Skeletal Writings

Couple of things spawned this post.

First, I finished my first draft of Borrowed Life and realized it was still not working.  Part of the problem was just, it did not read like a real book.  That's something I think I'll be struggling with for quite some time.  The bigger problem was this: The ending was rushed.  Don't get me wrong, that is the ending I want.  It just felt like while the rest of the book details this character's life, the ending was one paragraph that said "So this is this and that is that.  The end!"  Ugh!  I mean, again, it's the ending I want as far as what happens.  It's just that I as the author felt ripped off.  Imagine what future readers would say.

Second was this post right here: http://thebookpushers.com/2011/01/11/hea-hea-why-art-thou-happy/.  It deals specifically with the romance genre, and this thing called HEA (Happily Ever After), and this reviewer's opinion is that all romance must have an HEA and she hates any book that does not.  Also, she believes that people who do not like HEAs look down on the romance genre (which I disagree with but can see where she's coming from at the same time).  Everyone who has commented agrees with this reviewer.  To be honest, I'm a bit scared to share my opinion because it is VERY dissenting.  But I will share it here because it's relevant to what I'm writing about book endings.

Here's the thing: I want a believable ending.  If you have all this buildup throughout a series and the ending fizzles out, for example, I will most likely take that book and chunk it against the nearest wall.  Can we talk plot twists here, as well?  Because I'm all for a good plot twist, but not at the very end when there was no evidence throughout the book/series to support it.  And as you might've guessed, if this happens I will take that book and chunk it through the nearest wall.  Now let's get specific-ish, because there have been some fantabulous books that have been ruined by one little topic.  Okay, although I'm not really interested in reading about characters having kids, sometimes it happens.  Fair enough.  However, the ending I think I hate most is the one where after you have a character who okay, wants a family and is okay with their pregnancy and so on, ends up with three or more kids and...that's their happy ending.  No no no, not even that.  I mean, I hate the idea that it can't be the things the character has accomplished/overcome that is the happy ending, it's that they have kids, I hate it very much.  It's that characters you think would not want kid after kid after kid (or heck, kids in general)...does that and that's their happy ending.  But that is just my personal gripe.  In short, the ending must be believable.

This reviewer says she feels that a downer ending is a way to mess with the readers.  Hmmmmm, I find that interesting she says this, because I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum.  I feel like a happy ending (particularly when it is not justified) does the same thing.  Now, I will give her some props (or, uh, not really sure of the word) and say that I don't like a downer ending like "Rocks fall and everyone dies."  Like, that exact phrase.   Um, okay, so WHY were we reading this series if that's the ending we get?

I could be completely biased on this topic because I'm more of a horror (well, used to be, before it became hard to find books in the genre)/urban fantasy fan than a romance fan.  See, I like reading a book where I don't know the ending.  I could guess, but that doesn't mean I'd be right.  If I know that the two lead characters are going to end up together and everything will be sappy-happy, then why am I reading the book?  Here I'll add that there's one good thing about the paranromal romance subgenre (and there's other stuff too, but this is the one that jumps out most), and that is this:  There must be a strong emphasis on the paranormal as well as the romance.  I love reading about supernatural stuff.  Therefore, I'll probably enjoy the paranormal aspects.  So, there is that.  Still, my main thing is that I want to be kept guessing, and have to follow the story to know how it ends.

Okay, so those are the two things.  

Now I'm wondering, how would you react to an ending where the main character, who you expect to die (whether it's because of a prophecy or because they have a high-risk job or...fill in the blank) and who had come close to it before, does die?