What do YOU think when you read 'The End'?

[viv]

I received a very nice email today from a reader about one of my stories where he thanked me for writing it, he's appreciative of the great story he got to read, grateful for the emotional connection to the characters and the story... and then he asked for more. Maybe I have more chapters written, he'd really like to know what happens next, even though it was clearly 'The End'.

 

My question to you all is this:

 

Is that a flaw in the writing - Was I not clear enough that it was the end? Did I not tie up the lose ends so all the reader's questions were answered? Is the story incomplete, unfinished? -OR- Is this human nature? Is it that the writing is so good that we get connected to the characters, get invested in their lives that we want more, want to know what happens next, how things turned out?

 

Certainly it's possible either way, and I'll probably ask him, but I'm curious what you think, both as readers and as writers.

[Marzipan]

I received a very nice email today from a reader about one of my stories where he thanked me for writing it, he's appreciative of the great story he got to read, grateful for the emotional connection to the characters and the story... and then he asked for more. Maybe I have more chapters written, he'd really like to know what happens next, even though it was clearly 'The End'.

 

My question to you all is this:

 

Is that a flaw in the writing - Was I not clear enough that it was the end? Did I not tie up the lose ends so all the reader's questions were answered? Is the story incomplete, unfinished? -OR- Is this human nature? Is it that the writing is so good that we get connected to the characters, get invested in their lives that we want more, want to know what happens next, how things turned out?

 

Certainly it's possible either way, and I'll probably ask him, but I'm curious what you think, both as readers and as writers.

 

 

You write too good stories! Reader fells in love with the characters and never wants the experience to end. I'm one of those readers who luuuv long long stories for that. Well I also love shorties too.

 

I think it's about person reading the stories. Sometimes, when I'm unhappy with the ending I remake it in my mind to get peace.

 

All your stories have a proper ending in my mind and I love them all!!!! I'm big fan of yours

[Cyhort]

Sometimes I'll think about what the characters in the story might do next, assuming they didn't all die or something. I kinda like to imagine where characters might be in 10 or 15 years after the end of a story but I always take "The End" to mean that there's no more to the story. I don't expect a second part. Actually I tend to get annoyed if people add a sequel after saying The End, I think "No! You already resolved everything! They're happy. Don't drag it out."

 

I think a lot of people just like certain characters so much that they want to keep reading about their lives and what happens to them. The thing is most people don't understand or think about how hard it is to keep thinking up new things for characters to go through without it getting boring, repetitive or utterly stupid.

[Zolia Lily]

" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Yeah. That's what happens when i read those two little words if i've really loved the story and get really attached to the characters. But i wouldn't expect more after. The End is The End. Finito. Gone. No more. It's pretty final.

 

I can cope with "the end". I'm with Cyhort- i'll do my own imagining of a later on if i want to.

As long as you don't commit that terrible sin (well... i think so...) and end a really long gut wrenching story with a different two words : "The beginning". Ohhhhh then i'm really gonna chuck a wobbly.

 

 

[Rilbur]

"The saddest words of tongue or pen, are simply these..." (Well, if it's a good story anyway)

[Tipdin]

I have read hundreds of books that said 'The End' and I wasn't willing to accept that. Just because an author decides to stop writing doesn't mean that I have to stop wanting to read. In fact, I think it damn selfish of authors! Don't they realize that I HAVE NO LIFE WITHOUT THEM! I COULD HUNT YOU DOWN, YA KNOW!

 

So what, you think the world resolves around YOU?! Yea, sure, it's all about YOU, right?! HA! IF IT WAS ALL ABOUT YOU, THEN YOU WOULDN'T NEED TO PUBLISH YOUR STORIES IN THE FIRST PLACE!

 

(OK, people, calm down. Listen to the sarcasm in my voice above.)

 

Many readers don't want a good story to end. There's the compliment to the author. Nevertheless, many authors know that in oder to protect the 'goodness' of a story, it must have an ending.

 

It's hard to have a perfect diamond if it's connected to ANYthing else.

[Nephylim]

I think The End means The End. I have had people ask for a sequel to some of my stories but I have only written one so far. For me once the story is out there it's done... The End.

 

I have had plenty of occasions though when I have read the last page of a book or story and longed for the end to be the beginning

 

 

[rec]

When I see "The End," I think it is time to start the story to see if I want to read it. Nothing is more frustrating than an unfinished story, so I always check the last posted chapter to see if it truly is completed.

 

In terms of longing for more story when The End is reached, that's a good thing. It means the characters have entered your heart, mind and emotions, and you care for them. It is not clear, however, that more story would be successful; having a little hunger at the end of a story meal is not always a bad thing. I've seen a number of stories whose sequels seem to have not enough merit to be warranted; other stories peter out and a series just ends, as if the author realized that he or she didn't have enough material to sustain interest.

[Mark Arbour]

VIv, I think you should be flattered that you made your characters live so well readers want more of them. I think a comment like that might make me go back and consider whether I felt the same way, and whether I wanted to create a sequel or not. I've done one that I hadn't planned on solely because of feedback like that (It was on "Furlough", an anthology story), and I wasn't all that happy with the sequel, but it was fun to write anyway.

[Andrew Q Gordon]

Viv,

 

As a reader, when I read the end, I don't expect a sequel but as others have said, it is hard to let go of a character that has griped me - that is the mark of a great writer if through words you can establish an emotional connection with the reader. If the reader wants more you've done your job very well.

