We talk in journalism a lot about how we begin stories, the importance of a good lede, all of that.

We never talk about ending stories. There’s a reason for that. The typical news story, as y’all know by know, is an inverted pyramid. The lede is important because it’s the first thing readers see and has to contain the most important information, while the end of the story is the stuff that can safely be cut for space.

But in a profile or a feature story, ending the story is super important. It reinforces the point of the story that we’ve just told. It’s the lasting image that you leave with the reader.

So this is my advice.

DO NOT “END” A STORY!

“Moritz,” you’re thinking, “what the hell?”

Here’s the hell: When I say don’t “end” a story, I mean don’t write a big grand concluding paragraph. Don’t end the story with a paragraph that could begin with the words “IN CONCLUSION.” Don’t end your story with a paragraph that is out of place with the rest of your story, that summarizes what you’ve just written. This isn’t an essay, it’s a feature story.

So, for a profile, the best practices are either to end with a quote that summarizes the story.

The final quote is sometimes called a stinger, and it can be an incredibly effective way to end your profile. A definitive quote that captures the spirit of the person whose story you told. If you end with a quote, do not end your story with the word said. My copy editor wife just made this point to me. Tuck that attribution higher into the quote.

It’s also effective to refer back to your lede. It brings your story full circle. So let’s say the lede was about the first time your subject picked up a golf club, you can end with a quote from her remembering that again, or picking up a club to practice, or something similar to that.