When I say I want the story to feel "sweet," it’s never about kissing or happy endings.
The "sweet" part is the emotional hit you get when a character chooses loyalty over survival, or when vengeance is finally achieved, but at a cost that breaks the character forever.
It’s the earned gasp.
It’s the two characters who have been fighting physically and morally for three hundred pages finally having a moment of profound, mutual understanding, usually right before one of them dies or commits treason. That connection, forged in fire and absolute misery, is the most genuinely satisfying emotional payoff I can write. That's my version of "sweet." If it’s not dripping with conflict, I lose interest. Wkwkwk
