Question for readers: what kind of ending?

[Kathy]

I wondered what kind of ending you prefer to a novel: cosy and happy, all ends neatly sewn up? Sad but realistic - after all, no-one lives happily ever after?! Some ambiguity left so you can supply the details from your own imagination? I've noticed that when books with unhappy/ambiguous endings are made into films, they are often changed to make them finish more optimistically. Personally, I guess I sit on the fence: generally I prefer satisfying endings but nothing too cheesy, and that's the sort of ending I try to write. Interested to know what you think.

[Brenda]

Look down at your arm. What is the right ending for that arm? Your hand, I am betting. (If you are not a human email me privately, we should talk.) That's what the ending of a novel should be like. It should be organic, springing blood and bone and sinew from all that came before, as inevitable as your thumb. When you read it you should say to yourself, 'Of course. It could not end in any other possible way. This is the way it really was.'

Now, to -find- that ideal and right ending, that is a different task. Sometimes an author has to take a couple runs at it.

[Renee E]

Nailed it, Brenda!

[Abigail]

The type of book I read depends on my mood.

[Brenda]

It is actually more useful to look at books that don't end properly, and analyze why. Over here, directly to my right as I type this, is an ad for LONGBOURN by Jo Baker. It is an okay book, but IMO it did not end in the right way.

[G.G.]

What kind of ending? That's a tough question to answer. I'd say it depends on the book itself. For some stories a sweet ending is all they need, but for others, an ending that leaves me pondering about all the possibilities it brought forth will do it for me.
To end the perfect story, some books will require a shocking closure.

Over all, I loved books with all these endings. However, the ones that stuck with me the most were the ones that left me with questions.

[J.]

I agree with a lot of the other perspectives. There can't only be happy endings, just as there can't only be unhappy ones. But I also believe that it isn't so black and white. Plenty of emotionally crushing endings (especially in film) offer up some kind of hope at the end, even if it is only in the last couple sentences or frames. Just as a happy ending for one person may seem like a nightmare in the eyes of someone else. Personally, I just don't care much for convenient endings. Whether the story is nonfiction or the highest fantasy epic, it needs to feel real to the reader.

[Justin]

I like an ending you see coming, makes sense or doesn't leave things open. I'm not a fan of most WTF endings but if it's done well I can live with it.

[Brenda]

I wrote a novel once, in which the hero was rather unruly. He appeared and took over, boinking the heroine, having adventures, and in general running the plot off the rails. It was annoying. You cannot mess with your creator like that. So at the end of the book, I had his girlfriend shoot him dead on a beach in St. Thomas. It was a fine ending, so miserable and full of angst! And I went to bed.
But I got up in the morning with an entirely new ending in my head. It was better. It was thrilling. One more keen plot twist! But it did involve my hero shooting the heroine dead instead, and then moving to California where he got into politics. It was too good an ending, I had to go with it. So he survived, drat the man.

[Kathy]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.
I recently watched The Importance of Being Earnest where Miss Prism says: The Good end happily and the Bad unhappily; that's what a novel is. (I believe I'm paraphrasing...!) It's Oscar Wilde with tongue firmly in cheek no doubt, but I wonder if, deep down, most of us do subscribe to that idea. We want people who try their guts out to do the right thing and make something of themselves to be the ones who triumph in the end? I certainly like to take away something positive, however small, from a good book.

[Micah]

Kathy wrote: "We want people who try their guts out to do the right thing and make something of themselves to be the ones who triumph in the end? I certainly like to take away something positive, however small, from a good book..."

Not me. Not necessarily. I usually like stories that end with everything wrapped up, but not always. Depends on the book, the author, the genre, etc.

Brenda's first response is the correct one. But that doesn't actually mean the organic, natural ending will be happy, or triumphant, or even a full disclosure of what was going on in the story.

Take A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick for example. The whole book is a "WTF is going on here?" mind twister. Every time you think you've figured out what is really going on, the rug gets pulled out from under you and you have to rethink the whole plot. Then at the end everything becomes suddenly clear...and then the rug gets pulled out from under you again and the book ends.

That could be a really annoying ending, only it was so right for that book. It was awesome.

[Amber]

For me, the end has to fit the story that it ends. That sounds like what Micah is talking about. A knock-out surprise at the end, or a happy, satisfying wrap-up, or even a sense of uncertainty can work depending on the book. The only endings I don't like are the ones I don't believe, usually the ones where a criminal holds the sleuth at gunpoint and describes his or her crime with gloating satisfaction and then conveniently ends up dead.

[G.G.]

Clara, This thread is about endings. What kind of endings readers like. Your post doesn't answer the question.
While the book The Buried Children seems interesting, you are in the wrong place to advertise it. I'd suggest you start your own thread where the right people will see it and might be able to help you. Good luck. :)

[Lauren]

As a reader, I prefer if the ending leaves me wondering what happens next. I like to have my own assumptions as to where it could have gone after that final sentence. If by chance there is another book (a series or just a sequel) then great! If not, I'm okay with that too. But open endings are my favorite!

[K.P.]

clara's been spamming all the forums -_-

[K.P.]

i wouldnt know how to write an organic happy ending without it being forced. i just want the loose ends wrapped up. no matter the ending