Do you guys like when a story tells you the end from the get-go?

[Clo]

I don't mind spoilers, if the book title steals the punch of the series (most won't notice until after they are done reading), if the back of book blurp reveals who the murderer is, if a time traveler or diviner tells someone the future.

Because I don't care where a story takes me.

I care how it takes me there. If the journey is interesting, I don't mind knowing the destination.

That said I do prefer strictly chronological story telling, and no in media res starts.

I prefer slow starts. Look how long it takes in old movies before the titular villain shows up. Tremors, Jaws, Gremlins.. they all spend a long time establishing the norm first.

 

[SternenklarenRitter]

How do y'all feel about "The Diary of Anne Frank," in its myriad translations and adaptations for pretty much every modern format and language? It doesn't exactly spoil its own story, but I think anyone who encounters it in any form already knows the ending.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Just watched Fallen because of you guys. Vetty Gud.
I especially like when the end is a type of new beginning and there are constant flashbacks when the main story is set in a time after the ending.

 

[Theresaisnotmenhera]

It's not a deal breaker for me, at least. But as others in the thread have already pointed out, it can be trickier to pull off well and may not even be suitable for every situation. Nevertheless, I do imagine there are a number of ways to leverage the knowledge of the ending as a source of conflict—hmm, like re-contextualizing it in the middle and stuff. And for literary works itself, knowing the ending most often is not detrimental to enjoying the story.

 

[Golden_Hyde]

"The End" as in like what? "The End" as in just that it, or "The End" as in "That's how it's end, but it could be more than that"?

if it's the former, then congratulations, you just killed your own story popularity faster than trying to make the MC way too OP, but if it's the latter... then I wish you good luck

though, as some people pointed out, if you can pull it off by explaining the process of "how it ends", then I guess it can be justified. Why it ends like that, and how did it went.

 

[matnun]

That's why I never read chapter one.

 

[ignova]

As others have pointed out, a lot of acclaimed stories do this, or use similar techniques. It's also common in mystery stories to not exactly start at the end, but start with the death, and then reconstruct what happened as the investigation plays out.

Sometimes 'giving away' the ending actually builds suspense, as dread builds as you anticipate what comes next.

 

[beast_regards]

That's why people skip prologues....

(even if the prologue isn't in fact a spoiler chapter, but no one knows that it seems)