Where the term comes from
Merriam-Webster defines an epilogue as a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work, and also lists the speech addressed to the audience at the end of a play and the final scene that comments on or summarises the main action. Its note explains that from its Greek roots the word means roughly "words attached at the end". The first known use is dated to the 15th century.
Wikipedia describes an epilogue as a piece of writing at the end of a literary work, usually used to bring closure, and presented from a perspective within the story. When the author steps in and speaks directly to the reader, it says, that is better called an afterword. Epilogues are usually set in the future, after the main story is complete, and can be used to satisfy readers' curiosity, cover loose ends or hint at a following installment in a series. The opposite of an epilogue is a prologue.
An example
The last chapter of Marit Sondergaard's siege novel ends with the gates open and the city still standing. The epilogue is set five years later. Edda Frost, who spent the siege rationing flour, now runs a bakery in the rebuilt market, and a boy brings her a cracked iron key from the old gatehouse. She hangs it by the oven. Two lines mention that the baker who once betrayed the council has never come back to the city. The scene is quiet, has no new danger and shows the reader what the survivors made of what they kept. It answers the question the climax left open, what a city does with a victory.
Common mistakes
- Using the epilogue to introduce a new conflict that the story did not prepare.
- Tying up every thread with a summary, so the reader gets a list of fates instead of a scene.
- Undoing the ending, for example by showing that the sacrifice made at the climax did not matter.
- Reaching so far into the future that the reader loses contact with the characters they cared about.
- Mixing it with an author's note. If the author speaks, it is an afterword.
How to check your manuscript
Read the final scene of the main story, then the epilogue, and write what the epilogue adds that the reader did not already feel. If the answer is only information, consider moving it into the last chapter. If the epilogue shows how a character has changed, it probably has a job. Check that it follows the tone of the ending instead of correcting it. For related terms, see denouement, falling action, climax and cliffhanger.
In Musael, versions let you keep a named snapshot before you rewrite an ending, so you can try a new final scene and return to the old one with a click.