Hard-Won HEAs
Threads is always a revolving door of discourse. Once again, the HEA requirement for romance was up for debate. An interesting post I saw regarding the discourse was from a writing teacher. I’m paraphrasing, but they said they encourage grim endings because they’re harder to write. The implication being that darker also means more sophisticated.
I didn’t engage because I find the exact opposite to be true.
Someone I’m close with works with beginning writers on a daily basis. I spoke with them about the HEA. They’re often having to discourage their writers from downer endings because the writers end up shutting down a character arc, usually by making death the change in the protagonist rather than anything challenging the character’s beliefs. Some of it comes from the pop culture they’ve surrounded themselves with that equates nihilism with depth.
Sure, it can be edgy to live in a dystopian hellscape, but the messaging is also evident in many early modern American classics such as Of Mice and Men and The Great Gatsby. Characters challenge oppressive systems and end up on the worst side of them. Their fates would have been better if they accepted the status quo.
Or the stories follow a grand tradition of valuing sacrifice in the vein of the Hero’s Journey. Once again, a main character dies for a better world but never sees that world come to fruition. Think Beowulf or Promising Young Woman. Though these stories hold admiration for these characters' sacrifice, there's an undercurrent stating that courage equals heartbreak.
With downer messaging training us and receiving accolades, it’s harder to write a happily ever after. It’s harder to write characters who have to make a choice and live with it. It’s harder to write stories of challenging the impossible and coming out on the other side with a smile on your face and love in your heart.
Personally, I find even horror more satisfying to watch when the final person conquers their fears and defeats evil. I much prefer the hope and survival (and romance!) promised at the end of 28 Days Later versus the grim loss experienced at the end of the James Gunn–penned Dawn of the Dead.
Notice how 28 Days Later isn’t any less visceral or scary than the other running “zombie” film. It simply chooses to end on hard-won triumph. These hard-won triumphs are why I gravitate to romance as both a writer and reader.
My latest book Devils in the Details is a noir crime drama on the surface. A crime-ridden city rots with corruption. Blood stains the pavement, and gunfire rings in the ears. But my protagonist, Tobias Quinlan, finds love and hope among it all. Though he believes that he deserves none of the better world, it finds him as he chooses to stand by what’s right rather than continue to compromise himself.
My messaging is this: you can have it all. You can face the darkness and walk out with a HEA.
There's almost a "danger" in the HEA promise. What if we can challenge the forces that hurt us and come out on top, hand-in-hand with the people who love us?
I choose to write that sort of bravery.
I choose to live that kind of bravery.
And I hope for such a brave new world.
