Happy Endings

[SevenSquared]

I'm curious about 'happy endings' in erotica.

I recently submitted a story which was basically a fairly formulaic cousin incest story, but with a bit of a 'twist' at the end. Don't get me wrong, we're not talking Sixth Sense here, but it just avoided the usual 'everyone comes, they get together and live happily ever after in a (presumably rather awkward) couple' incest ending.

I can't complain at all about the feedback I have received, it has been plentiful and mostly positive and the critical comments have mostly been constructive. But what I wasn't expecting is that most criticism it has received has been focussed on the ending. I get the feeling that a lot of people were really rooting for the more traditional ending and were left rather disappointed and even a little bit betrayed when they didn't get it.

I don't have a problem with this at all. A lot of other people commented that they liked the ending and personally I am happy with it and think it fits the story, but it got me thinking. Does erotica rely a lot more on the 'happy ending' than regular fiction? Has anybody written any stories with an unconventional or unexpected ending and had success with it? Or has anybody read any good stories with unusual endings? Do endings always have to be 'happy' or has anybody managed to pul off a story with a train-wreck ending? I am currently writing another story where the ending isn't going to be particularly happy (a lot less so than my last one) and I am worried it's going to get ripped apart.

Thoughts?


Edit: Just re-read this and I'm worried it comes off as a thinly veiled 'please read my story and tell me it's good' post. This isn't the case, I'm a lot more interested in thoughts about happy endings in general and success (or lack of) subverting them than in the ending of this particular story.

 

[Handley_Page]

I'm curious about 'happy endings' in erotica.

I recently submitted a story which was basically a fairly formulaic cousin incest story, but with a bit of a 'twist' at the end. Don't get me wrong, we're not talking Sixth Sense here, but it just avoided the usual 'everyone comes, they get together and live happily ever after in a (presumably rather awkward) couple incest ending.

I can't complain at all about the feedback I have received, it has been plentiful and mostly positive and the critical comments have mostly been constructive. But what I wasn't expecting is that most criticism it has received has been focussed on the ending. I get the feeling that a lot of people were really rooting for the more traditional ending and were left rather disappointed and even a little bit betrayed when they didn't get it.

I don't have a problem with this at all. A lot of other people commented that they liked the ending and personally I am happy with it and think it fits the story, but it got me thinking. Does erotica rely a lot more on the 'happy ending' than regular fiction? Has anybody written any stories with an unconventional or unexpected ending and had success with it? Or has anybody read any good stories with unusual endings? Do endings always have to be 'happy' or has anybody managed to pul off a story with a train-wreck ending? I am currently writing another story where the ending isn't going to be particularly happy (a lot less so than my last one) and I am worried it's going to get ripped apart.

Thoughts?


Edit: Just re-read this and I'm worried it comes off as a thinly veiled 'please read my story and tell me it's good' post. This isn't the case, I'm a lot more interested in thoughts about happy endings in general and success (or lack of) subverting them than in the ending of this particular story.

I recall one of the stories by "telephone_man" (which I cannot find now). It was, I suspect, based on his personal experiences of separation, but it was very well written and the ending was not a particularly happy one.
It came as a bit of a shock, but it was so well written I could not ignore it.

I think that if your story is well-crafted & makes sense, the ending does not matter too much (although even I, cynical bloke that I am, do occasionally like to read a happy ending.)
Try not to stretch credulity too far, eh?

 

[PennLady]

I have a feeling there are tons of answers and possible answers to this question, in part b/c there's such a large readership out there and it's pretty impossible to know the demographics of it or anything else.

Personally, I say that the right ending is more important than a happy ending, and anyone who's read my stuff knows, I'm sure, that I'm a big HEA fan. Some people will want a certain ending and be disappointed and there's not much you can do about that. But if the ending fits your characters and the situation, then it's fine.

Sorry, I'm not going to read the story -- I don't care for incest -- but thought I'd toss out a couple of ideas.

 

[talismania]

For readers, it comes down to what they hope to get out of the story. The readers of romances, for example, all but demand happy endings, so much so that HEA (Happy Ever After) is part of most romance publishers' submissions guidelines. Those readers want their characters to end up together and happy! It's a kind of wish fulfillment. So if a romance delivers something else, they're disappointed.

