J.E. Thomas grew up near Colorado’s Front Range mountains. She spent her summers devouring books at the local library, and her love of reading continues to inspire her writing.

J.E. is an award-winning writer with bachelor degrees in Mass Communications and Political Science, and a master’s degree in Public Communications. She began writing full-time in 2021. Prior to that, she had a long career in corporate, health care and education communications. She was also an award-winning freelance journalist, earning a Clarion Award for Article Writing from Women in Communications; a Gold Award for Feature Writing from the International Academy of Communications Arts & Sciences; a Silver Award for Writing from the Society of National Association Publications; and a Public Relations Professional of the Year Honor from the Colorado Association of Black Journalists, among others.

Here’s what I remember about the important transitions in my life: No matter how minor (what to eat for lunch on my first day in middle school) or how major (choosing an outfit for what would ultimately be my last-ever blind date) those moments were, I wanted to know exactly how things would turn out before they even began.

Craving certainty is a basic human desire. So when you’re drafting and revising a story, thwarting that desire is both an effective way to add nuance and motivation to your characters and offer a phenomenal gift to readers. This is particularly true for tweens and teens who typically lack agency over their lives. They may be full of intense feelings, but their ability to achieve—or even pursue—their hopes and goals is almost always in someone else’s hands.

Unresolved Endings vs Cliffhangers

Unlike cliffhangers, which leave a major plot thread unanswered and literally have readers panting for resolution while they wait for the sequel (or two or three) that must occur before a story reaches a satisfactory conclusion, unresolved endings mirror real life.

Well-crafted romantasy is a great genre for cliffhangers. Think of Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing or Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn series. Neither are complete at this time, so protagonists end each book in physical and/or emotional jeopardy. Not only are their quests still in process, their very existence is at risk. They’re left dangling on the edge of a metaphorical cliff—and readers are right there with them.

Unresolved endings have less dire consequences.

In romance, the happy couple may drive into the sunset together…but perhaps they’re leaving town to pursue exciting careers that aren’t yet promised. In mysteries such as Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club, Elise Bryant’s It’s Elementary, and Jesse Q Sutanto’s Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, the protagonist may dodge death and solve the crime…but still has significant personal issues to address.

In general fiction, like Laura Dave’s, The Last Thing He Told Me, a breakneck do-or-die situation concludes…but may start again thanks to lingering family matters.

Unresolved endings conclude the major plot, but at least one aspect of the protagonist’s future is open. This invites readers to speculate on and debate what happens next—which is always a great conversation for book clubs!

Case Study: The Benefits of Unresolved Endings

I like comparing unlacing a shoe to crafting an unresolved ending. The goal isn’t to completely unravel a character’s life, i.e., unlace the entire shoe, have the protagonist trip, skitter to the edge of a stairwell, hurtle into space in the last paragraph and leave the character’s safety unknown.

Instead, unresolved endings undo the bow and retract the cord through one or two eyes, immersing readers in the story and encouraging them to think about what happens next.

In my debut middle grade novel, Control Freaks, each of the nine POV characters had a slightly open ending. Would Doug become The World’s Greatest Inventor? Would his stepbrother, TW, fit in at his new school? Would Huey’s anxiety return? What about Padgett, Travis, Liam and Farrow? How would their lives change as they continued through middle school?

During author visits at elementary and middle schools, I often hear that students like answering those questions for themselves. They enjoy feeling involved in the storytelling process. The unresolved endings challenge their imagination and foster a desire to tell their own stories and write their own books. Not surprisingly, the students often pose intricate, complex endings that I would never have imagined and they’re eager to share their DIY sequels with me.

My forthcoming book, The AI Incident, tracks a battle of wits between 12-year-old Malcolm Montgomery, the unluckiest kid in Colorado foster care, and FRANCIS, an autonomous AI program designed to improve seventh grade standardized test scores at Malcolm’s new middle school.

Because AI is a real and present issue, The AI Incident encourages readers to mull what role this constantly evolving technology will—and should—play in fiction and in real life. What are the differences between humans and computer programs? What is the value of human friendships, which can be confusing and messy, when AI “friendships” can begin with the click of a button?

Advance readers had a lot of opinions! Going forward, elementary and middle school teachers can use What Happens Next? as a discussion tool and writing prompt to encourage reading comprehension, thoughtful conversation and non-intimidating writing practice.

Beware the Risks

The greatest challenge in writing a story with an unresolved ending is to avoid leaving too many questions unanswered.

Back to our fictional romance: Leaving readers to wonder if the happy couple will find their dream jobs quickly is an unresolved ending. Leaving readers to agonize about whether the cut brake line will snap as a couple zips along a switchback road on a Colorado mountain pass is a cliffhanger. Having them zip along the switchback in a car with a cut brake line as one character plots a return to a life of crime while the other worries if increasingly painful headaches signal the return of a brain tumor is, well…way too much.

The key to plotting your unresolved ending is to craft a story in which readers expect the lives of the people they’ve come to know and care deeply about to continue. And as they put the book down with a contented sigh, they can’t help but wonder, What Happens Next?

The AI Incident by J.E. Thomas

Malcolm just started at his new school and has already been deemed “the weird kid”. Maybe it is because he is a foster kid and has lived with nine different families, or perhaps it is because of his nervous habit of burping in stressful situations. Regardless, Malcolm is on a mission to find a forever home and finally belong somewhere. Then, when the owner of an emerging AI company visits the school to show the students all the wonderful opportunities working with AI, the presentation goes haywire, putting in motion what everyone at Shirley Chisholm Charter Middle School refers to as The AI Incident.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble