I’m compelled by stories where the characters suffer a lot, but only if there’s catharsis in the end. If they just die without ever getting to recover I’m OUT because what’s the fucking purpose then? Voyeurism? Bye
But happy endings are literally SOOO boring
So are you
The three most boring kinds of endings:
-I refuse to tell you the ending, you have to ~decide for yourself~! -And then they woke up. -And it was all miserable and pointless and nothing got fixed and nothing was better and everybody died or lived morosely ever after, now stay awake all night contemplating the futility of life and feeling shitty so I can masturbate to the idea that i have made Powerful Art.
Protip: it doesn’t take any skill or insight to make people feel bad. Just like it doesn’t take any skill to refuse to come up with an ending and make the reader decide, or to handwave all the questions of the narrative by saying they were never real at all. What takes skill is to gather together all your woven threads and knot them in a way that won’t unravel, that completes the narrative, satisfies the reader, and makes sense under scrutiny. That can be bittersweet sometimes! Characters can sacrifice a lot for their ending! It doesn’t have to be rainbows and kittens! But if the ending makes readers wish they hadn’t invested emotional energy in the outcome of the story, then the story has failed.
Don’t be lazy. Don’t cheap out on your ending. Work to put together something readers will be glad they read, even if it made them cry.
IF THE ENDING MAKES READERS WISH THEY HADN’T INVESTED EMOTIONAL ENERGY IN THE OUTCOME OF THE STORY, THEN THE STORY HAS FAILED.
That’s it! That’s the point!
