~ Happily Ever Afters ~
After reading one of my recent Rhemalda Publishing blog articles, my sister-in-law said something that stuck with me. She told me that I have ruined forever the joy she finds in some of the other books she reads since I have set the bar so high when it comes to happy endings. Although I know she meant it as a compliment, I make no apology when I say if you read one of my novels, it is going to have a happy ending. One only has to read the newspaper or watch the news to see that life often does not.
As a writer, I feel it is my job to sweep the reader away from the ordinary. Some will argue that I live in a fantasyland and that not all books should end happily ever after. I ask, why not? It is fiction after all. My novel, Spur of the Moment, deals with time travel and pagan witches. Although it is likely that there are a few pagan witches still hanging around, I think I will be waiting indefinitely for a twelfth century knight to appear out of thin air.
That is not to say that all of my characters will survive or experience a happy ending. Since my characters are often modeled after people I am acquainted with, please allow me the liberty of quoting myself. “Writers don’t get mad they get even in their novels.” I find conflict so much more rewarding when I can devise my own ending. Who wouldn’t?
Still, I cannot see myself leaving my reader wondering why the story had to end unhappily. Reading is a form of entertainment and as such, I want to be entertained. If I want a sad or depressing ending, I’ll turn on the news.
Candace Bowen Early
March 16, 2011
8 comments
Leave a Reply
Follow Us!
Got Stories?
Memberships and Organizations
You go tell it, Candace! I totally agree with you. As writers, the whole idea, and the whole point, as I see it, is that we have control over our plot and characters. We manipulate them in the way that we want, and if that includes a happy ending – well, why not? Life is so depressing sometimes that a novel of pure escapism is so necessary. There are plenty of books that deal with the gritty, horrid aspects of life, and we need authors like you who can be relied upon to leave us feeling happy.
Well done and thank you!
Thank you so much, Cas. I’t's so nice to know I’m not alone.
I could not agree more! I’m a sucker for happy endings. I’ve been let down so many times by movies that have ended sadly (Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, etc)
What I like to do is write (and read) about characters who are put through heck, but finally emerge victorious. It might be a predictable way to end, but the way they get there certainly doesn’t have to be.
And like you said, none of us really have control over our lives–why not write a story that takes the reader away from it for a while, to experience an ending that is satisfyingly happy? Can’t wait to read your latest!
Thanks, Mysti! I have watched movies and read countless books that had me in tears at the end. A few stuck with me, but most left me wondering why the story had to end the way it did. I’m much more selective these days ~ lol.
Oh, dear, you might not like CINDERS, then…although, I must say, that book ends hopeful, not tragic like some people see it. Sometimes it might depend on the reader how a book ends. I like to write realistically, so my novels are always multi-layered in the ending department. Usually bittersweet. MONARCH is happy, though.
Michelle ~ I have a copy of, Cinders. I haven’t been able to step away from writing long enough to read it, but I am honestly looking forward to when I do. I love the premise and promise to go in with an open mind.
I’m with you — every morning I get up and read the newspaper, and I always make sure to save the comics page for last in order to counteract the rest. As for writing, if I wanted to be depressing, I would have become a journalist. There may be suffering in my fictional worlds, and the characters may struggle, but they will always triumph in the end.
I don’t think of it as escapism in the sense of running AWAY from something, but rather a turning TOWARDS something grander and more meaningful than mundane reality. The author Nancy Kress once told a writing group I was part of that “Fiction is not reality. Fiction is a STRUCTURING of reality to make a point.” The point I want to make in my work is that joy can transcend sorrow.
I couldn’t have said it better myself, Alexandra. Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate it.