So What Is Optimistic Fiction?

If you're an author hoping to enter the contest, you may be wondering whether your book qualifies as optimistic fiction. We have a really simple answer:

If someone calling your book "optimistic" would make you very happy, then it probably is.

Beyond that, we think most optimistic books have a few things in common. These are general guidelines, not a checklist!

- If there's an external conflict, then good and evil (or right and wrong) are clearly defined, and good triumphs

- The characters overcome obstacles due to their own character qualities (intelligence, wisdom, perseverance), not due to random plot-necessary coincidences

- Doing good costs something, but the characters choose to do it anyway

- The readers and the characters end the book with reason to believe that the bad thing will not happen again

- The characters seem like they'd be fun to hang out with

- Often, food or music or dance or other purely-for-fun activities play a significant role in the book

Here is a very short list of famous examples from books, TV, and movies:

- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

- The Lord of the Rings

- The Aristocats

- Star Wars IV: A New Hope

In short, optimistic fiction is a story you enjoy, with characters you like, that leaves you feeling better than when you began. As we said earlier: if you're an author, and someone describing your book as "optimistic" would make you nod vigorously, then it probably is!