Stories without a happy ending

[magnetarhanggliding]

What are everyone's thoughts about stories that don't have a happy ending?

I ask because a few of the authors I follow have stories that don't have a happy ending, and universally they all have lower ratings than their other stories. They all seem to be good stories to me, just without a sunny conclusion.

I want to bring joy to my readers. To this end, I understand the desire to have a happy ending, but a good story, is a good story.

Curious what others thoughts are?

 

[ericalauren]

I strongly dislike erotic stories that do not have happy endings.

 

[PennyThompson]

For me personally, erotica is fantasy. It's stress release, it's a dopamine boost.

That can include tension and conflict and cliffhangers and sadness, for sure!

But at the end of the day I'm not reading or writing erotica because I want to feel bad. I like it when characters find happiness at the end of their sexy journey, if I want a downer ending I'll read Cormac McCarthy

 

[MillieDynamite]

I love stories that don't have happy endings. No one's life is so full of sunshine and rainbows that there aren't dark times.

 

[Areala-chan]

Several of my stories do not feature happy endings. Several of them have the 'H'. One is more highly-rated than any of my HEAs. A good story will eventually find its audience, I think.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Happy endings you say?

Well, then you sure don't want to see my Charli, Nancy or 750 bits.

 

[NuclearFairy]

A story not having a happy ending is okay. Not my favorite but it's okay. It's when the story has a bleak or tragic ending that I dislike the ending. Although nothing is as bad as a story with a non ending. A non ending is when the story feels like it's reached a crescendo where all the plot threads are just about to come together, and then the author says, "The End," with out any plans what so ever to even have a sequel. That's like blue balling your readers and it's even worse that the bleakest most tragic ending a story could have. I suspect that they're either trolls or trying to write an open ending, but an open ending leaves you satisfied while your imagination paints what might happen next and a non ending just leaves you going, "But what happened next?!"

Ah hem, anyways! Not having a happy ending is okay as long as it's not too bleak or tragic.

 

[OnlyHappyEndings]

I'm occasionally tempted to write an unhappy ending. Then I remember my screen name and say 'nope'. Sometimes people don't like how my story ends and they think that means it's not a happy ending. Again I say 'nope'.

 

[Rustyoznail]

@BelleCanzuto wrote her War Prize series (https://www.literotica.com/series/se/175963895), and technically it doesn't have a happy ending. The ending fits the story, though.

Not all erotica is sunshine and lollipops.

 

[Erozetta]

I like genuine endings. Writing a happy ending for the sake of a happy ending often feels forced or fake. If it doesn't fit the story it's not a good ending. Sometimes people who really like each other part ways because that's what's best for them. There's nothing unhappy about that, it's just not faux happiness to give people butterflies.

But I've also been known to write really really harsh endings because that's where the characters took me on the journey. I have one pair where I refused to write the ending for nearly a month because I *couldn't* figure out a way to give them a happy ending and finally conceded that they were a little too fucked up by their experiences and they had long passed the point where they could've had a way out. I do want to rewrite that one as a story game because there are key points where a different choice could have been made and they could have had a happy, or at least happier, ending.

 

[Cali_Love]

A satisfying happy ending is probably harder to land than any other. I’m biased, obviously.

 

[WittyUserName]

What are everyone's thoughts about stories that don't have a happy ending?

I ask because a few of the authors I follow have stories that don't have a happy ending, and universally they all have lower ratings than their other stories. They all seem to be good stories to me, just without a sunny conclusion.

I want to bring joy to my readers. To this end, I understand the desire to have a happy ending, but a good story, is a good story.

Curious what others thoughts are?

Some people just want to lose themselves in a fantasy and forget about how horrible real life can be. They'll hate an unhappy ending and likely punish you for it. Others will complain because everything always working out isn't realistic. The best piece of advice I got: write what you would want to read and there will be an audience for it. You can't please everyone, so don't bother trying. If you think the story needs an unhappy ending(for whatever reason) go for it. Some will like it, some won't. Just like if you wrote the happy ending. This way, you'll write it the way YOU know it should be. Because it's your story. That they're enjoying for free.

 

[StillStunned]

I have several stories that don't end happily. "The Countesses of Tannensdal" ends with a spark of hope. "Life and Death of the She-Wolf" is bleak throughout, but I don't think it really qualifies as erotica in the first place. "Rulk the Rat" has an unhappy ending, but a very satisfactory one. "Not A Soul" is darkly ambiguous, but honestly I don't think it ends well for the characters after the story's events.

Their scores range from 4.44 ("Not A Soul") to 4.8 ("Countesses"). So it seems that readers don't need a happy ending to appreciate the story. Like several people have already said in this thread, the story itself determines how it ends. Trying to force a happy ending would either feel artificial, or else require writing a different story.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I like genuine endings. Writing a happy ending for the sake of a happy ending often feels forced or fake. If it doesn't fit the story it's not a good ending.

Exhibit A - the original Blade Runner and its HEA. I was "What???"

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I ask because a few of the authors I follow have stories that don't have a happy ending, and universally they all have lower ratings than their other stories. They all seem to be good stories to me, just without a sunny conclusion.

Much easier to score with a happy ending. Not impossible but definitely difficult. Readers here largely want you to fulfill their fantasy and fantasies never end badly. In fact the majority of fantasies don't even have conflict in them, so if you purely want score, don't put any conflict in your story whatsoever. Just take the straightest line from neutral nothing to getting it all. If you do this, considering that 45% of stories on lit have a Red H, it will be nearly impossible to not get one.

