The end... and then some

[next_to_normal]

I'm a little behind the times here, since this blog post is from almost two weeks ago, but over on edittorrent, there was a post about epilogues and then a follow-up, which naturally produced thinky thoughts.

I've never written an epilogue.¹ I have, however - on enough occasions for it to raise an eyebrow - gotten comments on the last chapter of more than one fic asking, "Will there be an epilogue?" or the even more baffling, "Great story! Can't wait for the epilogue!" Like, they just assumed there'd be one, even though I haven't given any hint that there's an epilogue. The story's finished - the plot is resolved, the characters have arced, and the relationship question (if there is one) is settled, if not a guaranteed "happily ever after." So where does the expectation come from that there's going to be something beyond the conclusion of the story? For any other authors out there - do you feel that same expectation? Do you ever write an epilogue just because people want one, even if the story doesn't need it?

One trend that I've found in fanfic is that epilogues are often about sex. It's completely unnecessary to the plot, but once everything's settled and the story's over, Buffy and Spike go for a roll in the hay... why? To affirm their relationship? To give them a happily ever after? Because you wanted to write smut but it didn't fit in the actual story? Because you think people won't like your story if there's no sex?

That last one, by the way - that's ridiculous. If the scene doesn't add anything to your story, you shouldn't be tacking it on the end just to please readers who want smut. If they want smut, they can go read a PWP. Now, if YOU want smut, I'd recommend either a.) figuring out a way to work it into the story, rather than tacking it on at the end, or b.) just write a different, more smut-friendly story. Not every fic has to have sex, and if it doesn't work for this particular fic, you can always write another one that does. If you're really attached to your epilogue scenario, write it as a one-shot set in the same 'verse and post it separately. You'll probably get more readers that way, because then you'll pick up the PWP fans who didn't want to bother with your plotty fic just for one chapter of hot sex.

As for the other issues, I think you know how I feel about those. :) Once a story ends, I don't need confirmation that Buffy and Spike will still be together six months later, or six years later, or whenever your epilogue is set. I also don't need them to have sex to cement the fact that they're together. If you think I do, then you probably didn't do a good enough job of establishing their feelings for one another in the body of the story.

That's not to say there aren't good reasons for writing an epilogue.² There were a few suggestions in the original comments, such as an ironic twist, or bookending a story with a prologue and epilogue (e.g. the pro and epi are in present-day, and the whole story is a flashback or something). But in general, epilogues seem to beg the question, "Is it necessary?" And if so, why isn't it part of the actual story?

So, I guess I'll end with the same questions posed in the original post - Have you ever written an epilogue, and if so, what was your reason for doing so? What makes an epilogue work and what doesn't?

*****

¹I kind of called Turning a Corner an epilogue, mostly so it would be acceptable to post on Spuffy archives, but it isn't a true epilogue since it can be read as a one-shot without having read the story that precedes it. You'll notice it's listed as a separate story both on my sidebar and in my fic index.

²I always feel compelled to qualify posts like this, because if I don't, I'll get a slew of responses saying, "Why do you hate epilogues? There are perfectly good epilogues out there!" (Or, God help me, "I write epilogues! Are you calling me a bad writer?") I don't hate epilogues, I'm not morally opposed to them, and I don't think that anyone who's written one should be taken out back and shot. For everything I rant about, there's always an exception to be made for something done well. But when I post about something, I'm usually doing one of two things (often both): 1. expressing a personal preference; 2. pointing out a trend that may not be not inherently bad, but is often poorly executed.

Comments

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I think I've written quite a few. Not sure why I called them "epilogues" though. They could just as easily have been a last chapter in some cases. Usually, if I do one, it's because there was a loose end that could/should be tied up but that wasn't really important enough to include in the main story. They often are stand-alones that get posted long after the fic - sometimes just because something else has occurred to me. Sometimes because I have two different endings. For instance, in "Till the End of the World", readers had an option of stopping when Spike had been reunited with Buffy and Dawn's daughter. A semi-happy ending - considering that the fic had made it clear that things were going south for the world. Or, they could go on the epilogue, in which things are ending and we get a short glimpse of S/B last days.
Or, in "The Eve of Destruction", the fic ends quite well with character deaths. I wrote a short, optional, epilogue that is visible only on my website (if you click on it) for readers who can't handle unhappy endings. They can read some drivel about Buffy and Spike meeting in Heaven. *shut up!*
So, yeah, I do them occasionally - for different reasons, one of which is that I like writing the word "epilogue". LOL

[next_to_normal]

Yeah, often it seems like the epilogue should just be called the final chapter. But if it comes way after the fic was finished, I don't think it really counts as an epilogue - more of a one-shot in the same 'verse, like I mentioned above.

I wrote a short, optional, epilogue that is visible only on my website (if you click on it) for readers who can't handle unhappy endings. They can read some drivel about Buffy and Spike meeting in Heaven. *shut up!*

Heh. I'm sure you know what I'm gonna say to that... (I believe the word I used in my post was "ridiculous.") I'll say you're much kinder to your readers than I would be. :) If you really want two endings, that's one thing, but why write an ending you call "drivel" just to please a few oversensitive people?

