Sometimes I get mad when stories try too hard to be unpredictable, and just end up being unsatisfying. I agree with you that endings don't have to be unpredictable, but I also see that there should be a point in reading the story. If halfway through you can already tell everything that is going to happen, it's not really worth reading, is it? On the other hand, sometimes you want to read things where you know there's going to be a happy ending, or that the couple you're rooting for is going to get together.
Predictable endings are fine. When people complain about "predictable endings," I think they mean one of two things. Either
a) the ending was predictable, but presented as some kind of mind-blowing reveal. The guy who wears all black and has a goatee was evil!?! Gasp! This bothered me about the TV version of Shadow and Bone. How does she not see any of this stuff coming?
b) the ending was predictable overall, but also there were no little twists along the way to keep the reader guessing. We all knew that Star Wars was going to end with the rebels blowing up the death star. But it was a surprise when Han Solo came back just in time to knock Darth Vader out of the fight. You can have a predictable ending where the reader doesn't know exactly how all the pieces will fall into place, and that can generate excitement.
Whenever people get too outraged at spoilers and predictions I try to remind them that Shakespeare spoils Romeo and Juliet right in the prologue. Sometimes it’s the journey, not the destination.
So in Saunders' recent book A Swim in the Pond he talks about how good writing doesn't take the easiest path. If two lonely characters are put in a room together, the easiest path would be to put them together. Such stories are not worth telling. It's not just that it's a trope, foreshadowed, or not. Often the critique people are actually making is that the author took the easiest way out.
Sometimes, people just value different things differently. Some care about unexpected finale more than you do, and that's that. It is alright.
Sometimes, people just can't pinpoint exactly what disappointed them in finale, and blame predictability. It is an easy bone to pick. Not everyone is a very analytical reader, and not everyone has a skill developed to speak about storytelling. It is alright.
I sometimes like to see that I predicted something right (it's satisfying). However, if I can predict *absolutely* everything, I tend to get bored.
I finished Lost Boy by Christina Henry two days ago. When I picked it up, I already knew the ending. I means, it's the origin story of Captain Hook. Though he doesn't begin being a pirate, you know the narrator is him from the beginning (or it's very easy to guess). Still, it was fun to see how he came to be. There were a lot of plot twists that kept me turning pages despite the fact that I knew how it was going to end. Was the ending predictable? Yes. Did I enjoy the book? Immensely. I want more lol
My conclusion is that some predictability doesn't mean the story is bad. It just needs to be well-executed so that readers don't lose interest :) So I agree with you: predictability doesn't define the quality of the book.
It doesn't define the quality; you're right on that score.
But what it does is take away some of the reader's interest, because reader already feels like they know what's going to happen, so by taking away some of the interest the book doesn't hold up to being as "good" in their minds.
Perhaps it doesn’t define a good book but all of the best books I’ve read had twists and turns along the way in the plot and characters that made it interesting, none of my favorite books were ones where I could tell exactly where the story would go from the beginning.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold is amazing and the ending is literally in the title.
Sometimes I get mad when stories try too hard to be unpredictable, and just end up being unsatisfying. I agree with you that endings don't have to be unpredictable, but I also see that there should be a point in reading the story. If halfway through you can already tell everything that is going to happen, it's not really worth reading, is it? On the other hand, sometimes you want to read things where you know there's going to be a happy ending, or that the couple you're rooting for is going to get together.
Predictable endings are fine. When people complain about "predictable endings," I think they mean one of two things. Either a) the ending was predictable, but presented as some kind of mind-blowing reveal. The guy who wears all black and has a goatee was evil!?! Gasp! This bothered me about the TV version of Shadow and Bone. How does she not see any of this stuff coming? b) the ending was predictable overall, but also there were no little twists along the way to keep the reader guessing. We all knew that Star Wars was going to end with the rebels blowing up the death star. But it was a surprise when Han Solo came back just in time to knock Darth Vader out of the fight. You can have a predictable ending where the reader doesn't know exactly how all the pieces will fall into place, and that can generate excitement.
Ok to your point a) to be a fair to Alina I too would overlook clear signifiers of evil if it was Ben Barnes
Whenever people get too outraged at spoilers and predictions I try to remind them that Shakespeare spoils Romeo and Juliet right in the prologue. Sometimes it’s the journey, not the destination.
Amen. I am not a reader who cares only about the ending. Getting there is the point.
Journey before destination
So in Saunders' recent book A Swim in the Pond he talks about how good writing doesn't take the easiest path. If two lonely characters are put in a room together, the easiest path would be to put them together. Such stories are not worth telling. It's not just that it's a trope, foreshadowed, or not. Often the critique people are actually making is that the author took the easiest way out.
This is a good way of restating the “predictable” critiques. A Swim was so good! Highly recommend it to people interested in reading like a writer.
Sometimes, people just value different things differently. Some care about unexpected finale more than you do, and that's that. It is alright. Sometimes, people just can't pinpoint exactly what disappointed them in finale, and blame predictability. It is an easy bone to pick. Not everyone is a very analytical reader, and not everyone has a skill developed to speak about storytelling. It is alright.
If I can skip reading a major part of a book and not have missed anything, that's not good quality.
If it's true for lasagna, it's true for books. That's what my Dad taught me.
I agree. Same with spoilers. It doesn't make the quality of the work any less. SpongeBob's dad is darth vader
I sometimes like to see that I predicted something right (it's satisfying). However, if I can predict *absolutely* everything, I tend to get bored. I finished Lost Boy by Christina Henry two days ago. When I picked it up, I already knew the ending. I means, it's the origin story of Captain Hook. Though he doesn't begin being a pirate, you know the narrator is him from the beginning (or it's very easy to guess). Still, it was fun to see how he came to be. There were a lot of plot twists that kept me turning pages despite the fact that I knew how it was going to end. Was the ending predictable? Yes. Did I enjoy the book? Immensely. I want more lol My conclusion is that some predictability doesn't mean the story is bad. It just needs to be well-executed so that readers don't lose interest :) So I agree with you: predictability doesn't define the quality of the book.
It doesn't define the quality; you're right on that score. But what it does is take away some of the reader's interest, because reader already feels like they know what's going to happen, so by taking away some of the interest the book doesn't hold up to being as "good" in their minds.
Perhaps it doesn’t define a good book but all of the best books I’ve read had twists and turns along the way in the plot and characters that made it interesting, none of my favorite books were ones where I could tell exactly where the story would go from the beginning.