I struggle with writing endings. Always have.

I suspect it’s because I feel so wrung out by the time I near the finish line. I’m eager to slap a bow on it, emerge from my keystroke-induced trance, and rejoin civilization.

Here are a few things critique partners have said about my endings:

• They are “tidy” or “neat”

• I “tend to write happy endings”

• Someone once said I was “moralizing” at the end of an essay

With this newfound awareness in mind, I’ve been trying to lean more into that whole mysterious writer vibe and end on ambiguous, open-to-interpretation endings.

Personally, I don’t see happy endings as any less valid than messy ones. I think they each have their place. And I hope to be the kind of writer that can land any sort of ending.

P.S. I am traveling for two weeks and will pause Creative Juice for the time being. Your next edition will arrive late and hit your inbox on the 27th.

If you respond to this prompt, I’ll personally email you the submission link on Sunday. Ciao!

Jamie

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