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I’m writing this newsletter with the strange sense that the year is slowly folding itself closed, like a book nearing its final chapter. Outside, everything feels like an ending—quiet air and tired sunlight. Endings always make me pay attention. They make you look twice at what mattered, what didn’t, and what you’re carrying into whatever comes next.
This issue is all about endings. Let’s dive in.
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WRITING PROMPT — “THE DOOR THAT CLOSED ITSELF”
Write a short poem or micro-story where an ending happens without the narrator choosing it. Something ends on its own—a friendship, a season, a habit, a dream—and the narrator is left to interpret the meaning.
“One evening you return home and find the front door closed, though you’re sure you left it open. Inside, something is gone, but it takes you half the story to understand what.”
Write 80–200 words. Let the tone be soft but honest.
FUNNY WRITER STORY — ‘HOW I ACCIDENTALLY ENDED MY NOVEL EARLY’
Years ago, Neil Gaiman told a story about how he was halfway through writing a novel when he got frustrated, declared the story awful, and sent it to his editor saying, “This is going nowhere.” His editor replied: “Neil… this is great. You just stopped writing in the middle.”
Turns out he had unintentionally written the perfect ending but didn’t realize it.
A reminder that sometimes the only thing between you and a finished piece… is stopping.
WRITING ADVICE FROM A FAMOUS WRITER — TERRY PRATCHETT ON ENDINGS
Terry Pratchett once said something that fits this theme perfectly:
“The first draft is just you telling you the story.”
But the deeper advice came later:
He explained that endings almost never show up fully formed. You discover them by rewriting, trimming, cutting, and uncovering the small truths hiding beneath the plot.
So here’s the takeaway for us:
Don’t panic if your ending feels flat. Most writers don’t land it the first time. Good endings aren’t found — they’re shaped.
Writing Ending Meme
CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS
– Sine Qua Non
For: Poets and prose writers
Genre: Poetry and creative prose (fiction, CNF, flash), themed issue
Prize: $500 (poetry), $500 (prose) + $250 runner-up prizes + $30 honorarium for all selected
Deadline: December 15, 2025
– Unleash WIP Prize
For: Writers with a book-length work-in-progress
Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, or poetry (book-length WIP)
Prize: $500
Deadline: December 15, 2025
– RP Writing Prize
For: Essayists interested in art
Genre: Essay on contemporary portrait painting
Prize: £500 (1st) + £250 (two special mentions)
Deadline: December 15, 2025
– King’s English
For: Poets
Genre: Poetry (see theme)
Prize: £50–£100
Deadline: December 15, 2025
– Folk Tales/Faux Tales/Fox Tales
For: Speculative writers engaging South Asian experience
Genre: Three faux-tales (one SF, one fantasy, one horror) rooted in folk/legend
Prize: CAD 150 each
Deadline: December 15, 2025
– Leave Your Mark: Teen Contest
For: Writers aged 13–18
Genre: 250-word piece in any form (story, poem, script, song) about a scar
Prize: 400 Gotham credit, $50 Bookshop gift card, publication
Deadline: December 15, 2025
– Smokelong Fellowship for Emerging Writers
For: Emerging flash fiction writers with no chapbook/book
Genre: Flash fiction (up to 1,000 words)
Prize: $500
Deadline: December 15, 2025
QUESTION FOR YOU
What ending from your own life—big or small—has quietly changed the way you write?
Hit reply and tell me one. I’d love to include a few anonymous reflections in next week’s issue.