Just Because it's Depressing Doesn't Mean it's any Good
by Michael Gallant

I feel the time has come to do an editorial about our submissions. Actually, I was complaining about them and Ray suggested I could stop bitching and do something about it.

"Good point," I conceded, "Now pull me back in."

He cheerfully lifted me back in through the window and deposited me near the pile of empties beneath which, legend has it, dwells my desk.

Our discussions often go this way. Ray, who was raised up in the mountains, feels that fresh air and panoramic views give people the perspective to make good, clear decisions. When he has a really profound point to make, he often feels that his audience will be more receptive if they step outside to ponder his wisdom. Since we have no ledge or balcony, and since the landlord has the fire escape under surveillance, he is always willing to hold a listener by the ankles until they have had a chance to think about what he has to say.

I wondered why the ankles.

"The more blood that rushes to your head, the faster your brain works and the sooner you make the right decision," he replied. "It's good if you decide before my arms get tired."
He must be right about the blood, because I saw the wisdom of his point of view in no time at all. Must be how he gets our creditors to see reason.

I sat down, perched my notebook on a level area in the pile, and set about composing this editorial.

As editors, we read a lot of submissions. A lot. From this enormous pile, we have to select about six decent stories per month.

Now, we knew getting into this that it would be like this. We really don't mind a big reading list. If we weren't doing this, we'd be reading for pleasure anyway, and now we can pass that off as a business expense, so that's all good.

We don't even mind the bad stories. They're pretty easy to identify, and we don't lose much time on them. It's the stories that start out good, with compelling characters, interesting plots, and fascinating concepts, but drop the ball and have no real ending that piss us off. In short, these stories get us drunk, spend our money, invite us back to their place, let us in and still say no.

And worst of all, bordering on crimes against humanity, are the promising stories that just end in tragedy for no good reason. Yes, yes, I know Shakespeare killed everybody off at the end of Hamlet, but that was the exception to the rule.

The pointless tragic ending is a hallmark of inexperienced writers. Most high school or college students who are first attempting to write are guilty of this. I don't know whether they feel that sadness will give a story depth, or they are sick of the happy ending or if they just can't shake the awful grim reality of having to spend their youth at a University drinking cheap beer and going to class 10 hours a week instead of starving, making mud bricks and dragging their Kalashnikovs through the leech infested jungles like the lucky young people in other countries.

The one thing that reading these dark pieces has done for me is given me a healthy fear of young people. I thought that after the Marines and working the ambulance nothing could scare me, but I had yet to look into the mind of a mildly depressed fourteen year old girl.

Don't get me wrong. There's no rule that every story has to have an upbeat ending. Tragedy has its place. Every ending does need to have a point, though.

A character should learn something, or overcome something, or grow in some way, even if they must sacrifice or die to do it. A good death is satisfying in a story, but a character who does everything right, struggles valiantly and then fails anyway is in no way satisfying. Nor is the abuse victim who never grows or learns, just goes on being abused. Nor is empty revenge very interesting.

In short, if you want to sell a story, or even just entertain an audience, give the story an ending that, even if it doesn't make us happy, at least makes us feel that the effort was worthwhile, both for us and the protagonist.

Don't send me stories where my greatest joy will be in the fact that it's finally over.

 

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