To quote more of the Vonnegut rules mentioned earlier:

Quote Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post
Kurt Vonnegut - Eight rules for writing fiction:



2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

6. Be a sadist. Now matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
I'm quite good at 6, and I know there are people that like the extraordinarily mean and dark endings.