Excellent answer.Elinor wrote:I think it can be refreshing, as long as the ending was good.
Also, it will probably have to be sad for a reason - not just because the author felt like making it sad, but because it serves a message or it fits perfectly with the storyline.
Authors who don't write the happy ending
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Re: Authors who don't write the happy ending
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This is exactly right. And it's why I said a "contrived" happy ending. If the ending fits correctly with the story, and it's happy, fine. But to do a "Hollywood" on the ending is execrable.Elinor wrote:I think it can be refreshing, as long as the ending was good.
Also, it will probably have to be sad for a reason - not just because the author felt like making it sad, but because it serves a message or it fits perfectly with the storyline.
One of these that most grates my senses is the film version of the great noir classic "Nightmare Alley" w. an incredible dark performance by Tyrone Power. The superb novel has a bleak ending, but they "did a Hollywood" on the ending for the film, and it somewhat ruined the otherwise great movie.
In other words, don't cheat the reader.
In my own series of private detective novels (3 thus far) I've had a very rough ending for my protagonist in the first 2 books, and by the 3rd, he's now been able to rebuild his personal integrity and move forward. So the end of my 3rd novel is a bit happier than the first two, but the endings for all three fit within the narrative of the book, and aren't contrived.
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If i feel like the author 'made' a happy ending to appease the audience more than to add to the story I dont like it, but I also dont like reading an unhappy ending for the same reasons.
Tell the story, tell it well. I will return as a reader.
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I'm fairly certain that major publishers have no such requirement. Maybe publishers specializing in soapy and formulaic romances? Otherwise, no way. Just look at the publishers and the books they print. Happy endings are not a specification.GKCfan wrote:I've heard that some publishers and editors insist on a happy ending. They think that sad or ambiguous endings might hurt sales.
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like mafia
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It's best if the ending leaves some threads dangling too.
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My objective throughout the novels is that my protagonist will have bad times, but he will then eventually dig himself from his bad decisions and change. This is because my character and my stories in the novels are very realistic, completely un-fantasy, and are pitched toward an adult readership, not "kiddie lit" (which I jokingly call YA fiction).
I owe it to my readers to present a human being with failings and sadness and some tragedy, then to climb out of this and become a more realized person. My objective is to have a "real" person with whom the readers can connect, who are saddened by my character's failings but will be happy for him when he makes changes in his lifestyle.
At no time have my editors or publishers made the slightest hint that my stories need a "happy" ending. In fact to put that into a realistic and harsh story, one that's at times very violent (realistic modern crime stories), would be cheating. The stories have to flow naturally, sad or happy ending as the whole theme of the story goes.
And my horror and supernatural short stories? Ha! It's lucky if anyone makes it through the story alive, ha ha. But that's the general expectation for horror stories, particularly those written for an adult audience.
It would be just as much cheating to have a happy sequence toward the end of a book and then some tragedy come out of nowhere that changes the ending. Either type of ending is artificial, whether happy or sad, if the ending doesn't match the theme of the story overall.
Imposing a tricked out ending is known as "deus ex machina" (look it up if you don't know the origin of this) but it's cheating the readers, plain and simple.
If you're writing a fairy tale, okay, maybe a silly happy ending is fine for little kids. You don't want Snoopy run over by a truck, after all.
What I see here is that some readers of YA fiction, particularly YA fantasy, think that they "deserve" a happy resolution to the story. What some YA authors might do, especially those writing fantasy or SF, might cheat and stick a sad ending onto a story without warning or foreshadowing. Or, conversely, put a silly happy ending into a story that just doesn't need one.
The reason I dump on YA fiction is this: It's not meant for ADULTS. It's deliberately written for young readers and therefore doesn't necessarily deal with tragedy or happiness in an adult manner. Some YA author may take the time and effort to do this, to create a sufficient backstory to justify the events that close the novel, but many do not. There's also this annoying and very sloppy attitude from fantasy writers, particularly YA fantasy, that "because it's fantasy, I can make anything happen!" and this is another form of deus ex machina and it's also cheating the reader.
In other words, writers of adult fiction usually take the time and effort to create realistic and understandable events, and even if the book is fantasy or SF, the surprises fit within the "universe" that the author has created. A perfect example of this is the superb and exciting novel "Downward to the Earth" by famed SF writer Robert Silverberg. I highly recommend this book (available in Kindle too) for anyone wishing to read a "real" science fiction/part fantasy novel for grownups. Adult things happen but the book is still filled with incredible imagery and fantastic creatures and events.
Too often I've read fantasy where the author thinks that he/she can get away with anything "because it's fantasy" and this has really turned me off from lots of popular books in this genre. It's incumbent upon the author to keep a tight harness on the imagination and once creating a "world of the fantasy novel" (Middle Earth for example) stick within the "rules". "Downward to the Earth" does this. But then, it's a novel for adults.
What frustrates me is that YA authors take an easy way out and cheat the readers, and say it's okay because "it's just fantasy -- anything can happen" or "it's for young readers -- they don't need accuracy".
This is probably why some of you here have expressed frustration at reading of a "spoiled" ending. You're reading YA fiction and the author sadly doesn't think you're worth it.
I ask you -- tell me of ANY adult book you've read where the sad or happy ending seemed contrived. Those will be rare indeed, because the standards for the story "making sense" are higher for adult-oriented fiction. Which is wrong, wrong, wrong. YA readers deserve a sensible story line, too.