Happy Endings in Novel Plots

Is a happy ending obligatory? Of course not. Novel plots can end any way you like. But before you dismiss writing a happy ending for your novel out of hand, consider your options...

• One extreme is what might be called a Hollywood-happy ending. You know the kind I mean. These endings aren't just happy, they leave you with tears spoiling your shirt and a lump in your throat it takes until morning to shift.

• At the other end of the scale of endings in novel plots is the one that is so bleak it is empty of all hope. This variety might leave you in tears, too, but more likely you'll just feel miserable.

Now, there is nothing wrong with either of these endings. Your genre or subject matter or sensibilities as an artist might demand that you choose one or the other.

But if you want me to make a recommendation, I would suggest you avoid either of these extremes in your novel writing career...

• If you plan to give your plot a Hollywood-type happy ending, try to temper it with a touch of something not quite so happy - a price the character has had to pay on their journey towards achieving their goal.

• And if your novel demands a downbeat ending, then at least try to provide your readers with a crumb or two of hope - the possibility, perhaps, that although things aren't great for your character right now, there is the promise of better days ahead.

The best kind of plots, in my opinion, are natural and credible ones, not artificial ones. Ending them in one of the two ways suggested above - happiness tempered by loss or sadness with hope on the horizon - will ensure that they are natural.