SIX STRATEGIES FOR WRITING THE “HAPPILY EVER AFTER” ENDING

Janet here.

Had to share this photo taken after the Awards Gala at ACFW with Myra, Missy, me, Audra, Debby and Mary celebrating Melanie Dickerson's Carol Award. 

Before I get to the subject of my post, I want to share an ACFW workshop I absolutely loved entitled Live Free. Write Free. Presenters Allen Arnold and Jim Rubart stressed the importance of nurturing the heart of the storyteller, pointing out we can’t write what we aren’t. Allen and Jim reminded attendees that Jesus came to give us freedom. When we’re struggling with our writing, they suggest we look at our hearts.

We need to remember who we are. Our identity isn’t writer. Our identity is son or daughter of God.

Our writing is our calling. It’s good to drive toward something like publication, but it’s not good to be driven, obsessed. Instead of chasing our dream, we need to follow Jesus. Jesus will open doors in His perfect timing.

The first step to live free is to remember our schedules belong to God. If we cram each day to the brim, we leave no room for God to show up. Freedom comes from asking God each day, “What do You have for me to do?” We should see interruptions in our schedules as divine appointments.  

Yes, writers have deadlines, day jobs, and family responsibilities pulling us in different directions. Some days we may have twenty things we truly must do. If we must do them, God will redeem the time to get them done. But too often our schedules become over-packed because we can’t say no. When we can’t say no to others, we haven’t really said yes to God. Instead select the best over the better so our schedules are loose enough to do what God wants us to do and still give ourselves time to breathe. Hurry is an attitude that comes from agreement with the lie that says God expects more of us than we can do. God gives us all the time we need to accomplish His tasks.

This is only the beginning of the wisdom offered by these two godly men determined to see people set free. If you want more, you can order the CD here. Or later download the individual workshop.

Now to return to the topic of my post.

One of the things I love about romance novels is the guarantee of a happy ending. The reason I read and write romances. But haven’t you read romances that held your attention, kept you turning the pages and then at the end, when you expected the big pay-off, the story let you down? The resolution came too easily, didn’t feel real, or relied on someone besides the hero and heroine to fix their issues. Characters need to earn their happy ending, their reward for the suffering we writers put them through. If you’re not making your characters suffer, start there. J If you’re writing humor, you’ll use a lighter tone, but characters still need to walk through the fire and come out victorious. To find their happily ever after, characters must change. Like most of us, characters won’t change unless forced. That’s the writers’ job. The process is painful for the characters, and yes, sometimes for us authors too. But once our characters are redeemed or they see how their inner conflict prevents them from falling in love, they will let down the barriers separating them from happiness.

The specifics of reaching that happy ending depend on what the story is about since plot and character entwine. That happy ending also depends on what the characters have gone through in their pasts. Epilogues give readers a peek at what’s next for the happy couple, but they’re not the HEA ending. These strategies might or might not be relevant for your particular story, but they’re general enough to jumpstart ideas. I’m using some early Seeker books as examples. I’m sure Seekervillagers have read all of our books—hint, hint J—and will want to grab well-thumbed copies to see how each author accomplished the goal of giving readers satisfying endings they’ll remember.

SIX STRATEGIES TO ENSURE YOUR ENDING SATISFIES READERS

1. After endless conflict, the hero and heroine should not suddenly fall into each others arms. The hero and heroine must have strong attraction all along to make the HEA work. But even with strong sexual tension all through the story, the HEA won’t feel realistic if the characters don’t deal in a believable way with what’s kept them apart. All the issues between them must be resolved. The reason the HEA is called the resolution. Make sure your characters refuse to settle for less than they deserve. After Charles saves Adelaide’s life in Courting Miss Adelaide, September 2008, he’s so frightened he could’ve lost her that he proposes marriage, but he still hasn’t dealt with his demons and can’t proclaim his love. Adelaide’s a strong woman—all heroines must be—and won’t settle, even if remaining single means she could lose Emma. When Charles finally conquers his fears, he knows with certainty he is not only capable of love, he’s very much in love with Adelaide. He proposes in front of much of the town.

2. Show the hero and heroine have grown and changed. The characters should be changing all through the story, but by the resolution, the characters must have grown enough to make the HEA ending realistic. Show that change using characters’ actions, conversations, sacrifices and/or symbols. In Missy’s Her Unlikely Family, during the HEA ending, Mike reveals to Josie that he’s resigned from positions he held in Atlanta and sold his house, all actions he took to prove his heart’s in Gatlinburg with her. In Single Sashimi, Camy uses symbols—stilettos/flats and pants/skirts—to show change in hard-nosed Venus who is now ready to give and receive love.

3. Show the hero and heroine revealing their secrets, tearing down the barriers that kept them apart. The hero and heroine can have her/his own epiphany late or earlier, but to make the HEA meaningful, each must bring their secrets and barriers into the open during the resolution. In Debby’s MIA: Missing in Atlanta, Jude calls his father in an attempt to mend the mistakes he’s made. Once Jude faced his demons head on and had the courage to change, Jude and Sarah are able to love each other unconditionally.   

4. In inspirational romances, characters struggling with faith issues will need to make peace with God. This may involve a conversation with God, or come about through the influence of other characters, or the character himself demonstrates restoration with God with a symbolic act. In Julie’s A Passion Most Pure, Faith has loved Collin all her life, but his lack of faith keeps them apart. Collin finds God while serving overseas during the war, imperative for these two to reach their HEA ending. A tragic or joyous event can bring characters to their knees and produce change. Without such an event, your characters must grow and change gradually. If you show them seeking God by reading the Bible, talking to Christians and attending church and being impacted by those events, the reader will believe this person came to faith in a realistic way.   

5. The HEA ending works best when the story comes full circle. If possible tie the resolution to the opening. For example, in Courting the Doctor’s Daughter, LIH, 2009, I open the book with Mary, the doctor’s daughter, opposing Luke’s homemade remedy that she sees as worthless. I end the book with Mary suggesting a recipe for a remedy for her and Luke’s new life together.

6. The resolution feels bigger than life and inevitable. In the resolution the reader should see these two people were meant to be together. Though you might want to give your characters some private interaction, giving the hero and heroine their happy ending in front of an audience feels bigger than life and has readers cheering. In Mary’s Calico Canyon, the resolution is chock full of characters and wrapped in the bow of good defeating evil. Then privately Daniel and Grace discuss how God brought them together through the twists and turns of their lives.

If you have more strategies for giving characters their HEA, please share.

If you hung in with me, I thought you'd enjoy the Dean version of a rodeo stunt. This is a living, breathing Longhorn bull with 6 foot span between his horns. Okay so he's tied up and probably old, definitely tame, but still I felt very brave. See that two-step box I had to use to climb aboard his very broad back. All this to celebrate finishing line edits for The Bride Wore Spurs, LIH, a rancher story set in Texas, coming April 2013. Wish I'd had Mary's Stetson.  

   

Leave a comment preferrably about the post, not my rodeo stunt, for a chance to win either a ten dollar Amazon gift card or one of my books. Winner’s choice.