Endings are for transformations as beginnings are for introductions. Most often in narratives, a central character is changed in unequivocal, irrevocable ways. What's different about a character at the ending from the beginning?
In character genre, typically, personality traits are different in endings, private internalities and/or public reputations. In action genre (event), externalities are different, the villain defeated, criminal apprehended, the damsel saved, the dragon slain, etc. In idea genre, the change is new ways of perceiving traditional or conventional or contemporary paradigms, for example, a narrative with an ensemble cast comes to a startling revelation regarding global warming, war, cosmic phenomena, love, or some such thematic topic.
In setting genre, the setting is transformed by the actions of otherwise static characters, not necessarily physically altered but changed in situation or circumstance. Not that static is a negative narrative property, only that characters aren't appreciably changed by events, ideas, or settings. An example of a setting narrative, though character, idea, and event play plot roles as well, Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland. Wonderland is appreciably changed by Alice's intrusion. The same could be said about Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz saga. Lord of the Rings too. Is Frodo appreciably changed, or is Middle Earth what's really changed?
The classic poetics term for transformation is peripetia or reversal. Of course, reversals occur at all a plot's benchmarks, some are minor chords, some are major chords. A standard ending reversal is a satisfactorily antagonism/conflict resolving one caused by a Final Cause depicted in a resolving crisis.
However, there are modern narrative forms where there is no appreciable transformation of anything, no overt antagonism or conflict either. Nothing within the story space appreciably changes from beginning to ending. James Joyce's Ulysses is often cited as an example of a plot without transformation in the story space. Plot movement flows due to reader rapport with central characters' everyday commonplace routines depicted as slice of life vignettes in an exotic to readers secondary reality. Also known as revelation plots, where the revelation occurs in readers' meaning spaces, not the narrative's meaning space. O. Henry's classic "Gift of the Magi" is a short story with a "trick" twist revelation ending, but with character transformations as well.
Graduate creative writing programs require a completed, publishable quality book length manuscript presented to a thesis committee before graduation. Getting a head start and keeping up with it assures success and avoids crunch time in the thesis project final semester during which the thesis is presented to the committee for review and defense. Many programs require circulation of the thesis to the committe in the early weeks of the final semester. Many programs require a formal thesis proposal and approval in the early months of matriculation, like the first semester, so an appropriate thesis advisor can be assigned. The early bird gets the worm.
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