Readers of mysteries, on the other hand, are more interested in the twists and surprises along the way. Readers of incest, well, I don't know much about incest, but I bet there's a significant portion of that readership who want their kink to be accepted, embraced and confirmed at the end of the story. That contingent will be disappointed by anything else.

Does an erotic story need a happy ending to be a successful, hot story? I don't think so. Still, most readers like to see characters to whom they've grown attached, whose adventures they've followed, and in whose well-being they are, as readers, invested, end up all right. It's human nature, I think, to want happy outcomes, even if we accept that things aren't necessarily going to end up that way every time.

 

[D_Lynn]

Hea

I think the responses you're getting in reaction to a non-HEA ending is what you can expect to get every time, regardless of the genre or category. Reading is a form of entertainment and/or escapism, and no one likes to be reminded that things end badly. It's just the way it is. Since voting happens at the end of the story, if the reader feels generally bad, the score will likely suffer.

I wrote a novel a couple years ago that I haven't released. It is BY FAR my best writing, in my opinion. However, my test readers hated it because it did not have a HEA ending. The ending was realistic, no doubt, but not happy. I haven't been able to make myself re-write it, but I know if/when I ever do release it, I will have to do so.

That being said...write it the way you feel it should end; votes be damned. You're not getting paid for higher scores on this site. Just brace yourself for the inevitable backlash of comments that will result as the reader comes back to the reality that the world is an unfair place.

 

[Stella_Omega]

If it's erotic, I want the characters to be satisfied and changed a little. I want a happy ending, although I don't always expect a happy-ever-after ending.

Regarding the incest category, it seems to me that fetishists have a real interest in seeing everything go perfectly. They want a continual reassurance that incest is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing. Which is understandable, when you think about it...

 

[sr71plt]

I don't do many happy endings (and, yes, get dinked about it--even from one of my publishers). But the genre I usually write in with this name doesn't lend itself to a lot of happy endings since I want to keep it realistic and often am trying to give it a deeper meaning than "they looked at each other and liked what they saw and fucked like bunnies and lived happily ever after."

 

[soflabbwlvr]

Personally, I say that the right ending is more important than a happy ending, and anyone who's read my stuff knows, I'm sure, that I'm a big HEA fan. Some people will want a certain ending and be disappointed and there's not much you can do about that. But if the ending fits your characters and the situation, then it's fine.

I think the responses you're getting in reaction to a non-HEA ending is what you can expect to get every time, regardless of the genre or category. Reading is a form of entertainment and/or escapism, and no one likes to be reminded that things end badly. It's just the way it is. Since voting happens at the end of the story, if the reader feels generally bad, the score will likely suffer.

That being said...write it the way you feel it should end; votes be damned. You're not getting paid for higher scores on this site. Just brace yourself for the inevitable backlash of comments that will result as the reader comes back to the reality that the world is an unfair place.

I think PL and D_L hit the nail on the head. I've done a few that lacked the HEA. Generally, they scored lower and comments were less warm, like this one:

The ending sucked! Why not just cuddle up and call it a great weekend?

Nonetheless, that's what the story required. I'd do it that way ten out of ten times if that's how it needs to be written.

 

[alwayswantedto]

<deleted>

 

[Feotakahari]

I'm a little surprised nobody else has mentioned how frequently some sections feature unhappy endings. Erotic Horror in particular is not recommendable for the weak of nerve, and Mind Control can end quite unpleasantly as well.

 

[PayDay]

They like what they like.

This is an pretty broad topic to get into, but I'll start with this:

If your ending, fits your story, then you did it right. Period.

You can't make everyone happy, and you can't expect them to understand what you do concerning your story unless you write it in. Even then, the chances are slim, as everyone interprets everything differently. If you are writing for praise, good luck to you.

I just treat endings like afterglow, it it leaves me warm and fuzzy, then it was worth it. Although, there is nothing wrong with a few tears, a plot twist, a scare, or a WTF moment.