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This is adapted from an article that appeared on the Write Anything website on January 20, 2008. The original text can be found here.

Happy ever after?

For generations, children have been told fairy tales by their parents. Stories have been passed on from father to son, mother to daughter, centuries of oral and written tradition, tales of handsome princes, wicked stepmothers, enchantment, adventure, and Happy Ever Afters.

And then children grow up, and they discover that in real life, things don’t always end happily ever after. There are good endings, there are bad endings - sometimes the best ending is merely acceptable, given the circumstances.

As adults we don’t always revisit these stories. We read other tales - the princes aren’t always as handsome, the stepmothers aren’t always wicked, and the distinctions between right and wrong are not simple.

But fiction is still an escape from the trials and tribulations of daily life. We seek escape - and in a world where unhappy ever after is just as likely as happy ever after, are writers obliged to provide readers with a happy ending? Or ought they reflect life as it really is, a life where sometimes good guys do come last, evil profits, and true love does not conquer all?

I’m writing a story where two of the main characters love each other, but circumstances have so far kept them apart. I know how the story could end, but is it how the story ought to end?

I could provide a wonderful, happy ending, where our heroes overcome the odds and wind up together. Or I could provide a more “realistic” ending, in which circumstances are too much, and harsh realities keep them apart.

Do you think a writer should always strive for a happy ending, or just the ending most realistic in the circumstances?