“I’ve always wanted to write happy endings and my characters always deny them.” That’s what Alice McDermott said when talking to writers about the craft of novel writing.
“Happy endings — any endings — can’t feel fake or made-up” Astute readers just won’t buy it. A novelist must be true to the world created in a novel.
“Once you start that world spinning, you must exit within it. There is room for surprises, but they have to be believable surprises.”
Often, the writer is as surprised by an outcome as the reader; a novel becomes one about a different subject than intended. That comes from getting to the truth of the story instead of forcing the happy ending.
“I go to fiction for truth,” Alice says. After all, truth is what good fiction is all about.
---------------
Eric D. Goodman, Books Correspondent
Eric’s column, Lit Bit, is published every Wednesday to Gather Essentials: Books.
Featuring bits on writing, writers, books, and literature, Lit Bit will fulfill your literary longings.
Eric is a full-time, professional, published writer and editor. His work has appeared in local, national, and international publications, including stories in the current issues of The Baltimore Review, Coloquio, Arabesques Review, and To Be Read Aloud.
Listen to Eric read an excerpt from his fiction on National Public Radio on the WYPR website.
You can find all of Eric’s Lit Bit articles at www.gather.com/litbit.
Keep up with Eric’s other postings and Gather activity by joining his Gather network -- just visit www.edgewriter.gather.com and select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page. You’ll find Eric and other Book Correspondents, plus celebrity author content and plenty of other bibliophiles atBooks.gather.com.
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 15
to the character. rpw
Thanks for the reasoning behind this way of ending stories!