: Re: What to avoid when writing a happy ending? I've finally decided to give a protagonist a happy ending, but what is there to avoid? What makes a happy end too cheesy? For example, if the story

@Kevin153

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I would turn the question around: What makes a happy ending work?

I think it's this:

The character has earned the happy ending.
The happy ending comes about as a direct result of the main character's actions. At the very least, the happy ending comes about as a result of the main character realizing something (as in The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy realizes that happiness is home and family).
The main character had to struggle for it. The happy ending did not come easily. To bring about the happy ending, the main character must do something difficult, or come to some difficult realization, or sacrifice something important.

So avoid having something or someone other than main character being agent of the happy ending. Avoid getting to the happy ending without a struggle.

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