And they lived happily ever after...
So, this post is a result of a recent discussion with citron_presse and spending way too much time on metafandom (also from talks with shiparker a while ago on a subject related to this topic).
There are certain pressures that come with the territory of being a writer, some (mostly?) of which comes from the readers. My question to you, the writers on my flist, is have you ever felt pressured to end a story a certain way because you know the fans will love it? Have you ever compromised an ending? To what extent? How did you feel about it afterwards? On the flip side, have you written an ending because it's what *you* wanted to see happen?
I think it's safe to say the 'happy' ending is the most pleasing for a lot of readers, and from what I've noticed (you may have observed differently, or not), the ones that also tend to get the most reviews. So it's understandable how it can be tempting to finish a fic on a good note. Of course, there's also wanting to see the characters happy and together, and all that other good stuff. The 'unhappy' ending on the other hand, is not as well liked (from what I've experienced).
I should probably define what I mean by 'happy' and 'unhappy,' eh? Endings where the characters get together/are left with the clear notion they have found true wub and everything is hunky-dory, is generally what I think readers consider a 'happy' ending. For 'unhappy' endings, I think readers tend to view those as where the characters don't get together (regardless of the reason), and things aren't tied up with a nice pretty bow.
It's always interesting to me, to see how a fic ends. Especially chaptered stories, or extended one-shots. I suppose the ideal way to close off a story would be independent of the writer's feelings/wishes to see something happen and, really only what the text demands. But those damn authorial insecurities always spring up ;) and thoughts of what the readers would like/getting more feedback tend to get in the way. Everyone's susceptible to it, I think. I mean, how exactly do you stay objective? I don't think there's anything *wrong* with concluding a story to how you personally want to see it (although I do think it's toeing the line), but I firmly believe that at the end of day, it's better to finish in a way that best reflects the context of the text and emotional states of the characters as written in the story. And, hey, sometimes what you want and how things *should* end overlap! Everyone's a winner then =)
For me, personally, the best example I can think of is the ending to Purgatory (where the characters don't get together). What *I* wanted to see happen was that Mark really *does* move back to New York after everything is said and done, and Lexie becomes just another thing of his past (and, I admit, I'm still more partial to this than the current one, lol). But, even as I was thinking it out, I felt it was out of synch with the rest of the fic, so I opted for something that felt more appropriate as to where the characters stood by the end (leaving the door open for the characters to get back together). And even then, last minute changes were made to 'soften the blow' for the readers. (Now I look back and wonder if that was really necessary?)
When I read a fic, I like the endings that are a little sad. I don't need my characters to get together, but I do want them to be in a Good Place (both individually and how they relate to one another). Tidy endings are okay, but I like the messy, ambiguous ones more (even though I hate being left with questions!). I find those are the stories that make me think and go back and examine sections over and over, until I form some sort of conclusion (if only because I'm literature deprived, heh).
Sooooo. This brings us back to the original question: have you ever felt pressured to write a certain ending to your fic, so as to please the audience?
I feel like I alienate people who don't write with posts like these, and I don't intend that at all. If you don't write, you're more than welcome to leave your thoughts on how you like to see a story end, etc (it would actually be pretty insightful for writers, I'd imagine).
P.S. I don't know how many of you are hanging around on LJ because of the holidays and all, but for those of you who do leave a comment, I probably won't be able to get back to you until the day after since I'm going snowboarding tomorrow (yay!). Although, feel free to talk amongst yourselves if you should feel like it =) And, I think this shall be my new meta icon, yes? ^^
P.P.S. Also, this comes very close to another thing I'd like to talk about One Day: 'angst endings =/= realism'
I'm sure some of you will already know my stance on this :P
There are certain pressures that come with the territory of being a writer, some (mostly?) of which comes from the readers. My question to you, the writers on my flist, is have you ever felt pressured to end a story a certain way because you know the fans will love it? Have you ever compromised an ending? To what extent? How did you feel about it afterwards? On the flip side, have you written an ending because it's what *you* wanted to see happen?
I think it's safe to say the 'happy' ending is the most pleasing for a lot of readers, and from what I've noticed (you may have observed differently, or not), the ones that also tend to get the most reviews. So it's understandable how it can be tempting to finish a fic on a good note. Of course, there's also wanting to see the characters happy and together, and all that other good stuff. The 'unhappy' ending on the other hand, is not as well liked (from what I've experienced).
I should probably define what I mean by 'happy' and 'unhappy,' eh? Endings where the characters get together/are left with the clear notion they have found true wub and everything is hunky-dory, is generally what I think readers consider a 'happy' ending. For 'unhappy' endings, I think readers tend to view those as where the characters don't get together (regardless of the reason), and things aren't tied up with a nice pretty bow.
It's always interesting to me, to see how a fic ends. Especially chaptered stories, or extended one-shots. I suppose the ideal way to close off a story would be independent of the writer's feelings/wishes to see something happen and, really only what the text demands. But those damn authorial insecurities always spring up ;) and thoughts of what the readers would like/getting more feedback tend to get in the way. Everyone's susceptible to it, I think. I mean, how exactly do you stay objective? I don't think there's anything *wrong* with concluding a story to how you personally want to see it (although I do think it's toeing the line), but I firmly believe that at the end of day, it's better to finish in a way that best reflects the context of the text and emotional states of the characters as written in the story. And, hey, sometimes what you want and how things *should* end overlap! Everyone's a winner then =)
For me, personally, the best example I can think of is the ending to Purgatory (where the characters don't get together). What *I* wanted to see happen was that Mark really *does* move back to New York after everything is said and done, and Lexie becomes just another thing of his past (and, I admit, I'm still more partial to this than the current one, lol). But, even as I was thinking it out, I felt it was out of synch with the rest of the fic, so I opted for something that felt more appropriate as to where the characters stood by the end (leaving the door open for the characters to get back together). And even then, last minute changes were made to 'soften the blow' for the readers. (Now I look back and wonder if that was really necessary?)
When I read a fic, I like the endings that are a little sad. I don't need my characters to get together, but I do want them to be in a Good Place (both individually and how they relate to one another). Tidy endings are okay, but I like the messy, ambiguous ones more (even though I hate being left with questions!). I find those are the stories that make me think and go back and examine sections over and over, until I form some sort of conclusion (if only because I'm literature deprived, heh).
Sooooo. This brings us back to the original question: have you ever felt pressured to write a certain ending to your fic, so as to please the audience?
I feel like I alienate people who don't write with posts like these, and I don't intend that at all. If you don't write, you're more than welcome to leave your thoughts on how you like to see a story end, etc (it would actually be pretty insightful for writers, I'd imagine).
P.S. I don't know how many of you are hanging around on LJ because of the holidays and all, but for those of you who do leave a comment, I probably won't be able to get back to you until the day after since I'm going snowboarding tomorrow (yay!). Although, feel free to talk amongst yourselves if you should feel like it =) And, I think this shall be my new meta icon, yes? ^^
P.P.S. Also, this comes very close to another thing I'd like to talk about One Day: 'angst endings =/= realism'
I'm sure some of you will already know my stance on this :P