I don’t know if this is unique to my children, but they sing “the song that never ends.” Depending on who’s having a grumpy day, the other one will start singing it just to needle the grump. Their unexpected side benefit is the slippery loss of my sanity, as I put my head down on my desk, steering wheel, kitchen counter, wherever I happen to be when the song starts. (And never ends, don’t you know?)

Still, it had me thinking about endings. Since I’m writing a series, I’m a fan of the cliffhanger. Okay, sometimes it’s just open-ended, more than it’s a cliffhanger, but they feel like cliffhangers to me. So, in essence, I am writing the story that never ends. I would love to sing that to my children to drive them up the wall, but it wouldn’t work.

Philosophically speaking, though, I guess I don’t believe in endings. My mom would always say “Merry Christmas” to people when there would be a long space of time between visits, instead of goodbye. Goodbye felt too final.

As long as we live and breathe, we are learning and shifting and undergoing changes – willingly or not. Even in fiction, the characters should be living people, experiencing life in the same way. Nuanced writing comes with the recognition that the book may end, but the story does not.

Love grows, or fades. Time passes and shifts our landscapes along with it. Those incredible people we bring to life on the page are no different.

Arbitrary thoughts on a Monday. Gearing up for new book releases does that to me. 🙂

Blessings to you all…