"Maybe it's not about the happy ending, maybe it's about the story." ~Unknown

Todays literature has returned to the days of Hans Christian Anderson and the Grimm brothers. Lots and lots of Unhappily ever afters. Soul mates die, rebellions ruin more then they save, and Democracies are only fronts for the Monarchies they overcame. With the state of our world it's not much of a surprise that our literature's two main endings have come to be 'Everyone you love dies' or 'they got married, had 2 and 1/2 children, and lived happily ever after'. 

But maybe it's not about the ending, maybe its about the journey? 

Things are only special because they end. Every life, every season, comes to an abrupt close in one way or another. Rarely, even in our world, do happy endings exist. What may be a fulfilled life for parents leaves tragedy in it's wake for their children. 

One person's happily ever after is another's nightmare. A girl who defeated an evil queen may rise to take the reigns of the kingdom, but the queen she defeated is exiled to the far reaches of her once great kingdom. 

In the final scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows we are introduced to a older, more domesticated version of the Golden Trio. They settled down, had their 2 and 1/2 children, and they seem well established in their jobs and settled with their families. For many Potterheads this extra scene, while domestically adorable, was a bit of a let down. It seems as if everything they went through has just disappeared. We don't see Harry and Hermonie struggling with PTSD, or the Weasly's fighting to overcome Fred's death. It's only in the Cursed Child that we are shown that everything isn't as rosy as it seems. 

Our experiences, our pain, doesn't end when we've stopped fighting. It haunts us, tainting every moment of joy and every second of silence to remind us that we can't escape what happened to us. But we can overcome it. 

While it may be tempting to give your characters a happy moment after all the troubles they've endured, I urge you not to completely ignore their past. While a bright spot, like watching children play, is a great way to show your readers that their life has improved dramatically; It rarely has the desired closure that readers need to fully accept the book's end. 

Similarly, it may be just as tempting to give your readers a heart wrenching jolt by ending your novel with a tragedy. Maybe your main character dies or everything isn't as golden as it seems. While this is ok if you are writing a series, its never a good idea to end a stand alone novel on such a bleak note. It gives your readers the impression that everything they suffered through with your character was for nothing. Every heartbreak, every triumph, that in the end none of it mattered. 

Take Veronica Roth's Divergent, though it is true that she ended the series on a rather bleak note she is able to give us a glimpse of the characters healing after Tris' death. If she were to have left the readers with nothing but the horror of her sacrifice it would be likely that she wouldn't be considered the acclaimed author that she is today. 

In the end it's not about a happy ending, it's about the readers feeling fulfilled at the end of your book. Wether thats a domestic scene with a tinge of hardship or a tragedy with a hint of healing, if it brings closure to your story then it will be remembered as a good story.