Fuss, Cuss & Discuss: Open Endings vs. Cliffhangers

Hey there, my lovelies!

It’s been ages I last did one of those but since I can only keep my blog running by posting twice a week some things will have to be – let’s say – kind of sporadic. *lol* This discussion post has been on my mind for ages though so I finally decided to write it down on paper (or rather on screen) before I’m going to choke on it. XD Which is pretty likely because everything that doesn’t run out of my mind and right into my fingers is bound to make me go crazy on the long run. 😉

Anyway! Enough of my musings! Let’s just jump right into the fun.

So the topic this time around is „Open Endings vs. Cliffhangers“! I don’t know about you, but I for my part, have a more than just ambivalent stance when it comes to open endings and cliffhangers, which is to say I kind of love to hate them. 😛 So when it comes down to the bitter truth both options are horrible and leave me reeling but only one of them will make me bite my nails and tear at my hair. Can you already guess which one of them I’m talking about?

Yes, it’s open endings! Whilst cliffhangers are extremely inconvenient (and this is me putting it mildly) there’s still something they have going for themselves: If you’re able to get your hands on the next book of the series (and don’t have to wait an entire year for it) you’re instantly put out of your misery. *lol* You can read on and find out how it’s going to continue and this automatically makes them a little bit easier to bear. I mean you know there’s going to be a second (or third, etc.) book and that even though it might take years (I’m looking at YOU Patrick Rothfuss!!!) until it gets out you’ll still find out how it will all unfold in the end. So there is some sort of comfort to be found in reading a cliffhanger because sooner or later you’ll know what happens next. 🙂

Open endings? Well, they leave you reeling and you’ll never find out what happens next which is the main reason why they always send me around the bend. *lol* I swear, I love to hate „cliffhangers“ but „open endings“ they kill me, EVERY SINGLE TIME! There’s nothing that will get to me as much as not knowing how a book ends. I mean yes, technically an open ending is an ending of sorts but it’s one that leaves things up to you. And being the orderly person that I am this is pure torture for me. XD I like to know what happens to characters and I always need some sort of closure.

Give me a „they hugged and everything was alright“ and not a „they watched each other from a careful distance and neither dared to take a step“. *LOL* I know that’s a bad example and exaggerated, but with the first option you know they are going to be fine while the latter one leaves it open if they’ll be fine or not. Being the eternal optimist that I am I always like to think that a glass is half full instead of half empty so my mind would rather go for everything ending nicely but there are some books that imply a bad open ending and those are the ones that really, really drive me nuts. I’m thinking about a certain book I read recently that’s still haunting me and probably will continue to do so for a while. >_<

This said, I can still appreciate open endings even though they are pretty likely to destroy me. *lol* Talk about conflicting emotions… I think I could go on and on about this but for your sake I’ll refrain from going into a full blown rant and stop right here instead! To hear your opinions is way more interesting anyway. 😛

So what about you and your stance on „open endings vs. cliffhangers“? Do you love to hate them, too or do you prefer one option over the other? And if you do: Why? Is it torture to wait for the next installment after a cliffhanger or can you deal with it just fine? (If yes, please teach me your ways!!! *lol*)

Talk to me and let me know!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox