Comments on: Should Your Story Have a Happy Ending?

By: jamesr403

jamesr403 — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:16:55 +0000

Joel, thanks for the post. I have not read the Towles book; will check it out. And boy, are you right about 11.22.63! What an end! I loved it. But Chinatown? What's the point? We both may be voices crying in the wilderness, but I agree with you.
Nope, that's the other guy who looks like me that owes you the beer. LOL.
For those of you who don't know, Joel is the author of A Long, Hard Look, a thriller I enjoyed enormously.

By: Joel D Canfield

Joel D Canfield — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 22:00:51 +0000

Always a joy to see you here, James. Or, well, to see you pretty much anywhere. (Don't you owe me a beer? Pretty sure you owe me a beer.) I love happy endings. I abhor the belief that "realistic" endings are better than hopeful endings. I'm with you on the ironic ending: a win with a cost, or a loss with a reward. King's 11.22.63 is a masterwork: you know, know know, how it has to end, but you never see the price tag until he shows it to you. I read The Time Traveler's Wife and reacted the way I'd probably ever react if forced at gunpoint to watch Chinatown—pointlessly evil endings kill kittens and steal kids' candy. Some of it is personal. I've fought depression and sadness my whole life, and reading tragedy is emotionally dangerous. It hurts me, like drinking hurts an alcoholic. Not that you made this claim, James, but the false dichotomy of "happy endings vs. great literature" is smashed in a single work, in my opinion: Amor Towles A Gentleman in Moscow. Brilliant timeless work of poignant beauty—with an ending so perfect I kept breaking into tears telling Best Beloved about it, because it was so deeply joyous but, because of the genre and buildup, unexpected.

By: Top Picks Thursday! For Writers and Readers 04-05-2018 | The Author Chronicles

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 17:02:45 +0000

[…] you want people to be so happy with it that they want to read your next book! James Preston asks if your story should have a happy ending, while Janice Hardy explores what makes a good […]

By: jamesr403

jamesr403 — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 18:22:29 +0000

In reply to Laura Drake. Oh, Laura, I know exactly what you mean about that bomb blast. (Minor Spoiler Alert. If you haven't read The Stand you should. Like right now.) And the great irony that Nick can't hear the taped message! More on King and Spielberg: Don't miss Ready Player One. The Shining. That's all I'm going to say.

By: Should Your Story Have a Happy Ending? – From the Writers in the Storm Blog | Author Don Massenzio

Tue, 03 Apr 2018 09:28:17 +0000

[…] Read the rest of this post HERE. […]

By: Laura Drake

Laura Drake — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 08:32:41 +0000

That's not to say that you can't end a book with people dying...Stephen King did it in one of my top 5 books of all time - The Stand. He killed a bunch of major characters in a bomb blast, 2/3 of the way through the book (I'm still not over Nick), then 3 more a the very end. But it's a satisfying ending, and he leaves you with hope. It's still a good ending. *Sniff*

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 22:22:18 +0000

In reply to jamesr403. Yes, ten. My mother was so mad. Plus, he said, "I want you to see what Vietnam was like for me" before we went in. I remember thinking, "Someone threw your best friend's head into your lap???"

By: jamesr403

jamesr403 — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 22:20:50 +0000

In reply to Jenny Hansen. Ten?? Wow. I remember when I saw that, and coming out of the theater just stunned. After you recovered I'm sure it made you a better writer.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 22:18:53 +0000

In reply to jamesr403. I adore Grandma Mazur. She's one of my favorite characters in fiction. And the way she has Stephanie's mother eyeing the cabinet where she keeps her booze when Grandma is acting up is priceless.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 22:17:38 +0000

In reply to jamesr403. OMG. Well, my dad took me to Apocalypse Now when I was ten and I survived. I haven't ever watched it again though.