You Think You Want Happy, But You Don't Want Happy

I announced the start of my new novel to my husband with high hopes and even presented him with the first chapter in rough draft form. You see, while he is amazingly supportive of my writing, when it comes to a premise involving human trafficking, he is . . . not a fan. I thought he might be enthusiastic about the changes I'd made in my plot, but as it turns out . . . not so much.

"Why can't you just write a happy book?" he said.

In a word? Snore. Who wants to read a happy book? The cornerstone of great fiction is conflict, not happiness. Conflict serves several functions in fiction, and they all work together to keep the reader turning the pages.

Conflict raises the stakes, and the higher the stakes, the better. High stakes ensure that your reader's bathroom break doesn't lead to a half hour of tv and then to your book being shelved indefinitely. You need conflict to hook your reader and keep them hanging on because they just have to know what happens next.

Conflict is a welcome diversion. When we can read about someone whose life is full of exploding cars, time travel, walking undead, and the ultimate battle between good and evil, we tend to forget that layoffs are imminent, the car's engine is knocking, and the faucet is leaking. Fictional characters' problems are so much more interesting than our own, and when the book is finished, our problems look smaller compared to finding your wife's real murderer before the lead detective in the case tracks you down and sends you upriver for life.

Conflict is cathartic. For real fiction lovers, the combination of climax and denouement are a drug of choice. We come to expect this build-up of fictional tension and a dramatic resolution that produces a nearly physical reaction of release and satisfaction. It's an addiction. One that won't add inches to your waist, break up your marriage, or make you lose your job. Does it get any better than that??

So, no, I don't have plans to write any "happy" books until I change my genre to cardboard books for toddlers. Happy endings are welcome, but happy books . . . extremely unlikely. And by that I mean, not going to happen.