A Little Ambiguity

I you’ve ever been in a book group before, you know what wildly different interpretations readers can derive from the same passage. A screamingly obvious Freudian allegory to one reader will be a hilarious skewering of today’s political parties to another. The discussions are especially fiery when an author leaves a little ambiguity in the book’s ending. Did the main characters end up together? Apart? Eaten by rampaging zombies? As you start to head into the wrap-up for your book, feel free to leave a little ambiguity in your story. Leaving some plot moves unelaborated and characters’ actions unclear means less work for you as you a writer, and gives readers the toothy satisfaction of putting the pieces together in ways that make sense to them.