The Perfect Happy Ending
Continuing my theme, I'll confess right here I always read the last page of a book first. Well, I don't do that with physics texts. But pretty much anything else, I do. Last page of a mystery. Most especially, last page of any book with a romantic entanglement. I like my happy ending.
When my best friend goes to the movies (she doesn't have children and can get out to a LOT more movies than I can . . . plus she is a NetFlix queen and we both adore films) . . . my usual question to her afterwards when she phones me (we live far apart) is "Can I go see it?" That is shorthand for "If there isn't a happy ending, I'm not going." If she says yes, then I delve further. "Is is MY kind of a happy ending? An 'all the bells and whistles' happy ending?" Shorthand for "Or is it a so-so happy ending, like the end of the Fabulous Baker Boys where you think perhaps they MIGHT rekindle their romance but it's ambiguous" (and I did love the movie, but . . . it wasn't an 'all the bells and whistles' ending).
So it is that I am an Ending Cheater.
I am not sure when this End Cheating started, but I think it PROBABLY was about the time I had Child #3. Because by then, my entertainment time was starting to dwindle to near-nothing. When I had one child, I occasionally hired a babysitter. I got out with my friends, I went to movies. With two . . . same story. When #3 came along, she was a wonderful surprise, but it meant two in diapers at once, and I just never was entirely comfortable leaving my kids with sitters unless it was their aunties--two in diapers is a handful. So I didn't get out as much. Then there was a longish stretch--one child a teen, one a tween, one a well-behaved little girl. I could go out again. And then . . . well, if you are a regular blog reader, you know the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse rode roughshod through my house and delivered me a Demon Baby. Getting out? HA! I'm delighted if I get though an entire shower without interruption. Hence . . . if I see a movie of any sort, or read a book of any sort, it's limited by time and exhuastion. I want to be 100% positive it's worth my time investment.
So I cheat.
Any other Ending Cheaters out there? Why do you do so? And are you in search of the Perfect Happy Ending? What about your works in progress? (I'm usually inclined to give mine the bells-and-whistles variety--but not always).
When my best friend goes to the movies (she doesn't have children and can get out to a LOT more movies than I can . . . plus she is a NetFlix queen and we both adore films) . . . my usual question to her afterwards when she phones me (we live far apart) is "Can I go see it?" That is shorthand for "If there isn't a happy ending, I'm not going." If she says yes, then I delve further. "Is is MY kind of a happy ending? An 'all the bells and whistles' happy ending?" Shorthand for "Or is it a so-so happy ending, like the end of the Fabulous Baker Boys where you think perhaps they MIGHT rekindle their romance but it's ambiguous" (and I did love the movie, but . . . it wasn't an 'all the bells and whistles' ending).
So it is that I am an Ending Cheater.
I am not sure when this End Cheating started, but I think it PROBABLY was about the time I had Child #3. Because by then, my entertainment time was starting to dwindle to near-nothing. When I had one child, I occasionally hired a babysitter. I got out with my friends, I went to movies. With two . . . same story. When #3 came along, she was a wonderful surprise, but it meant two in diapers at once, and I just never was entirely comfortable leaving my kids with sitters unless it was their aunties--two in diapers is a handful. So I didn't get out as much. Then there was a longish stretch--one child a teen, one a tween, one a well-behaved little girl. I could go out again. And then . . . well, if you are a regular blog reader, you know the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse rode roughshod through my house and delivered me a Demon Baby. Getting out? HA! I'm delighted if I get though an entire shower without interruption. Hence . . . if I see a movie of any sort, or read a book of any sort, it's limited by time and exhuastion. I want to be 100% positive it's worth my time investment.
So I cheat.
Any other Ending Cheaters out there? Why do you do so? And are you in search of the Perfect Happy Ending? What about your works in progress? (I'm usually inclined to give mine the bells-and-whistles variety--but not always).
Labels: happy endings
posted by Erica Orloff at 7:37 AM
41 Comments:
You might like my rewrite. If you remember, the ending before was not very happy at all, more pensive and grim. Now it's HEA, with just a hint of potential trouble looming on the distant horizon.
