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Post by fluke on Nov 5, 2011 12:04:02 GMT -5
We've had mostly happy endings in TC2 but some stories that end unhappily for a reason. Just looking at my own stories, "The Strong Survive" has a very happy ending. But go back to "Sunset Over Gunther" and be prepared for the MC to be run through the ringer. So far, my other Shylocke stories all end with him in mixed situations.
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Post by newburydave on Nov 9, 2011 11:29:44 GMT -5
As Christian Sf writers I feel that we need to ultimately have happy endings to point our readers to THE Happy Ending in Christ and his coming Kingdom. Also, in down times (like we're in now) people turn to fiction for the feel good of a POV they can identify with who pushes through difficulty and achieves a happy ending. It's basic human psychology. It's also good marketing for the writer who want's to be successful and gather a wide audience. If we want to be widely read, so our messages and themes will be absorbed by a lot of people, then we must keep this in mind. (We are a missionary band, are we not?) Based on the personal goals statements I see in the Anomalous Sandbox, and here in the Anomaly, we're all writing for the sake of spreading Gospel truth to the multitudes. We need to succeed for the Kingdom's sake if that be the case. I am convinced that Spirit led, Spirit Filled Christians should be able to do a better job a this writing stuff than any secular writer is able to do. "Trusting in the Lord I feel the conquerors tread;" the old gospel song says. Let us trust fully and go forth to conquer!!!!! Oh, sorry; sometimes I get carried away. Ahem, by all means write happy endings and draw the crowds to your writing. Draw them to the truth as it is in Jesus. Write on beloved siblings SGD dave
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celesta
Junior Member
Author of Inspirational Science Fiction
Posts: 66
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Post by celesta on Dec 21, 2011 16:05:25 GMT -5
I cannot stand bad endings. Noble endings I can tolerate if there is sadness but bad depressing sad endings are pretty much worthless from my point of view. If I wanted depressing sadness I would read the news.
You are correct about there being mostly sad/bad ending for short stories that are traditionally published. I don't know what it is about many editors that they want to publish such twisted stuff. Writers I have spoken to about this topic confessed that they had to change their style to become more dark/depressing to get their short stories published. One friend even shared that a magazine really liked a story she wrote that but they asked her to change the ending because it was to unrealistic (happy).
I do think Christian stories do have a higher % of happy endings over all.
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Post by Divides the Waters on Feb 23, 2012 3:20:35 GMT -5
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Post by justinjoesherman on Mar 1, 2012 9:07:42 GMT -5
I like that article posted (www.religion-online.org). Love this quote from it: "We are characters in the universal drama which God is writing in time." This is so true! The Book of Revelations is clear that God wins in the end! We know the ending of our own story, so it is only natural that we should want to write our own stories about characters who learn to trust in God. I guess this is why I've been so attracted over the last few years to books whose writers have a Christian worldview. Besides, I have very little time to read for fun with work, family, and my own writing. Why read 300 pages (or, now maybe 400-500) of story that has a "downer" ending? Just doesn't float my boat anymore!
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cdeb
Junior Member
Posts: 83
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Post by cdeb on Mar 2, 2012 6:51:17 GMT -5
A couple of comments, first about the Hunger Games and then about Happy Endings. The Hunger Games, My youngest daughter (14) downloaded the original book in the trilogy on her Kindle app. She told us it was like the Gladiators -we thought of the TV show, not the fate of 1st century Christians ). But when I checked into it, it seemed to be based on the Roman Gladiators. Since she had been reading some Christian children/YA books on Christians at the time of the original gladiators, it was a natural progression. Then she was desparate to read the next book. Since it was clear SF, my wife looked at me to read the first book before allowing our daughter to proceed. I can make the following comments: the dystopia into which the children find themselves is an appauling take about how humans can treat each other, but not, sadly, at all unrealistic when we look at the world around us today. The author said she was inspired by the reality game shows of today, so in that sense there is a level of satire. The story is pretty gripping and ( BIG PLOT SPOILER) there is a "happy ending" for the central character...What is hard as a Christian is to see children compete for their lives...that said, much of the nastiness happens off stage and is not dwelt on in the narrative. So, the explicit violence I feared wasn't there. We allowed our daughter to continue reading the series, since in anycase the whole church youth group seemed to have already read it! Its really the concept that is most difficult to take. But, somebody does need to take a good shot at where TV game shows are heading and the gladiators did exist and do the things which we read in the hunger games. The comment on Happy endings will come in the next post
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cdeb
Junior Member
Posts: 83
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Post by cdeb on Mar 2, 2012 8:05:19 GMT -5
First PS on Hunger Games, I haven't read the second or third books. I probably will as it seems when anybody in the family buys a ebook on Amazon, the rest of us with Kindle Apps get it by default! I will probably read the rest of the series, but I am trying to read short stories at the moment with the aim of improving mine! Happy Endings This thread was a bit of a head-ups for me as when reflecting on the stories I have written in the last year (2 out of 5 end with the death of the central character! Of course, for us as Christians death is not the end, so in 1 of the 2, its clear where the protagonist is going ;D. I prefer happy endings as long as they are a realistic extension of the rest of the book. I.e. I don't like something to come out of the blue and save everybody. As somebody has famously said your end should come from your beginning...there needs to be consistency in the whole story or novel. In the two stories where I have a death, you already know that from the title, so its not at all unexpected I take Dave's point about the fact that as Christians we are partakers of life in all its fullness and so it is natural to have happy endings, based on our ultimate Hope. But I also would say we live in a broken world which is not going to get ultimately fixed until the second coming (though I firmly believe we should be expecting and working towards God's Kingdom here and now as well as when the final curtain gets pulled) Reflecting further, the thing I hate most is unresolved ends, not whether it ends happily or not. However, one of the reasons that I started to write again was the fact that all the secular SF I was reading was so depressing-because there seemed to be so little hope expressed and I definitely aim to work against this sense of despair and hopelessness I find in secular fiction.
