走向另一种结局。但细想来，他们既定的命运轨迹，恰恰是最符合角色本质的归宿。
那个瞬间犹如灵光乍现，彻底改变了我理解结局的方式。自此以后，若想领略注定圆满的终章，我便拾起爱情浪漫小说；若渴望出乎意料的收束，悬疑小说自会带来惊喜；而历史小说中那些隐约可预见的走向，也别具韵味。选择读物从此变得简单明了。
但书写结局——始终是艰难的创作课题。对创作者而言，终章承载着读者太多的期待。必须精妙平衡：既要出人意料，又不能显得突兀；既要契合故事脉络，更要忠实于角色本质。
正因如此，本期《作家文摘》致力于助您探寻最适合作品的终章之道。短篇小说创作方面，彼得·蒙特福德将解析六种技巧，助您找到完美收篇的密钥；伊丽莎白·西蒙斯通过剖析五部伟大小说的终章，提炼出可融入个人创作的核心要素。
本期内容不会武断决定您的结局走向——那取决于您与您讲述的故事——但我们愿为您铺就通往理想终章的必经之路。
附：英文原文
“I didn’t like the ending,” I said to my favorite college professor.It was my junior year of undergraduate,and I was doing an independent study on Victorian literature.I had just finished reading The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot,and I was heartbroken with the ending.Prof.Gracie,with all his patience,asked me to think about it beyond whether I liked it or not.He suggested I think about the difference between endings that I wanted for the characters and endings that were right for the characters,endings that satisfied the story even if they didn’t have a traditionally positive outcome.Of course,I would have preferred a different ending for Tom and Maggie Tulliver,but the ending they got did make the most sense for them.
This was an aha moment for me,and I never thought about endings the same way again.From then on,if I wanted to read an ending guaranteed to be happy,I’d pick up a love romance.If I wanted an ending I couldn’t guess,I’d pick up a mystery(悬疑小说).One where I kind of knew what was going to happen,historical fiction.Choosing what to read became easier.
But writing the end—that’s hard.It’s hard for writers because endings carry so much weight with readers.You have to balance creating an ending that’s unpredictable,but doesn’t seem to come from nowhere,one that fits what’s right for the characters.
That’s why this issue(期) of Writer’s Digest aims to help you figure out how to write the best ending for whatever kind of writing you’re doing.If it’s short stories,Peter Mountford breaks down six techniques you can try to see which one helps you stick the landing.Elizabeth Sims analyzes the final chapters of five great novels to see what key points they include and how you can adapt them for your work.
This issue won’t tell you what your ending should be—that’s up to you and the story you’re telling—but it might provide what you need to get there.
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