Jude:
I actually liked the first one . . . because it suited the book's noir style. If I know what i am getting into, I can not have a happy ending--i.e., an Andrew Vachss book with a happy ending would be silly. So it depends. But I liked the first ending. I am sure this one is good, too.
E
hahaha. Now when I write I have to know the ending before I start. I'm a psycho outliner. But...
OMG OMG you ending cheater! A few months ago I ranted about the evils of this and how such people should be arrested :P Maybe not that extreme lol, but I'm a little bit of a zealot on the issue.
Now I WILL skim a book if it's sucking but I want to know the end, so it might be a lesser form of your crime. ;)
People who read the last page first should be LOCKED UP.
Thanks about the old ending. I liked it, too. I think it's more of an ending we literary types can appreciate, though, as opposed to the general buying public. What I have now is in keeping with the tone and the character arc, but a certain major character gets to live this time. I'm counting on the majority of readers wanting that to happen, and I make them wait almost until the last page to know for sure.
The manuscript was delivered to my agent yesterday, so I'm anxiously waiting to see what he thinks. :)
Zoe:
I feel NO shame. LOL! I really don't. It's a "know thyself" kind of thing. And I KNOW I like a happy ending and want to be sure I am getting one. :-)
E
Stephen:
Wow . . . I thought we were friends. That's hard-core. ;-)
E
I'm sort of like Stephen, though I won't get in your face about it. Sheesh, I can't believe you! Shame, shame.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to get over the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse running roughshod through your house.
Demon Baby is the the Ponyboy of the Apocalypse? I'm working on this, really. It just tickled me no end.
Mark:
They rode in, handed me this Demon Baby, and rode off with no operating instructions, no note, nothing. I thought he was a sweet little baby. He has dimples. He LOOKS angelic. But apparently, they brought me the Apocalypse's little mascot . . . . the poster boy of the End of Time.
E
Well, if I read a chapter and I feel like I know where the whole book is going, I'll turn to the end to see if I'm right. And then if I'm right, I won't read, because, well, I don't need to.
I understand why you do it, but I don't know if I could finish reading the book if I knew how it was going to end.
Funny, littlest one was on the phone with his grandpa. Grandpa asked him if he enjoyed the Indiana Jones movie. Little one said,
"Yes! And Guess what!The "blanks" are actually "blank". And they end up killing the "blank"! And Mutt is actually Indiana's"blank"!"
I almost peed myself.
Spy:
I sometimes stop reading if I figure out the end, too. Particularly if I'm not LOVING the book.
E
Heather
I guess then I figure I can enjoy it MORE knowing in the end, I get the happy ending I want.
E
And in case you were wondering, Erica, my new ending definitely has MORE COWBELL.
How can I lose?
I love my happy endings too, Erica. My husband and daughers, on the other hand, don't want to hear...a thing. I'll ask the girls about a book or movie, but woe is me if I leak any details if it's something they haven't read yet, or seen. It's not a big thing to me, I enjoy the journey anyway. And yep, I've read the last page before. I don't do it as much now, but I have.
Jude:
You love beating those dead horses, don't you?
LOL!!!!!!!!!
E
ladonna:
Oldest Daughter wants to know NOTHING.
:-)
E
I'm not an end cheater either. To me, there's no point in me continuing to read the book if I already know the ending. For the same reason, I'm not a real big fan of books or movies based on real life events. For example, Titanic. I must be the only person who hasn't seen this movie. I know how it begins and how it ends and the rest was made up anyway, so why bother?!?
I was shocked to hear you cheat on the endings until you gave your reasons. I suppose limited entertainment time is a valid excuse for going against the laws of nature. :)
I have a good friend who asks the same questions about movies - she does NOT want a sad movie and always asks, "Can I watch it?"
conley:
LOL! I resisted seeing Titanic for the same reason. or something like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee . . . I recognize the value of seeing these historical events unfold in a movie . . . BUT . . . I also know I'm going to get my heart broken.
Maybe that's why I like physics.
E
Melanie:
Yes, leave it to me to go against the laws of nature.
;-)
E
Oddly enough, I never read the last page first... I say oddly enough because I hate surprises... I've been carefully opening and then re-taping christmas gifts since childhood... I'm terrible about it and when I get a really good gift for someone else, I try to goad them into opening it early because I can't wait... so you would think I'd be the first person to skip to the end of a book.
