Typing “The End” Is Like Saying Farewell

As the time nears to when I’ll be saying farewell to my characters in my current work in progress, I’m feeling pretty much as I did on that day when my kids first started school. Do you know what I mean? That nauseous feeling rolling around inside your stomach as you let your little one go off into the big wide world for the first time without you by their side? I hated it, and worried all day until they returned with huge confident smiles which made me feel like a right idiot. Of course they coped. Of course they enjoyed the experience. But sadly also, of course they didn’t need me quite so much any more.

But as it was with my children, I know I have to let go and allow Justin and Nicole go out into the big wide world, too, but something inside me wants to keep them close to me, keep them safe. Spinning around inside my head are thoughts like, will people like them, will they accept them for who they actually are, will there be negative feedback which means I haven’t “taught them” what they should know to get along with others.

For the longest while I struggled with this story. If you follow me on Facebook you’ll have seen some of that struggle. But once everything fell into place, the story rolled off my fingers so quickly I couldnt believe the wasted time (not to mention those worrying hours, days, weeks when I thought I might have to give up on Justin). The best thing for me writing Justin’s story has been a chance to see who he really was, other than a dear and helpful friend to Raven. He was on the brink of a life changing event in Worlds Apart, but due to his secondary role in that story, readers never got the chance to delve into the past that haunted him or the present that was tying him in knots tighter than the mainsheet on a racing yacht. But now he has a future full of promise.

While I am still a little way off submitting this story, with my own editing to work through as well as a little finishing off, I hope you’ll be interested in finding out what dark secret from the past keeps this couple apart.

I’ll be sharing some more about Justin and Nicole in the next few weeks.