As you know, I am preparing my latest work, An Interrupted Proposal, for publishing. It is currently with the editor, but I have also received feedback from readers. One of the requests I received was for an epilogue and it got me thinking. For years, I heard that writers should not write epilogues, but readers of some genres (especially JAFF and romance) seem to expect them.
So, what exactly is an epilogue? According to Mirriam-Webster, it is “a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work.” Wikipedia is a bit more thorough: “An epilogue or epilog is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the work.”
There are pros and cons to epilogues, but their main purpose is, as Wikipedia noted, to bring closure by revealing what happened to the characters. Part of this might be showing how characters changed based on the events of the story. They might even set up a sequel (and we have to pray the author actually wrote it). In addition, they can tie up loose threads, but many people see this as “sloppy” writing if the author was unable to tie those up in the main story.
I like to focus on the first and primary purpose. They are like those bits of bio at the end of “based on a true story” movies that tell us what happened to the characters we became so invested in over the previous couple of hours. The fact that the readers have come to care for the characters so much that they don’t want to stop reading when the main story is over can be taken as a great compliment. Isn’t that why there are so many JAFF stories out there? We can’t bear to stop reading about Jane Austen’s well-crafted characters. We want to know everything: every action, every milestone, every thought, every high, and every low.
That said, there are some who skip the epilogues (and some who complain about them in reviews). They aren’t for everyone. Some authors don’t write them, and some write more than one in every book. There doesn’t seem to be a set rule, and everyone has their own opinion.
For the most part, I write epilogues because I know it is what the readers want. The first epilogue I wrote was in my second book, Behind the Mask, (there is an epilogue in The Ball at Meryton now, but it was not in the original edition).
I felt like I needed to tell everything and mapped out everyone’s children and who they married, etc. I thought I had covered it all until my neighbor demanded an explanation of how two characters had ended up marrying and, to appease her, I was forced to write Mistress Mary and the General.
And, yes, I am guilty of setting up for another book in a series and then not following through (Caroline Bingley stopped talking to me when I tried to make her too much like Elizabeth, and A Soldier’s Tale is still in the TBW file). Although I do not like to leave loose threads, sometimes I enjoy it when some little tidbit that was written off as “oh, well, we may never know” is clarified in the epilogue – especially if it is at the very end.
So, will there be an epilogue for An Interrupted Proposal? To be completely honest, I don’t know what more to say. I think this time we are just going to close the door on Lizzy and Darcy and let them enjoy their uninterrupted time. (Unless someone has an idea that kindles my creativity on this one.) (**While reviewing this to post, I might have come up with an idea – let me see what comes of it. 😉 )
What are your thoughts on epilogues? Are you in the “I gotta have it” group, the “I can take it or leave it” group, or the “I don’t even bother reading them” group?
Next month I will be doing a cover reveal! (Sending a HUGE thank you to Summer Hanford for coming to my rescue!) See you then!
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