How to End a Screenplay: 6 Ways to End a Screenplay

A script is the written blueprint for a television show or film. Among the elements in TV and movie scripts are character names, dialogue, stage directions, parenthetical inflections, new scene headings with sluglines, and descriptions of scenery. While screenwriting software (such as Final Draft) can help automate the formatting of your script, you can also format screenplays correctly using any word processor you’re already familiar with.

As you reflect on your favorite movies and TV shows, you may notice that there are many compelling ways to handle the end of a script.

1. 1. A montage: If you need to show how your story ends for multiple characters, consider a montage where you tie up loose ends for everyone from your main character to the villain to the most endearing sidekicks. Action movies often end this way, including The Dark Knight and Guardians of the Galaxy.
2. 2. Completing a circle: One way to end a film is to return to the first scene of a movie. Both Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction do this effectively.
3. 3. With your main character alone: If your screenplay is heavily driven by your protagonist, they might be worthy of having the final bit of screen time all to themselves. For example, the final scene of The Godfather Part II ends with Michael Corleone contemplating the destruction he has wrought.
4. 4. With an epilogue: Some filmmakers resolve hanging story threads by including an epilogue. This is particularly true of movies based on true events, like 127 Hours or Remember the Titans.
5. 5. Starting the next adventure: Some action movies end with the characters embarking on their next adventure, teeing up the inevitable sequel. Superhero movies specialize in this type of ending. Even if you don't have a sequel planned, you can still create a particularly happy ending by showing the characters moving on to their next chapter.
6. 6. A tearjerker: The ending of Field of Dreams involves Ray Kinsella getting to do the one thing that's driven him throughout the story: playing catch with his dad. If the goal of your movie or television series is to endear audiences to your main characters, plan on having an emotionally charged image to end on.

Ending a script can be tricky. Consider some tips for making an ending truly pay off.

1. 1. Know how your film will end before you write it. Some aspiring screenwriters launch into the first draft of a spec script without knowing how it will end. This can lead to downstream writer's block and painful contortions to bring an unwieldy story to an end. Avoid this problem by writing a detailed outline before you begin your first draft.
2. 2. Focus on continuity. The ending of your script will presumably fall into a chronological sequence with the rest of your film. Focus on small but significant details like the time of day and seasons as well as major items like character arcs and downstream consequences of actions. These elements are particularly good to focus on during the rewriting and proofreading stages.
3. 3. Mystery endings should still make sense. Ambiguous endings can be powerful, but only if the audience has some idea of the plausible directions the characters can take after the movie or show ends. Similarly, the deus ex machina device is generally regarded as a cheap way to insert an easy conclusion, but it can also function as a comedic device or add an element of surprise. Carefully set up the logic for your mystery ending so the end result is surprising rather than unsatisfying.

After you've written your final line of dialogue, final stage direction, or final description, indicate how the picture transitions to the credits. You have four main options in this regard. All of them should be aligned to the right margin, which means the more you write, the more the text will move toward the left margin. Transitions should be written in all caps followed by a colon.

1. 1. Fade to black: When you write "fade to black" in your screenplay, that tells the director to slowly fade the picture from fully lit to fully black. You can also write this as "fade out."
2. 2. Blackout: This transition indicates instant blackness, like flipping off a light switch. Typically a director will linger in blackness after an abrupt blackout.
3. 3. Smash cut to the credits: If you want to make sure the film goes right into the credits and doesn't linger in blackness, indicate a smash cut in your final transition.
4. 4. Roll credits over the scene: Some movies roll credits over moving images at the end of the film.

Whether you're trying to impress script readers at a production company, get a short film into the Sundance Film Festival, or win the Oscar for best original screenplay, you need to start with the mundane task of formatting your script. The easiest way to do this is to use screenwriting software like the industry-standard Final Draft. The right software will align all your margins from the title page to the finale, which allows you to focus on storytelling.

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