[stylist] Tragic endings?

[James Canaday M.A. N6YR]

helene,
whether to have a tragic ending is one of those many choices the 
author must make.  tragedy can highlight the strength of a character, 
the value of something/someone lost.  what are the strings you want 
to tie up in the ending?  do you, as judith points out, wish to write 
a sequel?  and just what would make it  tragic as an ending anyway?

do you as an author  have an interest in the "tragic ending" to 
highlight a particular emotional pressure in the story?  or some 
theme you wish to underscore?

does the tragic ending, by contrast,  highlight some happiness 
elsewhere in the story?

you shouldn't have a tragic ending, just to have one, in my humble 
opinion.  just like you shouldn't always default to a "happy ending."

some stories/books I've read, the end was not so clear anyway.  the 
hero wins the proverbial battle while losing the proverbial war, for example.

jc

Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS


At 07:13 PM 4/2/2009, you wrote:
>If you plan to write a sequel only you know how the book will begin 
>and what characters you need to be alive.  Endings are your 
>choice.  Some wonderful books have tragic endings.  Some leave the 
>reader laughing and everything else is somewhere in the 
>middle.  Only you know where your book is coming from and where you 
>want it to go to.  Judith
>----- Original Message ----- From: "helene ryles" <dreamavdb at googlemail.com>
>To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 7:22 PM
>Subject: [stylist] Tragic endings?
>
>
>>What do people think of sad/tragic endings?
>>
>>rounding off a story is difficult in any case. Some books I've enjoyed
>>seem to spoil it a bit by creating superficially 'happy' endings that
>>aren't very realistic.
>>
>>Should a writer always aim for a happy ending or is it better to let
>>the events in the book take their natural course. Even if it involves
>>some of the major good characters being killed or seriously wounded
>>and the villans getting the power they were craving for?
>>
>>What about if a book with a tragic ending has a sequel where the
>>Villans are eventually have to face up to their evil actions?
>>
>>Helene
>>
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>
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