As the editor of an online Literary publication, Ramble Underground, I see way too many Fiction pieces fall short at the end. After writing a tight story with a clear and enticing beginning, most writers pull us through to the middle and then drop us flat on our faces. I have read several stories where I was looking for the next page, wishing they went that extra mile or minute. Those stories have not been published.

I am not advocating Disney endings or endless short fiction stories without direction. Your ending can be anything you want, but spend at least as much time on it as you did the beginning. Be sure that your ending serves the purpose of the story.

The most common ending pitfalls we see in short fiction writing:

Hurried endings (Big build-ups, epic tragedy, all resolved within a paragraph - ain't life grand)

Loose ends (You don't have to explain everything. Not everything has an answer, but don't leave key things out.)

Pointlessness (Many stories end where they began, nowhere and none the better for it. Have the reader be changed: give them a new prospective or understanding)

We all know the importance of the first sentence, but what about the last? Don't sell your work short and toss away countless hours, spend time on the ending. You'll never get published without one.

Joseph Thomas is the editor of Rambleunderground, a Quarterly online publication of Fiction, Poetry, Art, and Photography. Read his blog at What The H?