Writing An Epilogue Is Boring

I've reached the point in my story where I need to tie up loose ends. The beginning of a story is ripe with possibilities. It's exciting to write. I'm one who never knows where a story is heading, but I can't wait to find out. At first my main character is rather generic. I know she's a woman (duh, I write women's fiction) and I know approximately how old she is. I know she either has a life's dream or is searching for one. From there I just write and see what happens. And what happens is always surprising to me. That's what makes writing fun.

In my current story a lot has certainly happened. Now I have to "bring it home". And I hate this part. I'm not a sugary, "happily ever after" person. Happily ever after doesn't exist. But obviously the ending has to be, if not happy, at least upbeat. And that's the boring part.

A review for one of my books complained that its ending was too rushed. Guilty as charged. I do need to exercise more patience. 

So I spent yesterday's writing session trying to form all the disparate parts into a whole. The good news is, my MC is finally concentrating again on her motel. And Dad, who only made one brief appearance in the entire book is on the scene and now has an actual personality. But I'm stalling. I've got a lot of ways to end up in the same place, but those ways can't leave the reader skimming. 

I also spent too much time researching. Do you know how much a tall pole sign costs? Up to $100,000! Obviously my MC, with barely ten dollars left in her account, can't afford that. But there has to be a new sign, after my multiple references to her hating the motel's current name. She even said it in the second paragraph of the story! So I'm searching for a solution to that. One might ask throughout the book's narrative why her fiance isn't footing these bills. He's making a good living, after all. I thought about that, too, but have so far avoided addressing it. I guess in my mind I want her to remain independent. However, I can picture the reviews now: "Why is her fiance such a cheapskate?" I thought about throwing in a bit of dialogue somewhere in which he says, "I know you're intent on doing this yourself, but..." To me that comes off as author pandering. Maybe it's better to just leave it alone.

I also took a meandering trip through Google to find cheap ways to replace all the MC's belongings that were destroyed. She can't open for business with her rooms half furnished. 

Then there's the whole villain issue. The villain's motive was never delineated. Sure, it can be inferred, but it felt like one more loose end to tie up. I hate telling, as in one character recounting to another something that took place in the past, but in this case there is no other way to do it. I did my best to make it interesting.

Every one of my novellas so far has featured one pearl of wisdom, unintentionally. Usually it's offered by the MC's dad, but in this case it's her fiance who provides a nice life lesson. I do like that. It was kind of a throwaway line, but it works.  

Overall, my writing session was productive, but an epilogue is not fun to write. I feel like I'm writing, "To sum everything up..."

I need to find a way to do it that doesn't bore myself. Because I'm so close to being done.