Okay, it's really not. But every time I think of those two words, or write them, I think of that REM song. I can't help it.
And this isn't about me writing THE END. Heck, I haven't written in about 6 weeks. Editing sucks the writing life right out of you. Well, okay, I have penned the occasional short this week, but nothing significant.
Anyway, I wanted to talk about endings. I always always struggle with writing the end of my novels. Lately, as I watched a friend go through this same struggle, I started thinking about The End.
And I realized why writing THE END is sometimes hard (at least for me).
Because we truly love these made-up people that we're writing about. And we want their story to end like Cinderella's, with Prince Charming on the white horse and living in the big castle with the nasties polishing the floor.
But most of the time--at least for me--there isn't that Happily Ever After. Rarely do my novels end in rainbows and sunshine and a fabulous pink gown. I don't mind novels that do. It's just not how I write.
Once I realized that, letting the story go toward the dark side became easier.
What about you? Is writing the end easy? Hard? Do you tend to end your stories happily? Why or why not?