: Re: Is an unresolved conflict a detriment to publishing a novel? I'm starting to write my first book, and I've finished the outlining process. It's a fantasy novel that deals with the takedown of

@Ravi5107385

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Solving the main conflict of the novel and leaving loose ends for a future novel is fine as long as they're resolved or dealt with in those future novels, and that they're not required to resolve the central conflict of the novel you're dealing with. You're basically foreshadowing the future conflicts, and if you don't deal with them, you're in trouble.

Star Wars: A New Hope, for example resolves the central conflict of destroying the Death Star, but:

Luke has still not become a Jedi like his father. He's started on the path, but has a long way to go. Imagine if the rest of the films never followed up on this.
Darth Vader survives at the end of the first film, but imagine if he never re-appeared, or if Luke never faced him again.
The Emperor has been mentioned but not seen. If we never heard of or even saw him again, he would feel irrelevant.
The Empire has been dealt a blow, but they still rule. The main goal of the rebellion has not been fulfilled.

If these were not dealt with, the loose ends would remain loose, and like an old sweater, over time it would become more frayed and will unravel. The story just wouldn't hold up, and it would feel as if these loose ends were simply irrelevant to the story.

The Empire Strikes back is another good example, as it's full of loose ends. Luke successfully resists the temptation of the dark side, but:

Han Solo is imprisoned. Imagine they didn't try save him.
Luke made a promise to complete his training as a Jedi. It's inconceivable to think that he would never return to fulfill his promise.
Yoda drops a mysterious hint of "there is another" when Obi-Wan suggests Luke is their last hope. Viewers would scratch their heads wondering what that meant and be annoyed it was never revealed.
We now know who Luke's father really is. If Luke never confronted this, the last film would have been a disaster.

Pullman's The Golden Compass has a number of hints about Lyra being special that are not fully resolved until, in some cases, the third book. If Pullman had dropped hints in the first book, and then did nothing with them, readers would have been very annoyed. Imagine it turned out that she was not integral to the outcome of the final novel. Disaster.

In each case, none of the loose ends were integral to resolving the central conflict of each story itself, but they helped set up the backdrop for the subsequent stories.

There are many, many examples to draw from. Avoid leaving them unsolved (even resolving them in a non-happily ever after way is fine). If you leave them hanging there, and have no intention of resolving them, you should question whether it has any business in the story at all.

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