tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post2828323785539823758..comments2024-03-28T08:02:30.691-04:00Comments on The League of Extraordinary Writers: The EndAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11431700962951592287noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-87425559720299118322010-09-10T14:37:53.458-04:002010-09-10T14:37:53.458-04:00I don't ask for happy endings, and I kind of L...I don't ask for happy endings, and I kind of LIKE sad stories, but I want to be satisfied. That's the most important. For dystopians, it just wouldn't be realistic for endings to be super happy dappy because the settings and situations begin in such bleak places. It would be jarring, and it'd kind of make me wonder how things were so bad if they could be fixed enough to be so happy, if that makes sense.<br /><br />I'd like enough hope in the story though to balance out the darkness - for example, I really liked the end of Incarceron, even if it's a bit unresolved. On the other hand, 1984 is really good but really, really depressing.Krispyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09492607213249874138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-51368852503509611502010-09-10T14:12:13.155-04:002010-09-10T14:12:13.155-04:00I tend to want my novels to end in a way that'...I tend to want my novels to end in a way that's satisfying, but not exactly happy. <br /><br />I think the realistic ending is more satisfying than an ending tied up far too neatly. <br /><br />Interesting post.Tere Kirklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13562750950130316280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-59259128766239278212010-09-10T14:08:24.996-04:002010-09-10T14:08:24.996-04:00Well, if you think that the majority of young adul...Well, if you think that the majority of young adult novels are read by...young adults, they're at a time in their lives when there is so much opportunity out there. Everything significant in their lives is starting to happen at a quick pace, but there's so much fear and expectation that goes along with it.<br /><br />So dystopian novels mirror the worst-case scenario - the way their life could completely fall apart. But teenagers know that life is ongoing. Even though they want to read characters that can overcome the darkness, they don't want a cookie-cutter ending - they want to be content. They want to know that things are going to be all right, even if they're not all right. And that's good enough.Elena Solodowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03037029195682225565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-54998261777170050952010-09-10T14:07:10.885-04:002010-09-10T14:07:10.885-04:00I wonder if we'd really rather things 'res...I wonder if we'd really rather things 'resolve' instead of 'end,' even if they're ending happily. We want to know that the worst is over and that there is hope for the future - a future that will actually have happenings instead of 'happily ever after.' Just a thought - I'm a sucker for happy endings just as much as the next reader, though, not gonna lie!Melodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08846251713093236356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-7009170704428061772010-09-10T12:37:16.482-04:002010-09-10T12:37:16.482-04:00I hugely struggle with endings, tending to swing t...I hugely struggle with endings, tending to swing too far one way or the other (sunshine and rainbows or death and destruction). I think there's been a mantra that YA stories have to have a happy ending, but I think that may be changing. (Forest of Hands and Teeth wasn't the most chipper ending, even if it was just the first book)Susan Kaye Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348197999397141067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-22987040348559498162010-09-10T10:26:37.614-04:002010-09-10T10:26:37.614-04:00I like an upbeat ending. I don't ask for reali...I like an upbeat ending. I don't ask for reality - I get plenty of that every day - I want obstacles overcome, baddies thwarted, and good guys triumphant. <br /><br />Do we need a separate place to talk about Mockinjay's ending so we don't spoil it for people still reading it?fairyhedgehoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14141089706966852951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-73207820993714601092010-09-10T10:04:21.644-04:002010-09-10T10:04:21.644-04:00I think particularly with dystopian novels, it'...I think particularly with dystopian novels, it's important to show a world that doesn't go on perfectly. It wouldn't be real. Typically dystopian societies have been ripped apart by some apocalyptic event and then are living under strict government rule. A happily-ever-after wouldn't be realistic. Because for the characters, who probably haven't really known happiness, hope is all they can ask for. When you're dealing with war, destruction, and the taking down of governments, people are going to die. Lives are going to be destroyed. Everything can't be wrapped up in a neat little bow.<br /><br />But I don't like HEAs in other books, either. Life is never really perfect.Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18096173111325220168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-76505211213562893642010-09-10T09:06:47.109-04:002010-09-10T09:06:47.109-04:00I'm reading MOCKINGJAY now. Are you telling me...I'm reading MOCKINGJAY now. Are you telling me the ending isn't going to be happy? Groan.Stinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11415189347501942340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-37310524749530649972010-09-10T06:46:34.073-04:002010-09-10T06:46:34.073-04:00Lots of dystopians (and other stories) have realis...Lots of dystopians (and other stories) have realistic-but-hopeful endings. (Mockingjay again.) I love those best. They're not tidy, and they don't make it seem like the entire story never happened. Characters *do* end up changed from their stories. They're not the same as they were on page 1. (Or they shouldn't be.) <br /><br />I'm also a fan of ambiguous endings. (The Giver.) <br /><br />I think the reasons these non HEA endings are so popular is because they can make you feel like the story hasn't ended. Just this part of the story. Characters' lives go on after. Whereas a HEA...well that's kind of it. No mas.Jodi Meadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11796496740054225283noreply@blogger.com