I have been thinking a lot about happy endings these last few weeks. Particularly due to this one book I recently finished reading, which had a somewhat fluffy, cheesy, character-grin-y, slappy-on-the-back-y kind of ending. Nothing was lost, everything was gained, and they all went home happy. And I loved it.
Now, I’ll be honest here: I am normally a sucker for happy endings. However, as much as I enjoy a well-written happy ending, I utterly despise a sappy, cheesy one.
But Cam, you just said you loved the fluffy, cheesy ending of the book you recently finished reading.
That’s true, I did. And that’s because it left me with something a lot of other sappy, cheesy endings I have previously read do not.
There’s a quote I wrote down years ago that I really like, from author and essayist Fay Weldon:
“The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events—a marriage or a last-minute rescue from death—but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.”
Truthfully though, I think there is a better way of putting this. Yes, I agree with Weldon in that happy endings can be found without a traditionally “happy” event attached to them. But I think all a happy ending really has to do is leave readers with the assumption that life will go on from this point. Maybe not everything is perfect; maybe not everything has wrapped up nicely; maybe, as Weldon mentioned, there has even been a death—but there is still an inkling that things could move forward, whether for those left standing or even for the one who died.
In other words, a good happy ending leaves the audience with hope.
And that was what this book left me with. The characters went through a lot to get to where they were in the end, more or less walking through fire to come out laughing on the other side. And even though a part of it felt too perfect, too neatly tied together, there was still this sensation that life would go on, complete with its downs as well as its ups for everyone who was involved in the adventure. And, apparently, that was all the difference I needed to enjoy the sappiness instead of roll my eyes at it.
There is a fine line between sappy, corny happy endings and a happy ending that really sticks with a reader and sits well in their bones. A lot of it depends on the context of the overall story (and, of course, whether or not there will be sequels), but much of it really depends on what it leaves the reader with. An ending that’s too perfect can feel unearned; an ending that’s not perfect enough can feel disappointing. But an ending that is conclusive, while simultaneously leaving our characters with some forward momentum, is what feels satisfactory.
To make a long story short… Endings are hard to write.
So good luck.
Night Owls, what do you get from a “happy” ending? What do you expect from a “happy” ending? And how do you write your own happy endings? What happy endings in fiction have left you feeling satisfied?
