The time has come, to quote the walrus in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. In this case, I’m making the final approach to the end of the first draft of GLAMOUR. I’ve got another eight scenes or so to go, and maybe another 75-80 pages. I’ve got a rough outline of seven of those scenes, but I’m finding it difficult to commit to the ending. I like quite a lot of these characters (even the bad guys), and I’m worried that if I do what I’m planning to do to the good guys at the ending, that it might be too mean.
There is a real temptation to mete out justice to ALL the bad guys, and make sure all the good guys are happy at the end, but I don’t think that is the right way to go. There’s no true happy ever after in Urban Fantasy. On the other hand, I spent a lot of time building my story world, and am reluctant to blow it to smithereens. My inner critic is starting to slap me around a little, and I’m beginning to waffle on the ending. Do I go with the expected victory, limp away to fight again another day, or go somewhere a little darker?
I envision this story world as being the foundation to a possible future series, so I suppose I need to keep the infrastructure in place. At the same time, the story needs to stand on its own, and too many unresolved dangling issues will interfere with a satisfying ending, I think. I need to make a decision. I read somewhere recently that the first draft of a manuscript is for the writer. If that’s true, then I really do know the ending. Oh those poor trusting little oysters…
