Debating the Happy Ending

Posted by annastan on February 10th, 2010. Filed under: Awards, Guest Post, Writing Rants.

If you have a minute, stop by Beth Revis’s Writing It Out today to check out my guest post: “Are We Ruled by Happy Endings?” As much as I enjoy happy endings, I’ve been wondering about the pressure they put on writers to wrap things up in a big bow. Come on over and chime in with your thoughts!

In other news, big thanks to Karen Strong and Laura Pauling for passing on the Over the Top award to me! I hope no one minds if I cheat a bit and answer the questions and pass on the award another day. I’m taking advantage of today’s snow day and attempting to get some writing done!

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7 Responses to Debating the Happy Ending

  1. Andrea Vlahakis
    February 10th, 2010 at 7:27 am

    i hopped over and checked it out—nice post! Like I mentioned on your guest post, I’m not a big fan of happy endings. It feels like a let down somehow—as if all the conflict, struggle, etc the characters (and I ) went through didn’t mean anything. It’s like someone saying, never mind, everything is all right. Except life’s not like that. I do think leaving the reader with a sense of hope is important, though.

  2. Laura Pauling
    February 10th, 2010 at 8:17 am

    I checked it out. Nice guest post. Anna, I waited over a week to pass ont the awards! I was just too busy traveling.

  3. annastan
    February 10th, 2010 at 9:54 am

    Thanks Andrea! That’s often how I feel about happy endings: after the characters go through so much, it’s odd that their stories are suddenly completely over.

    Thanks Laura! I always feel bad not mentioning awards right away, but I’ll try to think of it as a happy surprise that I’m saving for later on. :-)

  4. Ruth Donnelly
    February 10th, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    Terrific guest post–I left a comment on the other blog.

  5. annastan
    February 10th, 2010 at 6:34 pm

    Thanks Ruth! I loved your comment. You’re absolutely right that certain genres dictate the kinds of endings we expect. I have a feeling that was part of why my fairy tale retelling decided it wanted a happy ending, because I was writing something that’s essentially structured like a romance.

  6. Lisa G.
    February 13th, 2010 at 9:23 pm

    I don’t mind a happy ending as long as the MC has sacrificed enough to get to that point.

  7. annastan
    February 14th, 2010 at 6:40 am

    Lisa, that’s a really good point. For a happy ending to feel justified, we have to feel like the character has earned it. The more they lose/sacrifice, the more we want a happy ending for them.