: Re: Should I follow my instinct or public demand when writing a story? What would you do if you faced the same dilemma Sir Arthur Conan Doyle faced when he actually wanted to end "Sherlock Holmes"

@Jessie137

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Another thing to consider when writing your ending is not what you want, nor what you think the audience wants, but rather what does the story want? I am a firm believer that if you tell a story well, the ending will feel right to you and to the reader alike. If instead you get to the end of your tale and the ending you want doesn't "fit" what you want, perhaps the expectations you set up in the first 90% of the book don't fit what you want, either.

This is an example of "fulfilling promises to your reader" that the folks at Writing Excuses talk about all the time, e.g. here. It won't be easy to rewrite your story to make different promises, but I don't think you will ever be satisfied long-term with a story and an ending that don't fit well. On the plus side, there is at least one person who wants to see that ending, and if you put the right tale in front of that ending, you may discover there are many more.

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