Sad vs happy endings

I have to admit that I don't mind watching a movie or reading a book where the hero doesn't have a happy ending. Okay, it has to be done well because I have seen some movies where I just feel like the director just wanted to trash the main character, but then I have also seen some movies where the happy endings felt to have come around through too much of a coincidence and everything is "too" happy. 

So, how can a sad ending be worthwhile to the reader or viewer? That all depends on how the story and characters develop. I have to believe the main character has tried their hardest to overcome their problem or defeat their antagonist and still nothing has worked. These storylines are often present in apocalypse stories where the viewer knows that no matter what the character does, they're still not going to be able to stop the big tragedy that's coming, but the character still tries to change the outcome. If the character doesn't try and just gives up (yes, I've seen movies like that) then the ending sorts of fizzes out.

Okay, here is my personal choice: I would rather have a character try and fail than to have a character not try and just be given their happy ending. A sad ending with a hero that has put everything into trying to achieve his goals is better than a coincidental happy ending where everyone gets what they want even though they have not earned those things.

What do you think? Would you prefer the happy ending or the sad ending? 

Everything in a neat little package

I've been doing a lot of travelling in the past month (mainly back and forth between the lovely Gold Coast and cold country NSW). There is a positive about spending 12+ hours driving each way, though. It gives me a lot of time to think and reflect on my characters, story or loose ends I need to cover.

When I think up my plots, I have so many different elements and events all happening at the same time that it can sometimes get confusing to try and make sure everything is tied in a neat little package at the end. One secret weapon I use to keep everything together and to track is a mind map. I find that by visualising all the paths that are taking place within a plot will help me track what needs to happen with all those little loose ends.

Tying up loose ends in novels is probably in the same league as the debate over standalone vs series. If there are still questions to be answered and I know that the next in the series isn't going to come out for another year, I might be content to wait or I might also feel let down over how the first one ended. When I read and I know it's a series I do like a little bit of tantalising info to keep me wanting more, but I don't want a twist right at the end that leaves it open on a cliff hanger that doesn't answer anything for me (but there have been cliff hangers that I have been satisfied with).

What about you? Do you prefer all loose ends to be neatly tied up or questions that leaves you wanting more? What about writing endings? Do you find it easy to write the ending and tie up the loose ends?

I Can't Believe it's the Ending

Well, we looked at endings that should be stayed away from, but that doesn't actually help decide what is actually a good way to end a story, after all, every story is different (if they weren't then we would all be very boring people).

Each ending should be distinct and different. You don't want readers to turn around and say that the ending you worked so hard on is actually too cliche or predictable. I know that if the ending really let me down then I don't want to pick up the next book (unless the rest of the story was good). I've even wanted to walk out of movies ten minutes before they ended because the ending really went downhill (they should have finished the movie ten minutes before the actual end and it would have been better).

So, today I've looked extensively at the endings of movies and books that I've absolutely adored. Most of them can be classified under the following:

1. Life Goes On Ending
   The main obstacle has been overcome, the hero either wins or loses and life can continue. But life being life, means things are not neat and tidy. The writer actually acknowledges things are still progressing, even if the main challenge that they were trying to overcome has being defeated. Often these endings lead to another clue being revealed or gives a hint that there's still more mysteries left to solve, which dangles a little bit of bait in the readers face and whispers in their ear, "You have to wait till the next book to find out." As long as the main goal of the story is wrapped up, then it's okay to leave the reader wanting more.
   
   
2. Unexpected Twist
   These are the ending where the writer throws in something that the reader is not prepared for. Don't get me wrong, the writer has to do a lot of set up, throwing hints all the way through the story so that it doesn't seem too random. These are the stories I love the most, and these mostly come from psychological thrillers (well, they're the ones I watch the most).
   
   Here, you are following the character and all the clues points to "the butler" as the guilty bad guy, but did you notice the crooked picture or a stain on the carpet that was mentioned in the detail that you just passed off as the writer getting carried away with description. And then, the ending comes and you're wrong. The one you thought was really behind it was really trying to protect the MC while that distant character that was always in the background of every scene was the real villain.
   
   
3. Method in the Madness Ending
   If done well, I really like these endings. These endings are where the (dare I say it...) the bad guy wins. These endings have to be taken with care and there has to be a reason why the character that the reader/viewer has staked a good chunk of time following, getting to know and experiencing all the ups and downs on this journey would lose. I've seen some smashing movies where the bad guy wins (these are usually psychological thrillers again, or sometimes even horrors) and they were fantastic, but on the other end I've seen some where the bad guy wins and there's no survivors because the writer wanted it to be gory and gross (these mainly are horror/slasher films).
   
   I haven't read any books where the bad guy actually does win (mainly because I stick with YA a lot of the time and it doesn't seem to fit with that genre), but when dealing with these types of ending the writer has to be careful about not kicking the MC when they're down, but to either show there's no hope of winning or be leading up to an Unexpected Twist which has been carefully plotted out.
   
   And no, killing your character off at the end of the novel because he's pissed you off doesn't count as having the villain win.
   
   
4. Time Loop
   Oh, I love these sort of endings, so I had to throw it in. These stories always involves some form of time travel or prophecy. This is the endings where it is revealed that the character cannot escape their fate and things are destined to repeat, no matter what the character does to try and stop it. This can also be classified as "Self-fulfilling Prophecy" where the character knows their fate (or even the villain) and they set out to stop it from happening, usually setting the exact things in motion, so no matter what they do, they are destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over and over again.

