Please don’t take that the wrong way. When it comes to books, or movies or any form of entertainment, I do want the story to have a solid resolution. Even if it is one of a series. Cliffhangers are okay as long as there aren’t a lot of loose plot threads left dangling that don’t get resolved in the next book. Even series books should conclude their story to some extent, don’t you think?
I read a lot of crime novels, mysteries and thrillers. They make up the bulk of my library, which is probably not surprising since they’re the kinds of stories I like writing as well. I love all the twists and turns of a good suspense. But I hate it when all the thrills fall away at the end to reveal a shiny, happy resolution. Am I the only one?
I’ve always found the traditional Hollywood ending a bit trite. As I mentioned above, I don’t want a movie or a book to leave a bunch of loose ends hanging out there unresolved before the ending credits or the last page. I just don’t like the manufactured happy ending. For one thing, happy endings rarely happen. In fact, endings in general aren’t all that natural, happy or otherwise.
In real life, of course, our story keeps going. The end credits don’t roll until we die, and even then there is still a story to tell, it simply involves one fewer characters. So the idea of a happy ending is completely made up. It’s manufactured. It’s false.
I’m not suggesting that people (even fictional ones) don’t deserve happiness. On the contrary, I think happiness is a core goal that drives life forward. Everyone is searching for it, or some variation of it. Perhaps they just want to be comfortable or find balance. I’d argue both of those goals are built on a foundation of happiness at some level. So let’s just agree that people (real and make-believe) deserve happiness. I merely want that happiness to fit the hundreds of pages and thousands of words that came before it.
Traditional happy endings, in my humble opinion, are boring, trite and unrealistic. Now, I will grant you that readers of some genres do expect a happy ending (I’m looking at you, romance readers). But aside from that admittedly very large genre of stories, I argue that endings that are too full of sunshine and roses will actually ruin the entire story that came before it. That might sound harsh, but think about it: when is the last time you read an unsatisfying ending and said to yourself “Oh well, it’s just the ending. I loved everything else so I’ll give it five stars.”
Never. You’ve never done that. Nobody has. In gymnastics, sticking the landing will make or break your entire routine. Same goes for a pilot. Nobody cares how smooth a flight was if the landing is scary. In racing, you may pull some epic moves, speeding by rivals and maneuvering through wrecks. But if you don’t cross the line first when the checkered flag waves, it was all for naught.
I think I’ve beaten my point into submission. I’ll just leave you with this. A book must end the way the story requires it. Nothing more. Nothing less. I should not bolt on an ending because I as the writer really want it to end that way. Nor should I create an ending solely because I think it is what my readers expect. I hope I always write the endings my stories require and deserve. I humbly invite you to keep me honest on that.
I welcome your comments and opposing points of view. The one thing I know for certain in this life is that I’m not always right.