Reading's a little different for me, though. Now, I have on occasion, in the middle of a long book that I can't get enough time to really sit and read and enjoy, I have paged to the back once I'm hooked just to see where it's going... I feel horribly guilty when I do this, and I still always finish the thing. Knowing an ending doesn't ruin the reading for me, the fun in a book is all the turns along the way, not just the way it ends up.
Not an end first reader, but I do skip a lot of the details the first time through if I'm in a hurry to know what happens. Then I'll go back and read at a more leisurely pace if I think it's worth it. Don't do this as much these days as I am much pickier about what I read and don't have time for a second go 'round.
Besides I'm reading for what works and what doesn't as I go. And endings are hard to make work sometimes, so I want to see if it does work when I get there.
For shame, Erica, though I understand your reasons. I only read the last page once. It was the last Harry Potter book. And if you read the last HP then you know why any sane writer would flip to the last page. I love the element of surprise in books. Not in real life. In real life I wish you could get an itinerary with subsections. Ex: If you do this, this will happen...
But that's off topic. Reading the last page. For shame. :)
Merry:
Oddly enough, I love Christmas surprises. But I am hard to surprise.
:-)
E
Sarah:
I skim a lot, too. Not in physics. But fiction.
E
Mel:
I know. BAD Erica, BAD!
E
Oh, but the three violinists playing as the ship went down? Ohmigosh, I have no words. I don't think I can live with myself if you don't see that scene, LOL. ;-) Gosh, I'm teary-eyed just thinking of it.
(Although part of that is thinking of those those instruments getting ruined in the ocean. I don't think I know an instrument more expensive than a violin. I mean, sheesh, I can buy a nine-foot concert grand piano for cheaper!)
I deeply believe in the happy ending, which will put me in the "never receiving a Newbery Medal" category for my work (if it's ever published, that is).
Children should laugh and smile and feel good after reading a book. (IMHO, since that's my genre!)
:-)
Erica, I have to say I like to end my stories with a certain degree of ambiguity but for my book which has just been released, I was asked to make a clearer happy ending and for the readers to see the couple together at the end. So I guess you are not alone in your desire for happy ever after.
NO NO NO! I don't cheat! LOL But my hairdresser will actually have one of her co-workers check out movies for her (like your friend) because she hates sad endings!
I don't read the ending first. HOWEVER, I've been known to get halfway through a book and read the ending. Why? Because by then it's a piece of crap and I'm trying to figure out if it's worthy my time to continue. It's been a while since I've had to do that, so it's a plus.
Spy:
And one of those was Horner, who wrote the score. :-) So he went down with the ship. ;-)
E
Chris:
In my YAs, I give them a happy ending. But I have to say the trilogy . . . leaves room at the end of Book 1 for the "the battle is not over" feeling.
Book 2 will have tragic overtones.
Book 3 . . . they good guys kick ass.
E
Suzanne:
I have definitely met a lot of people, like me, who want to know the end first.
E
Amie:
See? We're not so rare, us cheaters.
E
Marcia:
I have done that. I figure I'll just jump to the chase.
I also will cheat with nonfiction bios. That American Promethus I read is a MONSTER book (huge . . . ) and I knew he had died and he had suffered . . . so I sort of skipped ahead in his life, saw some highlights, then went through it page by page to see how he got from point A to point B.
I also recently read a Buddhist memoir, and I was SHOCKED because it was supposed to be this fabulous book and it was written up in the Times and so on. And maybe it would be great for a non-Buddhist or someone with zero background in Buddhism, but I have to say, I thought the guy was SUCH a whiner . . . that I jumped to the end to see if he ever put on some big boy pants and just dealt with life. But he never did.
E
OMG I have never read the last page in a book before getting there.
I LOVE happy endings too. I feel cheated if there isn't one.
Sara:
We're an unusual breed, us last-pagers.
:-)
E
FF here again. I almost always read the last page first to make sure that everything works out fine. So, you are among friends and fellow sinners, Erica.
I too have to have a happy ending in a film. I once called my best girlfriend an a$$h0le for not telling me that Berger died in Hair. And that was a musical comedy. Go figure. I get caught up in the action as if I'm there. ;-)
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