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As someone who doesn’t always write happily ever afters, I may be a bit biased in this discussion, but I do think it’s worth discussing nevertheless.
Like most discussions hosted here at Writability, I don’t think there’s necessarily a right or wrong answer, though I suspect that genre expectations may play a pretty decent role with this topic. People reading horror, for example, have wildly different expectations than those who pick up romance novels.
But if we’re speaking generally, I suppose the thing to consider is what people generally expect when they pick up a novel, and how acceptable (or advisable?) it is to defy those expectations.
Usually, in genre fiction, people assume the hero will overcome the antagonist (or antagonistic situation) and live with the spoils of victory, whatever that means for the novel. But what if the hero doesn’t win? Or what if the hero wins, but the victory isn't how they imagined it, or has consequences they didn’t anticipate?
Personally, I don’t think a happily ever after is a requirement. What is required is that all loose ends are tied up and the story arc comes to completion (more on that in this post)—but that doesn’t necessarily mean your protagonist has to gallop off into the sunset on a white horse.
To me, bittersweet or even occasionally unhappy endings are a nod to reality. Because sometimes things don’t work out the way we planned or the good outcome we imagined turns out to be not so golden.
On the other hand, I think it could depend on the reason people are reading: some read to escape reality, others to see echoes of reality or view their reality in a new way. For escapist readers, a not-so-happily-ever-after may be disappointing.
In the end, you can’t make everyone happy, and as I said before, I don’t think there’s really a right or wrong answer. But it’s certainly something to think about.
What do you think? Are happily ever afters a requirement?
NOTE: Let’s avoid spoilers, yes? If you know of a book, popular or not with an unhappy ending, feel free to refer to the book, but please avoid details and title mentions. :)
Twitter-sized bites:
Do you think happily ever afters are a requirement? Join the discussion at @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
Writer @Ava_Jae muses on the necessity of happily ever afters. What do you think? (Click to tweet)
16 comments:
I usually like unhappy endings because it makes things more unexpected. While reading, you usually believe (or at least hope) that the MC will survive until the end, but if he dies, then it's an element of surprise that is added.
What an interesting way of looking at it! Unhappy endings tend to make me feel conflicted, but not in a bad way—more in a I'm sad this happened but I totally didn't see that coming way. If that makes sense. It's a good thing. To me.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Naïma!
I agree with you, happy endings are not always necessary (I blogged about the same subject a week or so ago). My book doesn't have a happy ending. But I think it's still a satisfying one. I think it depends completely on the story. An unhappy ending will make the story seem more realistic. Sometimes forcing things to end well can seem, well, forced!
Great point about not forcing a happy ending for the sake of a happy ending—I don't like to generalize, but most times when you force anything in writing, it shows. Thanks, Sarah!
I like happy endings, but I don't think an ending must be happy. It does have to make sense. I think I read somewhere that an ending should be both unexpected and inevitable. Most of my endings are happy, and I think one reason I write is to try to fix terrible things in the world (even if the fixes are only in my mind).
But I have written one ending that makes me terrified of someone eventually reading it: mostly happy, but with a very sad - and IMO inevitable - component.
I wrote an ending like that, too! Still not sure what I'll do with it, but I like what you said about an ending being unexpected and inevitable. That's a great way of looking at it, and I agree. It should make sense looking back, but not be so predictable that you see it a mile away.
Hmm. While trying to think of specific book endings, I of course draw a blank. But I don't like the "happy" ending if it seems too "cheap"; I want it to be earned, not just granted via deus ex machina or merit of genre.
Thinking of my own endings, I think "bittersweet" might be the best descriptive fit for me. Somebody is satisfied, somewhere, but even the protagonists (especially the protagonists?) paid some price getting there.
I think it depends on the story. I remember one book with an ending that disappointed me because it came as a surprise, but not in a good way. The movie changed the ending, and it made more sense, but at the same time, I wasn't happy with it either. It was too neAt, when the storyline was a very chaotic one.
On the other hand, I don't want to write the expected either, unless I can put some kind of twist on it. An exAmple would be this one story I know, the expected couple gets back together, only one of them has been seriously injured, possibly a paraplegic for life. There's a happy ending, but it's obvious the road ahead will be tough.
I would say the opposite. I've noticed a trend lately, like we've gone back to the days of Ancient Greek plays, where some authors seem to believe unhappy endings are required. Of the 4 series I've finished this year, 3 had tragic endings, even when (within the story universe), a happier ending could have occurred. They left me a little disappointed, especially when I like to see things work out.
I think bittersweet endings tend to be my favorite, if only because they touch both on inevitable realism and a hint of hope or happiness. I agree about not wanting an ending to feel cheap or contrived, though—happy or not, it should make sense and not feel forced.
I think you're right that it depends on the story. You also make an interesting point about an ending being too neat for a chaotic story—the ending should definitely fit with the tone of the novel, whether happy or sad. The example you give is an interesting one as well—as I just told Jen, I tend to like bittersweet endings best.
That's so interesting! Honestly it hadn't occurred to me that there might be a trend starting with unhappy endings. To be fair I didn't finish all that many series this year, so it's not something I noticed, but I think that's a really interesting observation.
Yes! I want the "good" ending, be that happy, sad, indifferent, whatever. I want the ending that makes me feel it was the inevitable and logical conclusion to the chain of events that led us to that point.
Yes! Agreed. :)
I prefer a happy ending obviously but I really don't mind an ending as long as it's not an obvious set up for a sequel. That aggregates me a lot and is one reason I rarely read series. I want a whole story. If I feel like I have to read another book to finish the story then that book is going on the fire. So I better not read it on my kindle. As long as the ending works thematically and the protagonist has a conclusion to the arc I find it satisfying and practically have a literary orgasm.
Hmm that's interesting. Out of curiosity, how do you feel about series comprised of standalone companion novels?
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