Creating an Optimistic Sotry

I really want to be a writer and I want to be the kind of writer that creates positive, optimistic stories. I don't want it to be completely saccharine, but I want a story that's hopeful and bright. I like the fact that there's a thread talking about maturity, but I also want to write a story that defies True Art is Angsty and Silly Rabbit, Idealism is For Kids. Is there any idea how I can write a well-written, positive story?

Any way to edit the title?

I dont think that there is a formula for it. You just have to adopt the mindset itself while writing. Reading stories that fit this description will help, although that can be easier or harder depending on what genre you are writing in. I'm in somewhat of a similar situation myself, as I'm writing an action-adventure spy novel with no angst in it. There is nothing in print today that comes close to the tone I want.

Do you think the world is shit?

If your answer to the above question is no, you should reasonably be able to write a good optimistic story. Analyze and question your worldview until you find out your true reasons for believing the world is not shit, and then hold on to those reasons as you write a story as mature, complex and honest as you're capable of.

I recommend you to read Momo and The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. They're admittedly labeled as children's books, but they're incredibly well written and occasionally pretty dark works that never succumb to cynicism.

edited 17th Sep '14 3:35:08 AM by ArtisticPlatypus

Bump

Make your characters well rounded with some flaws, have a bad thing happen to them, and have them succeed after a lot of trying. Points if the plot is complex as well. Diana Wynne Jones was great at optimistic novels which needed a few reads to completely suss out.

I can suggest a series for you: Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It's an anime, and it's drawing style may not be exactly appealing. But...ok, slight spoilers: The series begins as a standard Magical Girl series, but as it progresses, it gets more and more depressing, until finally in the finale it becomes hopeful and optimistic again. This series is a very good example of an optimistic story that isn't all Saccharine.

I wouldn't call the ending optimistic.

The entire philosophy behind the series is that there's a fixed amount of happiness and sadness in the world and you can't make someone better off without hurting someone else. That's pretty darn cynical.

Warning: heavy spoilers ahead.

That was the philosophy the series was pushing, that any hope that is brought into the world brings despair to someone else. As a result, sooner or later a magical girl would fall into despair and become a witch. But Madoka's sacrifice (in as much as becoming a God is a sacrifice) at the end changed all that. Magical Girls no longer have to fear becoming witches and in fact, she retroactively removed every witch from existence by the very nature of her wish. The final scenes at the end where magical girls have to fight demons instead of witches was an alternate timeline where witches didn't exist, which showed that, yes, despair will always manifest in this world in some form, but there will always be someone (magical girls) to protect the world and act as a symbol of hope for the people. That is an optimistic message. Or that could just be me.

edited 1st Oct '14 11:05:54 PM by Elfhunter

I really need more recommendations. Comic books, video games, anything on Netflix. Just give me something.

Read David Brin's The Postman.

A lone survivor in post-apocalyptic America finds an old Postal Service van, and decides to try and blag his way into a nearby settlement by dressing as a postman and claiming to have letters to deliver to other pre-war survivors. His ruse is successful, and he's allowed in. Under the scrutiny of the locals he embellishes his lie, claiming to be from the "Restored United States": the remains of the federal government, looking to reopen the old postal routes and re-connect America into a cohesive nation.

This further lie not only wins over the locals, but also reminds them of the greatness of the past, and gives them hope for the future. They agree to help the protagonist in establishing a local post office, and give him food and supplies for the long road west. They also decide to pursue the ideals of the old world themselves, that had been all but forgotten in the scramble for survival. They start gathering old books and starting schools, trying to rebuild what was lost on their own.

As our protagonist continues on his wandering, he repeats his lie, telling all he meets of the Restored United States and the new postal routes, and finds ready support everywhere he goes. Soon a functional postal service is actually established, giving hope for the rebirth of America. And our hero wanders on, buffeted by the inertia of his home-spun myth as it takes on a life of its own.

I'm not really doing the story justice - you can read the first few chapters for free here: [1]

In my opinion, everyone with even the slightest interest in post-apoc fiction should read this. It's a story of hope and faith, of the value of myths, the resilience of the human spirit in the face of terrible adversity, and of picking up the pieces after the end and building something new. It also contains a brilliant send-up of Prepper culture and the militia movement, which I can't recommend enough.

edited 8th Oct '14 5:36:16 AM by Tungsten74

However, don't see the movie with Kevin Costner, it sucks.

By optimistic, do you just mean a story that leans on the positive in the end in spite of the darker things or do you just mean a lighthearted story?

Both, but mostly the former.

Ah excellent! I'm exactly the same as you in that regard of wanting optimistic stories, so I can name quite a bit of stories that do this for me. I'll have a bit more on the side of manga, but still

Liar Game manga Itsuwaribito Utsuho, I'm currently reading this Leverage Superman vs. The Elites Ace Attorney franchise Shadow Hearts Tales franchise. I suggest Vesperia & Abyss personally to take a look at. One Piece

The key itself has already pretty much been said. You need to find that thing which you can stand by as being right, as being positive, as being something worth standing for, etc. Throw obstacles at it, give it problems, and so forth them overcome it.

Earn Your Happy Ending is one of my personal favorite tropes to use here and study examples of it. I'll see if I can think of more to add as I feel being positive and finding things to be positive about/showing why one should be is underrated at times by so many in storytelling.