...And They Lived Happily Ever After

How a story ends is just as important, if not more important, as how it
began.  Whatever note the author ends on, sets our imagination in 
motion as to what happens after the scripted end of the story.  If a 
story has been moving constantly in a single direction and does not 
alter course at the end then it is logical to consider that whatever 
was going on throughout the story will continue to go on.

Okay, I'm going to cut the bullshit and cut to the chase.  What's 
making my cock hard this week is stories that end in "...and they lived
happily ever after" (ATLHEA).  Some stories pretty explicitly state 
"and that's the way things were, from then on".  A story does not have 
to make an explicit statement to be considered an ATLHEA story, by me. 
If a character has decided on a major lifestyle change and at the end 
of the story it seems like the change is permanent then I would 
consider that an ATLHEA story.  Joe starts sleeping with his sister 
Becky.  He had always considered incest a no-no.  By the end of the 
story a year has passed and Joe and Becky are still going at it like 
there's no tomorrow.  This would qualify as an ATLHEA story in my book.

Before I go any further I want to make clear that not all stories are 
capable of being classified at ATLHEA stories, by me.  They have to 
meet at least two criteria:

(1) There has to be a dilemma that involves explorations of 
    motivations and a change in lifestyle.

(2) The story has to involve several happenings or events over a 
    period of time.

Based upon these criteria the following categories of stories do not 
qualify for consideration:

(1) Stories which involve a single incident, or evening.

(2) Stories in which there is no dilemma.  The main characters only 
    experience a procedural change in the way they live their lives.  
    There is no serious questioning of motivations.  These stories would 
    fall more into the mold of "They were living happily and they will 
    continue to live happily ever after" (TWLHATWCTLHEA).

Stories that do get qualified as ATLHEA are not necessarily bad ones, 
in my book.  It does not help them to get a good review from me, but on
the other hand it is a minor consideration compared to whether they 
have dilemma or not.

These are my opinions.  Please continue to read the kind of stories you
enjoy reading and continue to write the kind of stories you enjoy 
writing.  I am just a reader who likes to air his views.

This reader would like to hear how others feel on this subject.  I hope 
I'm not taking the fun out of reading or writing these stories for any 
of y'all, but I do get to thinking about these things at times.