Two books: The Wheel of Time Book 1 & Ascending to Babel

I've been meaning to read the wheel of time for a long time. I just finished reading the first book, "The eye of the world" and I really enjoyed it. The main characters weren't perhaps as interesting as I usualy like in other books, but the characters are beleivable, and the story is very interesting with a very unique world. My favorite character ended up being Lohei, a "Ogrier" (sp?) who is both a book worm and adventurous. I look foreword to reading the next book.

Now my next book about linguistics very simplified for non-linguists (like me) to understand. I've dabbled in linguistics before, trying to write my own language but felt a little bit overwhelmed, especially after trying to read a big textbook on linguistics. I didn't understand half of what was in that book. This is a much lighter read and I'm enjoying it so far. I'll let you know what I think when I finish it.

How will it all end?

I've been doing some research recently on story endings because of my storyboarding my first novel, and I'm not sure exactly how it will end. I was wondering if anyone out there who happens to be reading this has any methods for coming up with an ending.
Obvisouly every story needs and ending, a resolve to let the story rest. How often do you know how a story will end? In how much detail?

I know it should be something satisfying and make sense. I'm wondering if I thinking too hard and maybe it should just be a surprise to even me. One of the inspirations for my story is a narrative that is a story poem that ends somewhat tragically, so i'm looking at the possibility of this ending as a tragedy as well. Most of what inspired me is the mood of the poem, it in a way touches me, though I can't explain exactly. It's a moving sadness. Some of my favorite stories are at least partially tragic if not completely (Hamlet, Les miserable). I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!