"Happily Ever After"?

Status
Not open for further replies.

quickreaver

Neo-beatnik, drab but hip
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
164
Reaction score
9
Location
The Buckeye State
Okay, gang, got a question for you: how important is a 'happily ever after' ending to Urban Fantasy? Since so many novels of this genre drift romantically, will it be satisfying to the reader for a novel, pigeon-holed into this niche, to have a finale' where guy doesn't necessarily get the girl? Thoughts? Personal preferences? All are welcomed!

~Cris
 

Tasmin21

They will come from below...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 16, 2007
Messages
4,558
Reaction score
3,859
Location
Elysia
Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files, has made NOT getting the girl an art form. *nodnod*

ETA: It should also be noted that my protagonist is already happily married, so he's already GOT the girl. ;)
 

nutbird

Almost expert!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
Messages
106
Reaction score
9
No matter what the genre, I love a happy ending, but it doesn't have to be the boy gets the girl kind of happiness. If the romance isn't the driving force of the novel, then the ending is happy enough if the hero conquers the bad guys.

Of course, I'm romantic, so I much prefer a happily ever after romantic ending, as well. :)
 

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 6, 2007
Messages
31,660
Reaction score
11,407
Location
lost among the words
Depends on how important the love story is, honestly. The more important it is, the more I want it to turn out happy.

The one unforgiveable thing for me is if one of the couple dies for NO good reason. That always pisses me off to no end.
 

quickreaver

Neo-beatnik, drab but hip
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
164
Reaction score
9
Location
The Buckeye State
Excellent! I'm glad you guys are being varied and honest. I'm not a particularly "happily ever after" person myself, and I certainly don't want to orchestrate the story a certain way just to placate readers, but it's always good to know what you're up against. I'm trying to brief out my plot before jumping in, and I need to know where I'm going with it. Not that it can't change as I evolve the story...

Great info! Thanks, gang.
 

kaitiepaige17

Inappropriate smiley INCOMINGGGGGG!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
1,744
Reaction score
294
Location
Smiley Heaven.
I like happy endings, but I like different endings (guy doesn't get the girl) more because I think it makes the novel stand out. However, I would be careful doing that, just because you don't want to tick off your readers, therefore losing sales.
 

Stormhawk

Angry Bunny Girl
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
1,191
Reaction score
117
Location
In my head.
Website
www.requirecookie.com
Two of my characters get a happy ending...it takes a long, extremely complicated road to get there, but they manage it. But that's ok, because they're nearly universally shipped by my fandom. :D
 

hillaryjacques

Undercover, sort of...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
8,826
Reaction score
2,856
Location
Alaska
UF doesn't require happily ever after. UF series appear to do just as well with happily right now or the reverse (death, betrayal), if romance is a major component.

Romance makes for an good subplot in UF, and tends to highlight a side/depth to the MCs you wouldn't otherwise see, but doesn't need to be the focus.
 

quickreaver

Neo-beatnik, drab but hip
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
164
Reaction score
9
Location
The Buckeye State
That's what I was thinking, Hillary. Well, hoping, anyway! My plot is certainly leaning that way. There's such a swell of overt romance to a great many UF stories I was afraid I would have to tie everything up into a neat little bow to appeal to a publisher. (Heh...I'm already thinking 'publishers' and I haven't gotten much on paper, to speak of. Wishful thinking?)
 

Stacia Kane

Girl Detective
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
8,142
Reaction score
2,668
Location
In cahoots with the other boo-birds
Website
www.staciakane.com
UF doesn't require happily ever after. UF series appear to do just as well with happily right now or the reverse (death, betrayal), if romance is a major component.

Romance makes for an good subplot in UF, and tends to highlight a side/depth to the MCs you wouldn't otherwise see, but doesn't need to be the focus.


Ditto.

There are UFs with very strong emphasis on the romance, and UFs with hardly any romance at all, but even for the romantic ones the romance isn't usually all wrapped up in a single book.
 

Leanan-Sidhe

leaving trails of fairy dust
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
351
Reaction score
1,003
Location
Faerieland
I'm pretty much just going to second all the good answers above me. If you were writing paranormal romance, it would be necessary, but not for UF.
 

Ravenlocks

How novel.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
634
Reaction score
89
Location
Beverly Hills
Website
kbloginla.wordpress.com
I'll third the above. I need a satisfying ending, but it doesn't have to be "happily ever after."

In fact, if I'm reading a standalone novel that also happens to be the first in a series, and there's a major romantic relationship that ends with the MC getting the guy/girl at the end of the book, I'm less likely to read the next book. I feel like everything's been resolved, so why would I need to read more? The characterization has to be stellar for me to overcome this and try the next book. I say that in case you were considering a series. :)
 

hillaryjacques

Undercover, sort of...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
8,826
Reaction score
2,856
Location
Alaska
I'll third the above. I need a satisfying ending, but it doesn't have to be "happily ever after."

