Endings have never been easy for me. Once upon a time…
…because all good stories begin as such…
…I wrote a blog post, over on my other site (linkable HERE if you want to check it out) about this topic. I wrote it at the tail end of my once-life as a husband and the beginning of my NEW life as a single dad. “Single Dadhood” I called it then, and I still call it now despite the fact that I am NOT single, and haven’t been for close to a year. A relationship doesn’t alter my Single Dadhood status. My kids are still my responsibility when they’re with me and mine alone. And I wouldn’t trade that at this juncture for anything in this, or ANY Skew.
But I digress. Anyone who knows me as either a writer, a person or both knows what I’m presently doing. As of last night, I’m 85 pages… Balls deep into HEAVEN AND ENDWORLD, Book Three of The ENDWORLD Series and the conclusion of William MacNuff’s story. The end of an idea that I’ve been mulling for almost three decades that has evolved, over the years into a much larger concept than it originally was. What was once a cross between “The Terminator” and “The Wonder Years” with a little “Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huck Finn” thrown in for good measure has become something much, much bigger. Alternate realities. Spirituality. And I am grateful for what it has meant to me in the past and what it means to me now. So the idea that sometime within the next 300 pages or so I’m going to be finally putting it behind me is… I’ll not lie, a “tough pill to swallow.” Because endings have never been easy for me. Apparently almost 45 years of life has done little to call that into question.
How do I… How do WE deal with an end or endings in general? I guess every soul approaches it in a different way. Some ARE able to embrace a conclusion and move on quickly. Others? For them it takes time. That’s me. An “other.” Which is probably why I’m preemptively writing about it now and not before I compose the final chapter of my story. I know that I simply need to enjoy the ride… Let my fingers do the talking as they stroll across my keyboard, at times more furiously than others. I’ve pissed off a LOT of keyboards in my life, no sarcasm intended whatsoever. And I know that THIS keyboard… This story will not be my last. But before I can move onto the myriad of other tales that are and have been festering in my head for decades, I need to complete my first one. So I guess, in essence, HEAVEN is its own version of a Gateway. A door leading from one Skew… One story to another.
Don’t worry all. I’m not going to Stephen King or MCU this sh*t. There’s no shared universe in my mind. Just a bunch of one-off tales that I want to write that have been and are being… well? Cock-blocked by The ENDWORLD Series. And I will. But before that happens I need to embrace THIS ending. The next scene I have planned to begin on page 86 is my first calculated risk in HEAVEN. So I’m forcing myself to pause for a night and ponder it before diving in. Sleep. Perchance to dream? I hope so. Because I want it to be RIGHT. Because the people out there that have read and supported me throughout this process deserve an ending that pulls no punches. Zero plot holes. I plan to leave no proverbial, literary stone unturned. Twelve bullets and MAXIMUM EFFORT. Not to mention a couple of swords sheathed upon my back. F*cking Deadpool. It… He NEVER gets old.
There’s an argument that can be made that The ENDWORLD Series, and my laser focus upon it for almost 30 years is nothing more than me, pointing at myself and saying “see ME? See what I’M doing?” I know some folks reading this right now feel that way. It’s inevitable. I knew what I was getting into when I opted to write mainly in the First Person and declared The ENDWORLD Series an “autobiographical fiction.” To them… To ANYONE that thinks I’m doing this to get attention I’ve got news for you: I’m not. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I write because I love doing it. I write for the one person that I can impact… Engage for a couple hundred pages and come away with a smile of enjoyment and fulfillment upon their face. It’s not about fame or money. It’s about creating something that can and hopefully WILL stand the test of time. I grew up reading books: A pear-shaped kid who got lost in the words penned by any number of mad geniuses. Books allowed me to escape everything from bullying to heartbreak. And writing books… Writing in general has had the same effect. It’s a natural extension of who I was into who I am today.
So for all of you, or the handful of you that have been waiting I’ve got good news: It’s coming. Faster than I expected and while I refuse to predict length, or how long it’ll take me to finish it I will tell you that, barring something catastrophic, it won’t be six years. It might not even be two. But when I’m satisfied with it… When it’s ready and worthy of being the closing chapter for not just William, but all the other characters that populate his universe you’ll see it. I look forward to that day more than you realize. Thank you, as before and always for your love, support and interest in my story. The fact that it found an audience is next to my children being born the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me and… God. It’s amazing. Humbling. I’m speechlessness folks. And that doesn’t happen very often.
Goodnight, all. Tonight I rest. Tomorrow night I jump back in. Page 86 is calling…
FM
THE ENDWORLD SERIES 