Apostle22

I'm trying to decide what type of ending my story should have. Originally, I wanted to go with the sad, but touching ending. The hero would not get the girl either because one of them dies or one of them just cant stay for whatever reason. Endings like this, when done right, have always touched me. I hate endings like this when watching or reading a story, but it stays with me and makes a greater impact on me.

Everyone loves the happy ending and its pleasing to watch or read. Problem is, very few happy endings really stick with you and make you think when the story ends. I just know how hard it would be to make my character not see happiness.....

Oh the dilemma.....What are your thoughts on these endings?

Faustling

I generally hate happy endings. Sometimes they're good but far too often they're forced upon a story that would be much better off with a tragic ending (watch "Face/Off" for a painfully obvious example).
It's really hard to give you any advice without knowing more about the plot, themes and feeling of your story but if I'd have to I say go with the tragic one.

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Sam Winchester

I agree with Faustling - tragic one. Have your hero's wife die - or vice versa - and make the next novel about revenge - although this is another 'hackneyed' area but if written well it can work.

Sam.

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Mike C

Immaterial. Which ending, to you, is the most honest, the most real?

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seigfried007

The first real novel I ever wrote had a happy ending. I rewrote it later, and it turned up with a tragic ending (hero dies in saving the girlfriend). It was honest, and more real to tell that version of the story. The hero's death wasn't tossed in for effect. I didn't plan his death and I certainly didn't begin the story clapping my hands together and cackling. "I'm going to write this wonderful, heart-wrenching story for a few hundred pages, then BAMMO! I'm going to kill the MC because it's the dramatic, tragic, artsy thing to do! Bwahahahaha!"

No, I was cruising along--keys burning in the wake of my stubby fingers--and... he died. I blinked at the monitor. And blinked again. I tried to rewrite the ending again because that wasn't how it ended the first time. My hero deserved to be hapy, didn't he? Surely.

But it wasn't about what a perfectly nice person deserved, it was about what was realistic and truthful to the world. It was about appreciating someone while you can hold him in your arms because you don't really know how or when he'll pass.

So I stuck with the better, tragic ending and it completely altered the theme to something I felt was more mature and realistic.

Not that this has anything to do with your story. Maybe the happy ending would flow better and go fabulously with your intended theme. Maybe not. Wahtever teh case, chose the ending wisely--not because you want to be a crowd pleaser, and not becasue you get kicks out of making a reader weep--but because it complements the rest of the story and meshes with it to make something wonderful--maybe even poignant.

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Swamp Thing

I've got to say how surprised I was at your question. I guess it shows how many different types of writers there are.

For me, I always know how the story is going to end as soon as I start writing. In fact, I generally know how it's going to end before I start writing. Getting there is oftentimes a surprising adventure, but the ending is always preordained.

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Sam Winchester

The endings you have in your head are usually not the endings that appear in your novels. I've found this from experience. My first novel was supposed to end with the hero's wife dying, but for some reason (that reason later being that I had a role for her to play in subsequent novels) I couldn't bring myself to do it. Now that I think about it, I should have gone with my gut feeling and killed her. That's the beauty of a re-write, though.

Sam.

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SilkFX

As usual, Mike C gets right to the heart of the matter...

If you know your characters well enough -- if they're really REAL to you -- then the ending should be more or less obvious. No one can make that call but you, though.

*shrug*

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slayerofangels

Or what about an ending that looks happy on the face of it, but really isn't?

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Apostle22

I know my characters and I know how it should happen (tragically), but its so hard to do because I want my character to have what he deserves.....The tragic ending has always called out to me and thats where I'm leaning.

Whats funny is that the tragic ending I had in mind came up during a bad time in my life. It made so much sense back then and felt so right. Now that things have gotten better in my life, its harder to do the tragic thing....

SilkFX

Is this story fiction or nonfiction?

If it's fiction, your character is part of you but he's also distinct from you (or should be). Give him the ending that makes the most sense for the story as a whole. Just because your life is better doesn't necessarily mean your characters' lives are.

Of course, if you're just writing for fun, do whatever you want...writers are gods in a sense and it's your world to create as you wish...

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Faustling

If it's nonfiction he doesn't really have much of choice, does he? Then he simply writes what happened.

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omginternetlord

Lol.

lin

Romeo and Juliet seems to hold the stage pretty well.

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winkash

Sorry, read the following:

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