 

As a writer (aspiring writer perhaps?) the end doesn't mean the end of the character but the end of anything interesting in their lifes. Who really wants to read about getting up changing diapers, going to work, coming home, cooking dinner, reading and going to bed. [that is mostly my life now - with the changing diapers tossed in as wishful thinking in hopes the surrogate is pregnant this time] With the conflict resolved, the story isn't quite so interesting. So while I could 'see' what the characters do after the 'end' I am not sure I could 1) see it well enough to make an entire story and 2) make it interesting.

 

Oh well. I hope to have such a problem - being asked for a sequel - some day

 

Andy

[J_Ross]

I've been having the same issue lately. 0.o So I gotta thank you for posting the question because all of the 'say what?! But there should be more!' reviews had me wondering if maybe I should have tied things up a little neater. Having the question posed by someone else made it easier for me to look at this from the outside.

 

I definitely don't think it's a flaw in the writing. I feel a story is over when the main conflict of the story has peaked and passed. For me, 'The end' doesn't mean the end of the characters' lives, or even the end of anything interesting therein, but it is the end of THAT story. I've had times where I've been annoyed with stories that are dragged out for longer than that (I felt HP was over when Voldemort died and the war ended along with him. The epilogue annoyed me in so many ways, for instance) It's been told. The character goes on to live his/her life in fictionopolis or wherever, happily or not, but as long as the main conflict has been resolved, I'm more than fine with seeing those two words. I don't believe that every loose end needs to be tied up (and not just because I don't write that way myself, I actually prefer reading open endings) and some, in my opinion, aren't meant to be. Some of those stories that do tie up every loose end don't end up staying long in my memory. I like stories that leave me wondering and maybe even a little worried about the characters. It keeps them in my thoughts. They're memorable. If I've made a deep connection with the characters, I'm perfectly content to bookmark the novel and come back to cuddle up with it on a rainy day. Loose ends are fine by me, as a reader, as long as the author has built strong enough characters that I can see that they're going to tie it up eventually, I don't need to read about it. I'm more than capable of using my imagination and well built characters make it easy to do so.

 

I think the point is that you made your readers care about what happens next. That's gotta be a good thing, right?

 

Also, I think some readers DO think that 'the end' means that nothing will ever happen to these characters if you're not writing about them anymore. Almost like those two words mean the characters cease to exist. But they don't. Their lives go on, somewhere (fictionopolis ^_-), just not in black and white print. So comments like these from readers (what? no, you have to keep going, you forgot to tell us what happened with 8*#@*$%^!!! Can you write a sequel so we know?) are flattering, but for me, the short answer is 'no, I can't. What happens next is up to you', and hope that I've built strong enough characters that the readers can see what would happen easily. Because honestly, after a certain point, I don't write the stories anyway, the characters decide where it goes.

 

So, obviously I think it's the latter. THEY LOVE YOU! So bask! And then write new characters with new stories to tell if a sequel isn't in your plans. I kind of think that the point is that they just want more of your writing anyway. The characters were strong enough to hook them and make them fall in love, and I'm positive they're all capable of using their imaginations just as well as I can. They want you to write.

 

That was...incredibly long winded, but thank you again for posting this.

 

 

[Raijen]

I hate saying goodbye. That's why I dislike the end of a good story, movie, or video game. If it says "the end", that means that I have to go back to the real world, there is no more fantasy to explore, no more letting go of the day-to-day.

 

As a writer though, I think "the end" is a wonderful thing. There are times where what needed to be said was said, the characters have to go on with their lives, unobserved, and other characters speak up, ready to tell their story.

[Johnathan Colourfield]

The end of a story for me always has an opportunity for a sequel

 

Even if its just a short story, there is always more

 

But then again, there are some stories where there isnt enough steam.

 

All depends on the quality of writing

[daffy106]

Life does not end after so many words. It probably a basic instinct to want to know what happens next in a well written story. I myself try to seek out the stories with the most sequels, which means I can literally wallow in someone else's world for a long time and integrate into it more completely, thus getting a lot more flavor from it. The books don't even have to be tightly related. Just the act of introducing a set of major characters into a different new story immediately and effectively injects all the book long complexity of those previous persons into the new story, with only a few words actually written. Jack Scribe is a master at this. Mercedes Lackey is a major writer who also likes to transfer characters from one story to another. These are examples from the best. I would note that many of the world's best selling fiction writers write long series of related books, and given their sales, it seems a lot of people like stories that never end.

Daffy106

Edited February 10, 2011 by daffy106

[option]

Life does not end after so many words. It probably a basic instinct to want to know what happens next in a well written story. I myself try to seek out the stories with the most sequels, which means I can literally wallow in someone else's world for a long time and integrate into it more completely, thus getting a lot more flavor from it. The books don't even have to be tightly related. Just the act of introducing a set of major characters into a different new story immediately and effectively injects all the book long complexity of those previous persons into the new story, with only a few words actually written. Jack Scribe is a master at this. Mercedes Lackey is a major writer who also likes to transfer characters from one story to another. These are examples from the best. I would note that many of the world's best selling fiction writers write long series of related books, and given their sales, it seems a lot of people like stories that never end.

Daffy106

 

 

question;

 

what was in this reply that required a neg?

or is someone just negging another forum user for the sake of it?

[Marzipan]

question;

 

what was in this reply that required a neg?

or is someone just negging another forum user for the sake of it?

 

 

He is getting some neg reps for starting a conversation earlier, that heated things up. At least that's my guess. That neg rep was unplaced in my opinnion.