Post by Radrook Admin on Dec 5, 2022 14:00:31 GMT -5
Careful With Being Predictable
As readers of short stories and novels, we enjoy drama. Now, drama consists of conflict. It can be man against man, nature against man, or man against himself. Such struggle or conflict makes the reader wonder just how the story is going to turn out. Will the protagonist succeed? Will he fail? Will he barely escape with his life? Will he emerge with a better life or a ruined one that begs for a resolution? Such a mystery or not knowing, keeps readers reading in order to find out.
But suppose that we as writers always guarantee our readers a happy ending. Suppose we know that whatever the dangers that the protagonist encounters, he or she will ultimately be OK? Well, in such a case the story is divested of the drama even before we attempt to read it.
Is the story about extraterrestrials? Well, we already know that they really will not pose any danger to the protagonist. In fact, it is guaranteed beforehand that they will be the human protagonist's benefactor no matter how terrifying they might physically appear. So there goes the tension. Now, the only thing left to keep the reader reading stories that invariably end this way because the author prefers them to, is what nifty idea that the author will use in order to produce a happy ending this time around.
Now, please note that the majority of readers don't enjoy knowing a story's general outcome beforehand. However, there is a certain type of reader who is extremely emotionally supersensitive to any violence or any thing that might induce fear or apprehension by reading. In fact, some of these readers will immediately abandon a story as soon as some drop of blood is shed or if a character seems to be undergoing some nasty experience. Then they give the story a low rating, if such an option is available, and seek another writer who will leave them feeling swell.
So should we imitate such a predictable writer? Well, as a reader myself, I just can't seem to become interested in stories that I am 100% certain will always turn out well. Why? simple, because like the vast majority of readers, I become distracted by the author's constant effort to keep the story on the happy- ending track, an author who considers all stories that contain anything that might make the reader feel a little worried to be flawed.
It's as if I am being constantly reminded a happy ending will be introduced because it is all that matters. After all, why worry about a criminal when he's really harmless? Why worry about how the people in the story suffer if we know that they will wind up happy. Why worry about a mountain climber when we already know he will succeed or else be perfectly OK if not more OK at the end? Why worry about people undergoing homelessness in a story when we know that they will be OK?
No, as a reader, I seek much more than that. As a reader I like the uncertainty of not knowing whether the hero will be mangled or suffer serious loss in his quest. To wonder whether a marriage will turn out good or bad. To wonder if the person will recover from an illness or die a meaningless death for something he considered precious. To not know for certain whether the invading aliens are either good or bad. It keeps me reading, so I assume that such an approach in writing my own short stories will keep the reader reading as well.
But suppose that we as writers always guarantee our readers a happy ending. Suppose we know that whatever the dangers that the protagonist encounters, he or she will ultimately be OK? Well, in such a case the story is divested of the drama even before we attempt to read it.
Is the story about extraterrestrials? Well, we already know that they really will not pose any danger to the protagonist. In fact, it is guaranteed beforehand that they will be the human protagonist's benefactor no matter how terrifying they might physically appear. So there goes the tension. Now, the only thing left to keep the reader reading stories that invariably end this way because the author prefers them to, is what nifty idea that the author will use in order to produce a happy ending this time around.
Now, please note that the majority of readers don't enjoy knowing a story's general outcome beforehand. However, there is a certain type of reader who is extremely emotionally supersensitive to any violence or any thing that might induce fear or apprehension by reading. In fact, some of these readers will immediately abandon a story as soon as some drop of blood is shed or if a character seems to be undergoing some nasty experience. Then they give the story a low rating, if such an option is available, and seek another writer who will leave them feeling swell.
So should we imitate such a predictable writer? Well, as a reader myself, I just can't seem to become interested in stories that I am 100% certain will always turn out well. Why? simple, because like the vast majority of readers, I become distracted by the author's constant effort to keep the story on the happy- ending track, an author who considers all stories that contain anything that might make the reader feel a little worried to be flawed.
It's as if I am being constantly reminded a happy ending will be introduced because it is all that matters. After all, why worry about a criminal when he's really harmless? Why worry about how the people in the story suffer if we know that they will wind up happy. Why worry about a mountain climber when we already know he will succeed or else be perfectly OK if not more OK at the end? Why worry about people undergoing homelessness in a story when we know that they will be OK?
No, as a reader, I seek much more than that. As a reader I like the uncertainty of not knowing whether the hero will be mangled or suffer serious loss in his quest. To wonder whether a marriage will turn out good or bad. To wonder if the person will recover from an illness or die a meaningless death for something he considered precious. To not know for certain whether the invading aliens are either good or bad. It keeps me reading, so I assume that such an approach in writing my own short stories will keep the reader reading as well.