posted
I have always thought that a short story did not have to end with the last word written. I seem to get a lot people wanting to know what happens next even though my plot has closed.
posted
Hum. Hard to say. Usually, yes. There's what you call "open-ended" stories in which it is up to the reader to decide what is going to happen to the character. But that ending has to bring some sense of resolution and be coherent with the rest of the story. Example: a policeman investigates a murder. He solves it, but becomes so weary of seeing the dark side of human nature that he resigns from the forces. This is open-ended in the sense that you don't know what he will do with his life. But he did solve the murder. You could get away with his not solving the murder if you dropped lots of hints about humans not making sense, and the impossibility of establishing guilt. I guess in the end, it boils down to an implicit promise you made to the reader in your first few lines (or pages for longer stuff). At the end, you have to deliver on that promise. If you promised a murder investigation, you have to solve it. If the focus of your story is on the relationship between the protag and her husband, you have no right to switch to an emotional ending about her long-lost son. That's cheating. Most readers know when they've been cheated. Generally, it's at that point that they ask that question. You simply did not resolve enough for them. My two cents.
[This message has been edited by Silver3 (edited November 03, 2005).]
posted
Maybe you thought you were writing a story about a character who wants to get pregnant, but what came through to the reader were other issues that weren't resolved by the pregnancy story line. Maybe the way you wrote it brought up issues of a much larger story.
posted
I think it's normal for a reader who's engaged with a character or a world to want to know more, even if a particular story has a satisfactory ending. Some fan fiction (although nowhere near all) is inspired by the question 'but what happened next?', and there are markets for sequels and prequels by other authors (viz the eternal Foundation and Dune series).
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posted
I'm of the mindset that the reader should be interested in the characters enough to want to know what happens next even when the storyline finishes. Any character with any depth will have other questions that people want answered.
Is it bad to create characters who are interesting enough that people want to know more about them than the writer can tell in the chosen venue?
From what Beth has said I wonder if there is a point where raising more questions than the story answers is a bad thing even when the major plot is resolved. Is it bad to leave these doors open when opening them is important to the setting but stepping through them is not required to resolve the plot?
posted
I think Beth may have hit the nail on the head. And I say: Don't open any doors that you don't close at the end. Especially if they have to do with character development. You don't want your reader to be unsatisfied, and I've learned the hard way that this is what happens. You're narrative may be awesome but they just have too many left over questions at the end to feel content. Tying up the biggest thread just isn't enough. You've got to get them all set straight--for the most part--at the end.
Keep in mind there are exceptions to every rule. This is just something I've discovered in my own writing over the years.
posted
Wow, just seeing the name 'Liadan' totally threw me. I have a character with that name in a series of fifteen or sixteen serial chapters that I wrote by request for my wife because she was dissatisfied with some of Laurel K Hamilton's work and wanted more/better.
Just an unusal (historical irish) name. But my Liadan is an elven assassin.
Sorry for the off topic
[This message has been edited by pantros (edited November 03, 2005).]
posted
If your readers aren't satisfied with the story, then yeah, I'd say you're doing it wrong, if your objective is to write stories that satisfy your readers.
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