This is Not The End

I've written many thousands of words over the years. It might even run into the millions. I wouldn't know; I'm a writer not a mathematician. But among all those words there are two that give me greater pleasure to write than any others.

"The End"

Whenever I write or type that then it means that my story's not far from done. Sure, I may need to do a lot more tidying up, to knuckle down to the hard work of being an author and fill in a load of gaps but when I've committed those words then at least I know in my heart that the bare bones of the story hold together. Once I've  got to that point then I've broken the back of it and sooner or later (and it's usually sooner) then the work will be ready for someone else to read.

I know that most novels and short stories that you read don't actually finish with those two words at the bottom of the printed page but that doesn't stop me typing them in these, my working copies. Some authors don't bother. Many only write these final words when they've written and rewritten and polished their work until it's the best that they can make it. For me it's a placeholder, a marker like an Epilogue or a Prologue. A  specific  place  in  the  tale. When I get to "The End" then all my loose ends should  be  tidied  up, my bad guy should be locked away in a cell or perhaps even dead and my hero should have solved the mystery, cleared his name and kissed the girl. This week I came to the conclusion that I'd done all of these things, or at least my characters had, so it was with great satisfaction that I typed a T, then a H…  you can guess the other five keystrokes.

I've completed the (very) rough first draft of my next novel. For those who have read and enjoyed 'The Happiest Workplace on Earth' then you'll be pleased to know that the new one is a sequel, tentatively titled 'The Storm Over  the  Bay'. If you've yet to sample the delights of 'The Happiest Workplace on Earth' then you have plenty of time to catch up. The new one's still a few months away from publication but it's good to know that I've reached another milestone in the book's life. It's getting pretty close to showing someone else. That's going to be my first proof-reader, my Beloved.

When it get's  to that stage then it starts to slip through my fingers. However many changes I make after that, even if there are none at all, it ceases to be entirely my work. Each book is a   collaboration between the minds of the writer and the reader. The author does their bit and then passes it on to the reader who fills in the gaps between the words with their imagination.

"The End" is really just a new beginning.