Writing a short story? Whatever you do, please avoid ending it in one of these absolutely irritating ways. They’re even more grating than poor grammar (which you can fix with a proofreading software). With that, at least, I can quit reading as soon as the writing irks me.
1. It was all a dream.
Waking up and finding out that everything is a dream is just downright trite. It’s a cop-out of the highest order, essentially admitting that you have absolutely no resolution for any of the plot issues you raised.
2. And then they died.
Killing everyone off (or the protagonist) as a resolution isn’t so bad, especially when done right. However, horror and thriller writers have done it so many times that it now feels extremely underwhelming, leaving readers largely disappointed.
3. It turns out to be a man in disguise.
Remember Scooby Doo? In that show, every ghost and monster always turned out to be some dude in disguise. When you end a story in the same manner, all you do is repeat the same tired ending over.
4. By the way, I am this other person.
Misleading the reader by actually being another character than you spent the rest of the story building to be. This includes being a dead guy while pretending to be alive (ala the Sixth Sense) or actually being a dog while playing out the plot as if you’re a human narrator. It’s not that this technique is bad, but it’s been done so many times many readers can see it coming halfway through.
