User blog comment:Banningk1979/Writing Advice for the Solid Writer/@comment-5632489-20150511193640/@comment-25052433-20150512001216

I would say that is a strong matter of opinion. In my opinion, much of that depends on the length of the story and how developed the characters are.

In some of my short stories, like Beauty and The Beast or The Demon in the Mirror Trick, the characters do meet a horrible fate. Of course, these are quickly derived characters that exist more to propel the plot than sit at the center of attention.

And while I certainly agree that even great characters can meet a grim fate, I don't believe that improves that story or is any more effective.

In my longer stories, I strive for a sense of balance. That balance, to me, is achieved through the aspects of redemption, salvation, justice or irony.

While the good guys don't always have to win, and the bad guys don't always have to lose, writing strictly bleak endings just for the sake of morbidity will only lead to predictable story telling where the 'worst' happens everytime becasue....well just because.