Have you ever gotten to the last page of a book and thought….and? What happens next?
Even though the story has been resolved, the lovers have reunited and declared their love, the detective has gotten his man, the world has been saved from the dreaded bio-virus, sometimes it just feels that there should be…a little bit more, before the book is done. A little sumthin’ sumthin’ else before I put the book back on the shelf ( or in the case nowadays, close the Kindle app.)
These are the times where a really good epilogue comes in and saves the day…and the book.
The definition of an epilogue is a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on, or a conclusion, to what has happened.
The way I define an epilogue is by saying it’s what comes after the end. In a mystery, the detective solves the case and in the epilogue the author tells you what happened after that. In a science fiction/dystopian tome, the epilogue will show you how the protagonists are rebuilding and renormalizing their world again. In a romance, the couple confess their love and their desire to be together always. The epilogue will tell you how they are doing, maybe a year after,or even give you a glimpse at their wedding or the brith of their baby.
An epilogue in a series book can actually set you up for the next book. In a romance the epilogue might show you what the secondary character is now doing, and you just know she’s gonna start out on her own journey for an HEA.
I love a good epilogue. I know they fell from writing grace for a while, especially in romantic fiction, because the ultimate goal, the end game, was the declaration of a promised lifetime together, and assumption the couple was going to have an HEA.
But…
I like a little glimpse into the what comes next. I want to know the plans for the wedding, or did Great Aunt Who-sis bless the happy couple, or did Cousin What-sis agree to be the Maid of Honor. I want deets, peeps. Deets!
Sometimes the promised HEA-end just feels…unsatisfying to me.
So, enter the epilogue. To me, it’s the final wrap-up, the place where every potential question is answered, the real end of the story.
Then, and only then, can I really feel my characters got their final say and their true HEA
So, before this blog needs its own epilogue, I’ll end it here and suggest you check out the other author blogs in the challenge to see how they feel about the inclusion of an epilogue. MFRWAuthorBlogChallenge
And when I’m not writing epilogues, you can find me here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe // Monkey me
Peggy Jaeger, Author 