I know lots of people like to read stories and have a "Happily Ever After" ending. I don't mind those, but I am always impressed when authors choose to not make things end with all well, everyone who you love happy, etc. When you can have an ending that is not what someone might expect, it adds intrigue. I love to have everyone happy, but life doesn't work that way. People leave, loss happens, death occurs, and the world continues to move along.
When you experience loss, you expect everyone to experience the same break you do. The truth is, you are the only one to experience the loss. I am not saying that when someone dies, you are the only one who experiences a loss. What I am saying is that your loss is unique. The person you lost is special to you in a way that is unlike their relationship with any other person.
I recently lost my father. I am not an only child, so I am not the only one who lost a father. My 6 siblings lost a father as well. The difference is that my experience with my father is unlike any of my siblings. I am not saying my loss is greater, nor is it less. It is just different. It was interesting to watch my siblings experience the coming loss. We all had different reactions, different experiences, and different places where we were at any time during the week long process of loss. I attribute this to each of our relationships with dad.
With this recent experience, I realized that I appreciate the realistic portions of books. I want to write real life, real experiences, and reality. I don't mind having some things be unrealistic, but for the most part, I want someone who is reading this to believe that this could happen. I find that when I can put myself into the story and believe that what is happening to the main character is happening to me, I enjoy reading it much more. I do like to read fantasy, though, which has so much based in the unrealistic world. With those stories, I have to suspend my real life experiences, and believe in the unreal. I can do that, as long as the "world" I am reading does not break it's own rules.
I don't know if I could write fantasy, but I do like to read it. I would love to know how others feel about the "Happily Ever After" endings. I've asked some people and they love them, and don't want to read stories that don't end that way. I want to know if anyone else likes the unsuspecting endings.
