Bad Endings?

[SamBomb]

I recently finished my first longer series and in the end and weirdly people actually wanted a bad ending.

Is that what people want? The main character to not gain any type of victory at all? Even a small one?

 

[Bazzle]

I recently finished my first longer series and in the end and weirdly people actually wanted a bad ending.

Is that what people want? The main character to not gain any type of victory at all? Even a small one?

One of my characters died. People were not happy at all.

 

[AllenWoody]

That’s weird. Readers criticized me for not punishing the bad guys enough in the final chapter of Lost Colony.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

That is certainly odd. A bad end is an almost certain downvote in pretty much any category. Generally speaking, lit is happy fantasy land and simple conflict is often unwanted, let alone a bad end.

 

[SamBomb]

Maybe it's the category? Mine is in noncon reluctance.

 

[StillStunned]

I think it depends on the story. If the whole tone indicates an unhappy end, then it would feel strange for things to suddenly turn out right. Unless you've laid the groundwork with foreshadowing, it will come across as a deus ex machina, and I think readers hate that more than they hate unhappy endings.

My two most recent stories - Not A Soul and Rulk the Rat and the Demon Dagger - have dark endings, but "Rulk the Rat" in particular seems to strike a note with readers. I mentioned in another thread (I think the one on unlikeable characters) that I considered giving the main character the prospect of turning his situation around. I decided against it, partly because of the deus ex machina thing, but mostly because the character and the story didn't deserve it.

Other stories also don't have necessarily happy endings. Life and Death of the She-Wolf and The Countesses of Tannensdal leave the outcome unclear, and mostly bleak. But there's a glimmer of hope, and that glimmer is sometimes all you need. "Not A Soul" and "Rulk the Rat" are much darker, but they do still have that glimmer.

 

[alohadave]

I recently finished my first longer series and in the end and weirdly people actually wanted a bad ending.

Is that what people want? The main character to not gain any type of victory at all? Even a small one?

Do you mean bad ending like not a HEA ending, or bad ending like a Stephen king ending?

 

[SamBomb]

It's funny, comments starting coming up in part 3 that they wanted my main character to end up completely corrupted and even the other girl to join her. I steered it toward her getting revenge, which a nice person appreciated.

This comment threw me though:

Would love a “bad” alternative ending! Otherwise good series and I will follow for more

 

[StillStunned]

It's funny, comments starting coming up in part 3 that they wanted my main character to end up completely corrupted and even the other girl to join her. I steered it toward her getting revenge, which a nice person appreciated.

This comment threw me though:

Would love a “bad” alternative ending! Otherwise good series and I will follow for more

Without knowing your story, that sounds to me more like readers wanting the character to be unrepentantly depraved and turn away from the "nice girl" cliché. Which I suppose is to be expected from visitors of what's essentially a porn site.

 

[AllenWoody]

It's funny, comments starting coming up in part 3 that they wanted my main character to end up completely corrupted and even the other girl to join her. I steered it toward her getting revenge, which a nice person appreciated.

This comment threw me though:

Would love a “bad” alternative ending! Otherwise good series and I will follow for more

I’d take it as a compliment. Your readers care enough about your characters that they want them to behave in a certain way. I’ve never written an alternative ending, but it might be fun if the scenario was hot to you.

 

[SamBomb]

I’d take it as a compliment. Your readers care enough about your characters that they want them to behave in a certain way. I’ve never written an alternative ending, but it might be fun if the scenario was hot to you.

I can't think a satisfying one, but yeah ify brain comes up with one that might be fun.

Yeah, I should take it as a positive.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

One of my first yarns had a sad ending for the protagonist. Just about my lowest-voted story and 5e comments were… unhappy. So, yes, I’m with PSG now; this is a place for happy endings.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

They hated my endings on Charli and Aunt Nancy. Both of them tug on you a bit.

 

[Thanatos_X13]

It's funny, comments starting coming up in part 3 that they wanted my main character to end up completely corrupted and even the other girl to join her. I steered it toward her getting revenge, which a nice person appreciated.

This comment threw me though:

Would love a “bad” alternative ending! Otherwise good series and I will follow for more

Honestly, it's about category expectations. As a fellow writer of noncon and longtime reader, you encounter A LOT of stories that follow the "innocent girl is forced and turns into a broken slut" plot line, so that's what many readers are going to expect. It's kind of a genre staple, so it isn't necessarily seen as a "bad ending" by noncon readers, depending on how it's written. That said, there are also tons of revenge stories or stories where the girl gets away or what have you, so you'll have readers who enjoy that route, too. Either way, I wouldn't worry about the comments. It just means the readers got invested and engaged, which is great!

 

[gunhilltrain]

That is certainly odd. A bad end is an almost certain downvote in pretty much any category. Generally speaking, lit is happy fantasy land and simple conflict is often unwanted, let alone a bad end.

That Loving Wives "vibe" creeps into other categories too, the cheating woman who must be dealt with firmly by the strong man theme which is very popular on this site. It doesn't matter that the male character is an inexperienced college student trying to deal with a new and confusing situation. As one reader wrote: "If he wasn't man enough to do his crap [dump her instantly], then he doesn't deserve her." A "man of stone" is the expression used in parts of Europe, and also promulgated by various on-line manosphere gurus.

 

[Codoc24]

Does anyone remember the old movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?" With Robert Redford and Paul Newman. In the ending, they rush out and are killed in a blaze of glory. I had a story end a little like that where the MMC was killed at the end and I got roasted for it. Even my proof/beta reader hated the ending. I told her life doesn't always have happy endings. Oh well, that's the way I wanted it to end, even if it was sad. I liked and sympathized with him a lot. He was caught in a bad situation with 2 no-win options and so he went with the one he thought was his best option.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Hmm. Well I've written bad endings and endings the readers didn't like.
In From Famine to Feast, I totally phoned in the ending and readers called me on it. I fixed it about nine months later.
But in Dreams of Him, the story builds as the wife fantasizes about her future son-in-law and when the story peaks and they have the opportunity to be together, they don't do anything. Readers have responded with, "wait, that's it?" and "characters with integrity, a Lit rarity".
I think that we shouldn't always give the readers what they expect. Stories end the way they do. And as artists, writers get that. Sometimes you gotta drive the T-bird off the cliff. Sometimes you gotta shoot John Doe in the head. My upcoming Halloween story will have an ending that the readers won't like. But it's the right ending.