Recently I’ve been engrossed in the study of plot and structure. I came across a fantastic online site called How To Write A Book Now.  I searched through articles on plot outlining. There were eight awesome questions to consider. The best questions I’ve come across in along time.

I finished the eight steps and moved on to the second article on climax and endings. The author of the article asked quite honestly, will your ending be happy or sad?

I hadn’t thought about whether or not sad could be a possibility. Delving deeper, I read about four historical ending styles and why each one might be picked. The bottom line? Change. Will your character change to meet the goal of the book and meet every requirement to succeed? Or, will the climax solidify every fear and pattern from the past and cause your character to stick to their guns?

My boyfriend said it best in a discussion we had not long ago: “Change for a person is one of the most difficult things to do.” I’m talking about hardcore internal change where a person is asked to review their history and perceptions about life. Where we come from. Why we do the things that we do. And in my writing journey to make fiction feel more real, I’ve learned the more detailed background I can create for my character, I can achieve my goal and breathe life into paper.

Personally, I agree with the concept of change. Looking back at my own past, I had to learn a hard lesson three separate times because of some form of change I didn’t make within myself.

So now? I write for happy. I aim to share my deep lessons in my characters and push them to make difficult choices. Hopefully I can instill some sort of faith or hope in my readers. People do fall.  Characters will also fall in my stories, but in my mind I will always give them the chance to grow. What can I say, where there’s hope there’s light in my eyes.

What about you? Do you tend to pick happy or sad?

Last thought: Happy Wednesday, all, wherever you are. May you find that light of hope in you. 🙂

~Erika

P.S. Here’s the link to that really great website.