Too Many Loose Ends

Is an ending such as the ending to 'The Return of the King' really acceptable in writing (where every single character gets some sort of resolution)? Is there such a thing as too many loose ends to tie up, or too many endings that need to happen all at once?

What effect does the length of an ending have on a story, and how long can you get away with before you start to sound long-winded and boring?

Agreed, the RotK ending was a wee bit...ughghh.
Sometimes it's nice to leave a little bit of mystery at the end, like in "1984". =)
I guess when you feel satisfied with it, really. It differs for different types of stories.

That was a bad answer. *shame*

...It's my opinion that while minor (but not minor-minor) characters can get a brief resolution, the protagonist's ending should be left open-ended. When something's ambiguous, the reader can conclude things for themselves and actually think--making the impact much deeper than if the resolution had been stated outright.

But in some cases, a clear ending is needed. Like IDOS said, I think it depends on the story.



This post has been edited by WyndiWingfall on May 3 2007, 08:09 PM

Ahaha. No, actually. For once, that guest wasn't me.