Now that the windstorm has died, we’re left with bare branches. I can envision their earlier colour, once burgundy, then scarlet, now strewn as a blanket beneath. The forecast is for frost tonight.
This is the part of autumn that makes me wistful. I love all the weeks of lingering warmth and glorious colour, and am always reluctant to see them end. Mind you, there have been compensations. We enjoyed a toasty fire in the family room fireplace last night for the first time in months. I’ve also been cuddling into a cozy afghan while writing this week. Oh, and the bins of winter wear came up from the basement recently and I’ve re-discovered my favourite sweaters.
Nevertheless, I hate saying goodbye to what has become familiar and comfortable. I’m SO not an adventurer, at least not in real life. In fiction it’s a different matter. A new season suggests jumping into a new story, and that aspect is always exciting.
But am I the only one who hates to say goodbye to make-believe characters when their story comes to an end? After creating them and spending months being an integral part of their lives, loves, and struggles, it’s hard for me to cut them loose and send them off into the world on their own. I want to follow them.
That has to be why sequels and series are so popular. At least in a sequel I could continue with my favourite characters into their new adventures and conflicts. So far, my stories have all been the stand alone kind, but there’s a growing community of people within them that wants to return. During this month’s NaNoWriMo endeavour, I’m trying to finish another independent novel, but I’m already thinking ahead.
There are whispers on the wind from earlier characters, begging me not to abandon them. Hmm … something familiar to help disperse the chill of the approaching new season. 🙂
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“To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven”
[Ecclesiastes 3:1]
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MUSINGS 
I am the same when reading a good book. I almost hate to finish it as I don´t want to say goodbye to the characters. It´s the same with a TV series. Downton Abbey will be difficult to say goodbye too. We have already seen it (so no spoilers) but we do have a Christmas episode to look forward to. I think you should bring a past character back to life in a new story. I can´t seem to give up on Amanda, although I just started another in the series without her pal, Leah. Not sure how that will go. Good luck with NaNOWriMo!
I hadn’t thought about TV series, Darlene, but that’s very true for me, too (although Downton Abbey isn’t one I’ve watched). I can’t imagine ‘giving up’ on Amanda; she’s really the heart of your current writing. 🙂
I don´t think I´ll be giving up on Amanda for some time! Thanks for your encouragement.
I think of Louise Penny and her dear Inspector Gamache and company, all of whom I look forward to greeting again with each new book. Not only writers hate letting go of their characters! Readers do too!
I’m a big Louise Penny fan, too. Her characters are very distinctive and relatable.
It is difficult saying goodbye to some characters when reading and writing. I’m actually reading a book now that has characters from another story. It’s quite nice. 🙂
I have favourite characters both in my own writing and in some of what I read. For me, it depends on how likeable and relatable they are and whether the overall setting in which they appear is one to which I’d like to return. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy Louise Penny’s characters–I like their Three Pines community.
While I was happy to finish my trilogy, leaving my characters behind made me sad. Perhaps I’ll revisit the younger generation someday. They still whisper tantalizing nuggets in my ear. Perhaps the older ones might have a cameo role in a new series – a look at their early days. Some of my readers have said they’d miss them as well.
Yes, that’s exactly it–”whispering tantalizing nuggets”. I hope you’re able to bring your favourites back, too.
My hubby rushes to finish a book, but I don’t. It’s like having company that leave too soon, while I’m not ready to say goodbye. I feel like that here when April hits.
I approach different books differently. Suspense stories and thrillers tend to get me hurrying to find out how they end, while cosies and more mainstream stories beg to be digested at a more leisurely pace. Bucerias must be one of those ‘leisurely pace’ experiences. 😉