Why do we read when we already know the endings?
Why do we read?
There are probably a million answers to this for every individual and may depend on the day.
Some days, I read to relax. Others to learn. Sometimes to escape my busy to do list.
I read to be entertained. To challenge an idea. To be surprised. To experience another life.
The answers are endless.
Before I headed to bed one night last week, there were three books from my TBR pile on the coffee table (different from the TBR pile in my office, the TBR pile next to my bed, the TBR pile that is my holds list at the library, and the TBR that is the “BOOKS” tab in my Notes app). One was a rom com, another was a twisty suspense, and the last was more literary.
As I described the books to my husband and college kid, I read the summary of the rom com and my son laughed when I filled in the blanks of how the book would probably go based on that description.
“Why would you pick the one where you already know the ending?”
I started to explain genre conventions and that rom coms were always going to have a happy ending, the point was to enjoy the hijinx along the way. Not convinced, I eventually landed on, “because I like it, that’s why,” and went upstairs to devour The Shippers by Katherine Center (loved it, BTW. Totally recommend. Perfect for vacation or wishing you were on vacation.).
This week, we went to see the movie version of Hadestown. I’ve seen the musical twice and knew the myth before that. Needless to say, I know how this one ends.
Same son came with (who has seen the musical with me once) and said, “Remember, mom, you know it’s not going to end well.”
“Of course,” I said. And yet, I sat down to the opening trombone licks and thought, well, maybe this time will be different.
Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.
So why go see it again?
Or read a book I can predict the ending for?
Because for these stories, it’s about the experience.
We see an action movie because we know the hero will save the day.
We watch a detective show because we know they will solve the crime.
We read romance because we know they will have a happily ever after.
We already know the endings, so what’s the point?
These books/genres/stories center the reader experience. The point is to see how they got there. To enjoy the thrill of the chase, the satisfaction of piecing together the clues, or the passion of the first kiss.
You probably have some comfort watches. The shows we know will make us laugh or make us cry or simply give us exactly what we expect.
You don’t enjoy the show less because we know Jim is going to put Dwight’s stapler in Jell-O. In fact, you probably enjoy it more.
As writers, I think there is something to learn here.
I don’t mean you need to start writing romance with ensured happily ever afters (although, if that’s your jam, please, continue!), but I do mean you should center the reader’s experience of your story.
These genre stories and comfort watches give us feelings.
How do you want your reader to feel?
Hadestown exemplifies this so well. A big theme of the musical is hope, even when it seems all is lost. If you weren’t sure of the plot going in, Hermes (our story guide) tells the audience right off the bat that it’s a sad song, it’s a tragedy. And yet, as an audience, we feel Orpheus and Eurydice’s hope as they begin their journey out of the underworld. Their love might be enough this time to save them.
We feel that hope even though we know all is lost. We know how the story ends. And yet, we hope.
And every time, I am shocked when he turns too early.
Because to have hope is to always believe there could be a different ending.
(Shawshank Redemption, one of my comfort watches.)
Did I leave the theater still gutted?
Yup.
But did I also leave a flicker of hope still burning in my chest?
Indeed, I did.
Hadestown ends the musical by starting the story over again, giving the audience permission to hope that maybe this time will be the time Orpheus doesn’t turn.
Katherine Center gives readers the warm and fuzzies by creating characters we are rooting for to find happiness.
How can you evoke the feeling you want a reader to have in the pages? Can you bring us to that feeling and let us ride it to the inevitable end?
Plot and character arc and all the craft things you are doing are telling a great story. But don’t forget that at some point, a reader will experience it.
Spend one of your revision passes centering that reader experience.
Not sure how?
Watch your comfort movies. Reread your favorite books. Note how they make you feel and see if you can dissect why that’s happening in those moments. Try to emulate that in your work.
Readers read to feel something.
And that’s a story I will pick up every time, no matter how many times I’ve read it.
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Saw the title and immediately thought of Hadestown! I also saw it on theaters last week and although I knew exactly what would happen, I still gasped like it was completely new to me.