 I think when I'm writing my story I always aim for the unexpected twist (even though that often fails and I'm just left with a life goes on type). So, do you know where your stories are going to end before you get there? Or, do you just write and hope the character will end up in a logical but different place.

Can Life be Tied up in a Knott?

If there's one thing that annoys me the most when it comes to stories or movies are bad endings. Yes, the writer may have the reader/viewer on the edge of the seat, eagerly anticipating the MC's next move, hoping that they will survive and overcome the obstacles that have been tossed at them from every angle... and then that happens. What is that? 'THAT' is an ending that leaves the reader or viewer unsatisfied.

I love to read and watch movies, and there are several traps that some fall into that I really regret staying to find out the ending (and often I'm actually enjoying the book or movie). These are:

1. Saturday Morning Cartoons Ending
   This is where everything is tied up in a nice little bow, express delivered to the reader. You can't forget the happy little group laugh where everyone gathers around the campfire singing 'Kumbaya'. For some reason everyone gets what he wants and everyone lives happily ever after, whether the rest of the story leads towards this ending or not.
   
   
2. The Diplomatic (The Non) Ending
   This is where the writer has been racing forward with the tension. The reader's on the edge of the seat, fearing over whether the MC will survive till the ending and don't know what's coming next. The final battle approaches... then... then
   
   
   
   NOTHING
   
   

   The reader is left unsatisfied as the climax of the novel fizzles out and the MC moves on to get the girl/save the town/complete the quest/etc. The reader flips back several pages to see whether they missed something, but no. The necessary tension just dies so that the writer can quickly wrap up the story.
   
   
3. The Status Quo Ending
   In a novel or film, the character starts out somewhere, does some things and hopefully gets to his destination at the end. So, how does everything go back to the way things were before? These endings make the entire novel obsolete because the character doesn't learn any lesson or gain anything from their journey, instead, they return to their lives in the exact position they've always been in, some times even further down the food chain. What's the point of a novel if the character isn't going to grow as the story progresses?
     
   
4. Wonderful Life Ending
   "Oh, how I wish none of this ever happened..." And, tada, the whole story has been a dream. Hey, don't get me wrong. There are several stories out there that have worked the whole psychosis angle where the character has been crazy or the character is in a coma and it's all a part of his mind (there's a couple of movies out there that play this angle and they're superb) and these stories work. But, to turn around to a reader after they've followed a character's struggle, triumphs and disappointments and say that none of that really happened, that's just kicking the reader and making the whole journey seem pointless. Who wants to follow something to find out it purely doesn't exist... what a let down.
   
   
5. Illogical (Coincidental) Ending
   So, the characters have travelled long and hard over the course of the novel. They've faced tough challenges and gotten back up when they've been knocked down. Now, they just have to overcome the last obstacle, but they need the right circumstances or objects to win and... there they are, with no explanation as to how they got there. These endings have the characters being in the right place at the right time with no explanation as to why they're there apart form they need to be to triumph. Things need to have a cause and effect or else they will seem like a cop out, whether it's a character that somehow happens to stumble upon the MC with the right information needed, the character finds a magic weapon that is indestructible and will vanquish the foul beast, or even the army showing up to save the day and leave the MC to wonder what the heck they were even doing going on the journey that could have killed them to begin with.
   
   
6. Cliffhanger Ending
   I know it's tempting to plan for a series, but seriously, readers pick up a book in order to finish a book, not have to wait (possibly an eternity) to find out what happens next. These endings lead up to the main action, perhaps the hero overcomes that obstacle but then something else comes up and... and... and
   
   
   
   TO BE CONTINUED
   
   

   The reader is left waiting until the next story is published to find out whether the hero will live or die, or that crucial piece of information that the hero has just received... what is it? The writer teases the reader so that they will have to get the next book when it's published, but the reader is actually left incomplete and unsatisfied because they've spent so long on a journey just to find out they need to wait 6 months, 12 months, forever to find out what happens next.

I know I've been guilty of a couple of these during the many manuscripts I've crafted, especially the cliffhanger. I never know how to leave the story, after all, life is never tied up in a pretty little package. What about you? Do you struggle with endings? And, have you been guilty of cheating with the ending?

Backward Mapping: Arriving at the destination before the journey

'But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time.'

Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet In Heaven, pg. 1 line 3-4 

Wow, I've actually learnt something from uni (and it's not just that adlibbing a presentation/debate probably isn't the best sollution to getting the best marks... and yes, that's exactly what I did today. Surprisingly I passed).

In class we discussed how one should design a lesson plan for a class and the tutor pointed out that it's very hard to know where to begin if you haven't figured out where you want to be. The same can be said about writing, especially that notorious novel.

If we know where we want to be, isn't it a lot easier getting there if you have no idea where "there" is? Even if you don't like planning and prefer to be spontanious, do you have any idea what the novel is going to look like? I know that before I start writing I like to know where I'm heading (mainly because I hate middles and can never plot out what I want to happen, but at least I know how I want that "fill in the blank" to end).

So, plotting a novel from back to front could be beneficial. Each goal and motivation should be listed and they won't seem to be mere consequence because you've actually thought about why the thing happened before you've actually written it.

Wow, I must actually be paying some form of attention in class. So, how do you plan your novel? Do you know the ending before you start writing, or does it just come from the writing?