In fact, if I'm reading a standalone novel that also happens to be the first in a series, and there's a major romantic relationship that ends with the MC getting the guy/girl at the end of the book, I'm less likely to read the next book. I feel like everything's been resolved, so why would I need to read more? The characterization has to be stellar for me to overcome this and try the next book. I say that in case you were considering a series. :)

My WIP is out with my critique group (three guys, no less), and they got about half way in and started complaining that the romance is peripheral to the story. The encounters with my heroine and her new boyfriend are amusing, so perhaps that's what they like. But all I could say was: "she's busy...got a killer to catch".

I like romance. I like sexy scenes. I don't want it to get in the way of the plot and, in UF, I generally don't like it to be the plot for a single book. It can become the most important thing to an MC during the course of a series...that I can understand.
 

quickreaver

Neo-beatnik, drab but hip
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
164
Reaction score
9
Location
The Buckeye State
I AM already thinking about sequels, Ravenlocks...isn't that ballsy of me? So your opinion is good to hear.

That's interesting, Hillary! DUDES are complaining the romance isn't front-and-center enough? My, how times have changed! But you know, that brings up another loosely related topic: how racy should said romances be? Or is it really relavent if you're not writing erotica? I've actually heard (from guys, no less) that the Anita Blake books have gotten too bawdy, given their genre. Thoughts?
 

Oberon89

The Druid you're looking for
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
192
Reaction score
28
Location
Arizona
Methinks it's a matter of personal preference (answering your question of how much romance is too much), both as a reader and as a writer.

For myself, it needs to be a subplot or even peripheral, and not all that explicit; if I wanted romance, I'd browse the romance shelves, not SF/F. In my books, characters have sex (offstage) and there's some romantic tension, but it's like Tabasco for the main course, you know? I've read books where the romance is far more developed and much more explicit, and since they do very well no one can say that one way is better than another. Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden never seems to get any and those books are #1 bestsellers...so go with what you like to read (and write).
 

hillaryjacques

Undercover, sort of...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
8,826
Reaction score
2,856
Location
Alaska
Quickreaver,

Taste is, obviously, subjective. I would say the raciness is whatever you're comfortable writing and whatever fits your characters/situations.

I haven't read the Anita Blake series, but what I hear is that the series morphed from good storytelling into basic or bland storytelling with an surfeit of explicit sex. However, I've noticed that they keep selling.

SIDENOTE: There is an anthology of essays by other writers about the Anita Blake series in which (so I'm told) a member of LKH's writing group recalled her stating (at the beginning of the series) that AB would never engage in explicit sex. So, in a way, I applaud the author for being able to grow her character beyond the original parameters and letting her evolve within the context of the world she built.
 

Salis

You Lie!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 10, 2009
Messages
725
Reaction score
91
KILL SOMEONE.

That's really my philosophy, summed up, at all times.
 

Etola

Still looking for stars...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 10, 2006
Messages
2,867
Reaction score
429
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
My personal thoughts as far as happy endings with characters coming together romantically: it really depends on whether their relationship is plausible, given the nature/personality of the characters. I've been frustrated with more than one book that ended with the main character hooked up with someone who seemed to exist in the book just to be their S.O., but who was utterly flat or who didn't seem right for them. Or cases where they were 'paired up' because they were the hero and heroine, but the build-up wasn't convincing and it was obvious that they weren't long-term compatible.

Write your characters as who they are. If they naturally grow towards each other into a relationship, go with it. If they don't, then don't pair them up just because you feel your audience expects it.
 

LadyMage

Coffee habit ahoy
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
161
Reaction score
6
Location
New York City
Website
www.katherinegilraine.com
It really depends on the story. I generally am in the middle; at times, I like to see a happy ending, but at others, I'd like to see the character not get what he/she wants, but at the same time come out a bit better for it. Kind of in that Scarlett O'Hara, tomorrow-is-another-day way. As it's been said above: satisfying, not necessarily happy.

That's just me, though. I keep my main character and her actual romantic interest in a perennial dance around the obvious. I want to put them together, but the story's more or less been writing itself and it's saying, "Not yet! They have to do X, Y, and Z first!"
 

Aservan

Just me
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
126
Reaction score
19
Location
Delaware
Romance is a hard one. If you have the dark ending it's bad. You'll get the, "What the hell was the point of that! Stupid emo buttnugget!" response.

If it's too sappy you'll get the "Oh my God, get me a bucket. I just threw up," reaction.

I think you have to balance it. When you make the romance cross multiple books people will lose interest. At some point the window closes and no matter how talented you are your readers won't believe it when you open it.

Butcher did this one.
*SpoilerS*
He finally gets Murphy and Dresden together in the last book. Unfortunately it's too late. It amounts to a "What the heck? I need some comfort" moment which really lacks drama. Besides Murphy is like 45 now and Harry's physically younger. Cougar town will work for awhile, but I don't think he can sell it long term. That gives it a "who cares?" aspect.

At the end of the day people want to read about sex and violence because those are the primitive instincts we don't get to indulge but would like to. My advice is to do the mixed ending as others suggest. Don't make it all happy ever after, leave some issues to resolve, but don't kill everyone either.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.