 

[Erozetta]

I have several stories that don't end happily. "The Countesses of Tannensdal" ends with a spark of hope. "Life and Death of the She-Wolf" is bleak throughout, but I don't think it really qualifies as erotica in the first place. "Rulk the Rat" has an unhappy ending, but a very satisfactory one. "Not A Soul" is darkly ambiguous, but honestly I don't think it ends well for the characters after the story's events.

Their scores range from 4.44 ("Not A Soul") to 4.8 ("Countesses"). So it seems that readers don't need a happy ending to appreciate the story. Like several people have already said in this thread, the story itself determines how it ends. Trying to force a happy ending would either feel artificial, or else require writing a different story.

My incredibly bleak erotic horror (trauma, cheating, violence, co-dependency, murder, suicide...) from 2023 had a 4.86
It's definitely not impossible to get high scores with sad stories. (There is absolutely zero hope in that story. It is just pure hurt and sadness mixed with sex)

 

[StillStunned]

My incredibly bleak erotic horror (trauma, cheating, violence, co-dependency, murder, suicide...) from 2023 had a 4.86
It's definitely not impossible to get high scores with sad stories. (There is absolutely zero hope in that story. It is just pure hurt and sadness mixed with sex)

This just proves that, while Lit is ostensibly a site for smut, and smut is what draws readers here in the first place, plenty of them will stick around to appreciate good amateur writing regardless of the content. It's not just "OMG that was so hot!", it's also "This story tugged at my heartstrings!" or "Your characters captivated me and dragged me along on their adventures!"

 

[pink_silk_glove]

This just proves that, while Lit is ostensibly a site for smut, and smut is what draws readers here in the first place, plenty of them will stick around to appreciate good amateur writing regardless of the content. It's not just "OMG that was so hot!", it's also "This story tugged at my heartstrings!" or "Your characters captivated me and dragged me along on their adventures!"

I totally agree, but you also have to ask, how much kink happened to be in those stories? If you like to twist your plot and give your characters depth, and your sex is vanilla, you have a very very steep slope to climb, particularly if your females aren't sexually aggressive.

 

[Rollinbones]

It's not just smut. My story, Sing me to sleep, sat finished in my works folder for years. It ended when she died in the carpark. I tacked the rest on because life is sad enough without the tragedy of reality.

 

[Bazzle]

This is very unhappy ending.

https://www.literotica.com/s/sliding-down-the-bank

Its a darkside smoking fetish story. I got asked by someone to write it. Its a strange sort of story. But maybe there is a glimmer of contentment from it? Not exactly erotic according to my best friend Anonymous.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

A story not having a happy ending is okay. Not my favorite but it's okay. It's when the story has a bleak or tragic ending that I dislike the ending. Although nothing is as bad as a story with a non ending. A non ending is when the story feels like it's reached a crescendo where all the plot threads are just about to come together, and then the author says, "The End," with out any plans what so ever to even have a sequel. That's like blue balling your readers and it's even worse that the bleakest most tragic ending a story could have. I suspect that they're either trolls or trying to write an open ending, but an open ending leaves you satisfied while your imagination paints what might happen next and a non ending just leaves you going, "But what happened next?!"

Ah hem, anyways! Not having a happy ending is okay as long as it's not too bleak or tragic.

I wondered for a moment if this was in reference to me. My first story I left open-ended and was quite heavily chastised for it. I wrote an epilogue that showed where the characters ended up, but think that made folks more angry.

After some time, I revisited the story, and found that I still loved the characters and had more to say about them. Thus I wrote another chapter that bridged the two. This seemed to make most folks put the pitchforks away, and I ended up with a complete story that I enjoyed writing.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

I like genuine endings. Writing a happy ending for the sake of a happy ending often feels forced or fake. If it doesn't fit the story it's not a good ending. Sometimes people who really like each other part ways because that's what's best for them. There's nothing unhappy about that, it's just not faux happiness to give people butterflies.

But I've also been known to write really really harsh endings because that's where the characters took me on the journey. I have one pair where I refused to write the ending for nearly a month because I *couldn't* figure out a way to give them a happy ending and finally conceded that they were a little too fucked up by their experiences and they had long passed the point where they could've had a way out. I do want to rewrite that one as a story game because there are key points where a different choice could have been made and they could have had a happy, or at least happier, ending.

I have a story in my head that I haven't written because I know it will not have a happy ending.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

A satisfying happy ending is probably harder to land than any other. I’m biased, obviously.

I'm biased as well in that I love your stories. They are my go-to when I want to feel good about the world again.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

Much easier to score with a happy ending. Not impossible but definitely difficult. Readers here largely want you to fulfill their fantasy and fantasies never end badly. In fact the majority of fantasies don't even have conflict in them, so if you purely want score, don't put any conflict in your story whatsoever. Just take the straightest line from neutral nothing to getting it all. If you do this, considering that 45% of stories on lit have a Red H, it will be nearly impossible to not get one.

That's a great point. My most successful story is the one with the least amount of conflict in it. I didn't like it at first because it didn't have enough conflict, and thus, for me, enough emotion in it. I have grown to like this story over time because I like the idea of good things happening to good people, but putting my emotion in the story is probably what I love most about writing.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

This just proves that, while Lit is ostensibly a site for smut, and smut is what draws readers here in the first place, plenty of them will stick around to appreciate good amateur writing regardless of the content. It's not just "OMG that was so hot!", it's also "This story tugged at my heartstrings!" or "Your characters captivated me and dragged me along on their adventures!"

Exactly why I'm still here. There are some truly great storytellers on this site.