What are your thoughts on “happily ever after” endings?
(submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)
Well, I read a lot of romance, so of course I do like a HEA. It’s a guarantee in Romance (or a HFN, at least) and I love seeing the ways different writers tackle this, giving us enough obstacles to keep the tension up but making sure there’s nothing major that’ll turn us against the character completely.
In other genres, I think HEAs can be done well, but no matter what I’m reading I want the ending to be satisfying. Returning to Romance, because it is the genre known for HEAs, if things feel like they fall into place too easily for the characters to have their HEA, I tend to dislike it more than if it feels like they’ve worked towards it. Similarly, in other genres I read, I like a HEA if the characters have earned it. In horror, of course, they’re more rare – characters usually end up broken, if they survive, but sometimes it’s a restoration or reconstruction of the status quo, and the best possible outcome for the characters. Maybe a MC in Horror does find love, banish the ghosts, and settles into their home by the end – if it’s earned, it works. If it feels like the world was about to end right until the last chapter, then suddenly a hero swoops in out of nowhere and saves the day and oh, look, everything’s back to normal, and characters can live happily ever after – nope, throwing that book across the room!
Similarly with Fantasy – HEAs can work if they are earned. I think that goes for pretty much all HEAs, though. There’s a lot of genres where it’s not a requirement, and in that case whatever ending suits is going to be the best ending. So yes, I do like HEAs, I love reading a HEA, especially when I’m in more of a light-hearted mood for reading, but no matter the genre, if there is a HEA then I want to feel like it’s been earned, and it makes the most sense for the story to conclude in that way, rather than feeling like the HEA has been squeezed in for the sake of it.
Unwrapping Words 