The WordPress/JetPack writing prompt for today is:
If you could rewrite any book’s ending, which one would you choose?

Sometimes these writing prompts aggravate me in ways I can’t immediately define. This one was one of them. So I’m discovering the best approach is to deconstruct what it is that grates, and try to determine why.

Stories, even flawed ones, are the creation of a person*. They represent the story that the author chose to tell. Who are you, or me, to decide that we know a better ending than the creator who lived the book’s creation?

One thing that authors learn is that once the book is out, it’s out. Any major change to it will be seen by some fans as a betrayal. And let’s face it, if you’re talking about changing the end of a book, you’re talking about a famous book – one that has many fans.

In fact, there are current, living creators who have gone back and changed their stories after publication only to have the original fan-base take exception. Some of JK Rowlings’ retro pronouncements about the original Harry Potter series characters come to mind.

As does George Lucas’ decision that Han did not shoot first in the cantina during the original Star Wars movie (and George’s retro change to the film contradicts the book adaptation, which he can not go back and change, as it was authored by someone else). The “Han Shot First” movement is legion and militant in its belief that they and not George Lucas own that bit of story.

No, the best one can do, if they truly feel the need to re-write an ending, is wait until the story’s copyright has expired, then retell the story in a unique way. That’s what Wicked is, a retelling of the Wizard of Oz in a way that centres the “wicked” witch, redefining her character. There are large indie author communities built around retelling and redefining Grimm fairy tales and other works that have fallen into the public domain.

So, no, I don’t believe that we should be re-writing endings of books. If you don’t like a book, don’t finish reading it. Or write a book that responds to the elements that you don’t like. Or wait until its copyright expires and re-tell the story in a unique way that gives insight into the story you wanted it to be.

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*AI-created stories are the bane of the Earth, and should be deleted on contact, not rewritten.