[silverusagi]

I haven't written an epilogue, but um, I intend to. I don't really think epilogues are expected, and it didn't occur to me to write one except for the fact that it seemed to fit the story. Sideways will end a few days after the final battle, but there are a few issues (with Giles and maybe with Joyce) that it's unrealistic to have resolved within those days. So I'm thinking the epilogue will skip a few months. Though I'm not sure if it will be a few scenes in one day, more of a summary, or some combination with exposition and short flashbacks. There will also be some Buffy/Spike ending stuff. Not fluff, just stuff. But there will be no sex. I decided that a long time ago. There's enough sex in the fic already, and I'm not going to do an ending sex chapter. I had a conversation about this not too long ago on my LJ, and someone raised the good point that there's nothing memorable about sex and an ending should be memorable, which further makes me not want to end fics with sex.

[next_to_normal]

I don't really think epilogues are expected

I didn't, either, until I got comments on three separate fics asking whether I would write one.

I'm not going to do an ending sex chapter.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever ended a fic with sex, epilogue or not. Whether that makes them more or less memorable, I'm not sure, lol.

[silverusagi]

It also seems that the epilogue or ending chapter is often completely full of sex. Which makes me not want to do it for that reason alone. But I think the final thing you read should tie it all together or leave the reader with an impression. I'm not sure sex does that, other than the affirming their relationship thing you mentioned above. Which, sex by itself doesn't do that. Their relationship should already be affirmed somehow. So then sex is just an expected bit of fanservice at the end, which also doesn't make me want to do it.

[next_to_normal]

Exactly. I think that might be why I get so many epilogue requests - it's not so much that people expect the epilogue, it's that they expect the sex. It's never in the last chapter, so clearly there must be an epilogue coming with some smut in it, right? (Wrong.)

[rahirah]

Off the top of my head I can only remember writing one story that needed an epilogue of sorts - the last chapter of NE is a half-length one that takes place a few weeks after the grand climax of the main plotline, wraps up a few dangling character arcs, and sets up some foreshadowing for future stories. There is sex, as it happens (or at least cuddling) but it's just a backdrop for the conversation the characters are having, which is the really important part.

[next_to_normal]

Was it the length that made you call it an epilogue rather than a regular chapter? I don't think that kind of coda is necessarily out of place as the last chapter of a story, since you do need a denouement after the big climax. Sometimes it seems like, if there's a skip in time, people feel like it has to be an epilogue and not part of the story, but I think that's a silly rule.

[rahirah]

Honestly, I think it was because I'd planned thirty-six chapters, and I ended up with some important stuff left over. It fit a number of the criteria for an epilogue, so what the heck, it was an epilogue. (Though when I set up my eFiction archive, it became a mere runty chapter again.)

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, 95% of the time, I find epilogues unnecessarily gratuitous. And that's even in published works.

Though the final chapter of Murphy is going to be an epilogue.

And possibly the final chapter of Influence, depending on how things develop (Though it'll be necessary to read because, while the main plot is resolved in the previous chapter, the character arcs don't get resolved until that epilogue...though I just might make it an actual chapter. What's the difference anyway?)

Er...anyhow, I'm obviously a big hypocrite. :)

[next_to_normal]

LOL, it cracks me up that everyone feels compelled to confess their intent to epilogue. Should I be doling out penances here? :)

while the main plot is resolved in the previous chapter, the character arcs don't get resolved until that epilogue...though I just might make it an actual chapter. What's the difference anyway?

If the character arcs are just as significant as the main plot, why shouldn't they get resolved in the story itself, rather than being shunted off to an epilogue?

There are definitely fics that go on too long after the plot's been resolved, but one chapter is hardly stretching it out.

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

Should I be doling out penances here?

Hee. :)

It would mainly be an issue of semantics as to what I decide to call the final chapter. It'll likely be shorter than a standard chapter and might even use a different style and tone. If it feels too disjointed from the primary narrative, I'd call it an epilogue to differentiate it. It really depends.

(I'd explain in detail what it entails, but...well...fic spoilers...)

[silverusagi]

LOL, it cracks me up that everyone feels compelled to confess their intent to epilogue.

So is it an epilogue because it's an epilogue and that's what I'm calling it, or is it an epilogue because of how it's written? In my case, I just realized that some time needed to pass between the end of the last conflict and the end of the fic. Does time passing automatically make it an epilogue? It could easily just be the last chapter, since I don't really have a thing like a standard chapter. (Although, I do sort of think putting "Epilogue" is like a big neon sign saying that yes, this is over, without having an author's note to the effect of "this is the end." For, perhaps, um, the less observant reader, LOL? The ones who may recognize that the conflict is over, but are maybe still expecting some fluff/sex chapters?)

[next_to_normal]

So is it an epilogue because it's an epilogue and that's what I'm calling it, or is it an epilogue because of how it's written?

Interesting question. I don't think there's any one particular way to write an epilogue - it depends on what you're trying to do with it - although probably one of the criteria should be that there's a reason to set it off from the rest of the story. A lot of times things get called epilogues when there's no reason not to call it the last chapter.

I wouldn't say a time gap automatically makes it an epilogue - in fact, I said just the opposite to rahirah above. :) Not that I always do everything right, but I have a skip to "one month later" in Closure... but it happens with two chapters to go. It wouldn't have made sense to make it an epilogue; the story's still unfinished at that point because Buffy's issues with Spike are still very much unresolved.

I think the mistake most people make is assuming that the story should be over when the main plot is resolved, and everything after that must be in an epilogue. But there's other threads - relationships, subplots - that also need to be resolved, and they're part of the story, so the resolution should happen in the story, not in the epilogue. An epilogue is for something outside the scope of the story, but somehow related to the story.