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Post by justinjoesherman on Mar 4, 2012 23:16:10 GMT -5
I would agree, cdeb, that a happy ending should be a natural extension of the story. While I love happy endings, I don't believe that deux ex machina should rule the day, either (in some cases, literally God saving the day!). However, I have read some fine stories where the faith of the protagonist was made stronger through the events of the story, and through that faith he/she was saved (literally and figuratively).
Thanks for the post on Hunger Games, as well! My daughter received a copy of the book recently, and I didn't know whether or not to let her dig in.
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eph612
New Member
Fight the good fight of faith... 1 Tim 6:12
Posts: 18
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Post by eph612 on Mar 5, 2012 10:44:05 GMT -5
I also agree that Christian SF should have a happy ending. A story with a dark ending leaves no hope for the characters, let alone the reader. They read your story to escape the stresses of everyday life. If they read that even a fictional character is doomed, what hope do they have? One of my stories takes place in a dark future where the Great Apostasy has occurred. To be a Christian is to invite instant execution. But even though it takes place in the Church's darkest hour, the hope and grace of Christ is present, and it is in these times that God finds those who can lead others out of the darkness.
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rjj7
Full Member
Today I'm a drake
Posts: 202
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Post by rjj7 on Mar 5, 2012 12:26:27 GMT -5
I believe there is a certain amount of variability present depending on how one defines happy endings.
By my definition, a story should always have a happy ending. However, I don't define happy endings as being 'the protagonist lives happily ever after'. Rather, I think that a happy ending is simply one that emphasizes an expression of hope, in one way or another.
Take the Lord of the Rings. Did it have a happy ending? Yes. And no. But no matter how sad it was in various ways, Tolkien didn't cut it off at the aforementioned sadness. Instead, he ended it in the home of a family with a young child; a family with the responsibility of continuing, and rebuilding everything that was destroyed. Even though a lot of what the reader loves has just passed out of the world, there are other things that continue, and it is there that Tolkien chose to end the story. So even though the end was very sad, it was still definitely a happy ending.
**Individual reactions to the end of the Lord of the Rings may vary. Results are not guaranteed.
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Post by Kessie on Mar 5, 2012 14:35:06 GMT -5
There are some endings that the ending takes place before the actual end of the book, like Starswarm by Pournelle. The truce is negotiated and a bright future is assured, all while the bad guy is still pointing a gun at the hero's head, so it's easy to miss. Then the book ends and you're left going, "Wut!" But if you paid attention, the ending already happened.
I like endings with at least some hope. In Fire and Hemlock, by Jones, it does look like the bad guy wins. But through a twisty series of loopholes, the heroine pins down how she and the hero can live happily ever after as long as they stay vigilant against the villain. It's not exactly a comfortable ending, but it's cautiously happy. Because the heroes have a chance.
I'd rather read those sorts than the "THAY DIED WAT A GRATE BOOK" kinds. And not even like Romeo and Juliet. Like that one I just read, where at the end, the hero at the end is worse off than he was at the beginning of the story. I felt bad for having taken the hero on that journey and abandoning him to his lousy fate.
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Post by tris on Mar 6, 2012 8:40:22 GMT -5
Kessie, I'm with you. If a book leaves me more depressed, I don't want any part of it. I read books to escape from reality, not be reminded of how grim and depressing things already are.
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