My Musings

Happily Ever After

I'm stuck where I am in this world, and in this time. I'll probably never get to pilot a starship over the rings of Saturn, stand on the surface of the sun while a solar flare erupts around me, or fly across the sky on the scaly back of a leathery-winged dragon. These are the adventures I want to go on, the things I want to do, and with books, I can live the experience through my characters.

This is one of the reasons why I want to protect my characters and ensure they have a happily ever after because if it was me going on the journey, I wouldn't want it to end badly.

Stories where likable characters are killed, either at the end or along the way, get a lower approval rate with me. Writers should keep in mind their readers attach themselves to the characters, and killing off those friends of the readers will kill off their interest in the story. The whole reason they kept reading was to find out what happened to this person they'd grown to like. With them gone, there is no reason to continue, and there certainly isn't a good reason to come back for the sequel - unless you're bringing the character back from the grave.

Unfortunately, there are some readers and writers who like depressing endings and casualties among the cast. They say it's more realistic. I'm a Christian, and I've read the end of the book. The good guys win, the bad guys go down (all the way down into a fiery abyss), and the good guys live happily ever after. So, who says depressing endings are realistic?

The best advertising an author can have is word of mouth. When people enjoy your work, they tell others about the awesome story they just experienced. Good endings and the protection of characters will keep an audience happy, and they'll be more likely to tell their friends and family all about it, bringing in more readers. Keeping the audience happy grants a greater chance of success as an author.

I have discovered you can put your characters through nine miles of misery if the ending is good enough to justify the journey. If the ending is uplifting or hopeful to the point where the audience can smile and breathe a sigh of relief, they'll be more likely to come back for the sequel or any other books you may choose to write in the future.

Be kind to your readers and don't abuse their trust. Many readers are binge readers in that they will aggressively pursue any and all books by a favorite author. Once they know what to expect from your books and that they can trust you not to knife them through the heart, they'll scoop your books off the shelf without seeing anything other than your name on the cover because if your name is there, it must be good.

One of the things I like about writing is it gives me the power of God. I can craft worlds and reshape them to my heart's content. I can populate it with the right people to counter any problem that may arise, such as raising up heroes to strike down the villains. Everything and everyone is under my control in the fictional domain of my books, so I have the power to guide my characters to the glorious ending I have waiting for them.

I am a daydreamer, a builder of worlds. I am an Author!