I am certain I had a more eloquent way of saying this during lecture (23% certain), but a student summarized one of my mantras as “grab them at the beginning so they read it, punch them at the end so they remember it”. I like this line far better than any way I may have previously worded it.
The classes I teach are mostly composition courses so I’m using this mantra in terms of essay writing, but I am going to tell you now THIS APPLIES TO ALL WRITING, including what makes my heart happy - fiction writing. I am paid to read essays, but outside of the classroom the only way someone will read your work is if it grabs them. Your story needs to jump off the page and grab your reader by their eyes and/or ears and DRAG them in. Your reader rarely has incentive (a payment or concession to stimulate greater output or investment) to read your work, so they need an internal desire or damn good reason to invest their time in your work.
But that is an idea that is addressed constantly. A beginning is the beginning because it begins. I won't reiterate on the importance of the beginning here. I want to emphasize the CONCLUSION.
There’s the rote rules of ‘no new ideas’ and ‘no loose ends’ and ‘summarize the main points’ and so on in regards to conclusions, and by following those rules the work is satisfying. It’s a complete ending that closes the circle. The reader that was grabbed by the throat at the beginning has been set back on their feet, has had their jacket dusted off, their umbrella handed to them, and been told to have a nice day.
That’s pleasant.
You want to set them on their feet and punch them so hard they tell everyone about their pain. They will be able to point out the exact locations of their bruises and be able to identify what they were hit with.
While a good grab brings people into your work, it’s the ending that people remember. It's the fortune cookie to your takeout (last bite, delicious, and it has meaningful words). Brain juu-juu automatically takes the last bit of what we’ve read and makes it the sharpest memory of the work. The beginning - that grab - has to do a lot of hard work, but how many times have you heard people discussing the intros to articles, books, and movies? I’m betting not as many as you’ve heard discussing the endings. The powerful messages and the take-aways and the pleas are argued and persuaded and presented and bemoaned through the body text but the conclusion is the rally cry.
Punch doesn't have to be a huge event either.
There's nothing wrong with a conclusion as simple as 'and they lived happily ever after' because it gives closure. The reader has been told to have a nice day as story and reader part ways as friends. But what if we gave it punch?
The protags now drive a badass Ford Mustang, adopted a dog, bought a winery, and mounted the antagonist’s head on their living room wall.
As a reader, knowing the characters lived happily ever after is satisfying, and I will look fondly on the story for the neat closure, but closing the pages knowing they own a freaking winery with antagonist taxidermy will have me explaining to my friends why I’m trading my car in for a Mustang, adopting a dog, and visiting some region of the US that has lots of wineries.
There is more to experience, more that makes it original, more for me as the reader to discover. As a reader I'm going to make associations with the characters. I might think of what kind of wines they make, I'll be elated protag #1 finally gave in and let protag #2 get the dog, the next time I see a Ford Mustang I will think of the protags. I may discover a hidden talent for taxidermy when I decide to pick it up as a hobby. A good punch comes from detail.
Punches have impact. Punches leave marks. Some break parts of you. Some knock the sense back into you. Punch your reader at the end so they remember it.