Saturday, January 13, 2007

Waiting for Harry Potter

I see where Amazon and some of the other book sellers are starting to sign up people to be notified when the next Harry Potter book is released. Does that mean we're getting close?

Hellooo, the reader in me is getting impatient. I would have liked to get this book for Christmas. A part of me wonders what's the holdup, already. I mean, J.K. Rowling worked out the plot years ago, and she's even written the last chapter already, so finishing the book should be a breeze.

However, the writer in me knows how difficult reaching the end of a book can be. Reaching the end of a series is even harder. It's like a little death in the family. You're saying goodbye to characters you love, to people who seem quite real to you and who have haunted your dreams (and a lot of your waking moments, too) for years.

I remember when I reached the end of my first series. I did not want to let go. I almost felt like a murder, writing "The End" across the lives of my characters. I mean, things had to happen to them after "The End" didn't they, just like they happen to us in real life. But I wasn't going to imagine it and I wasn't going to write it. This was goodbye, and it hurt.

I even feel the same way as a reader, when I find a book that I adore. If I love the world and I love the characters, I don't want to say farewell. I always start the last chapter with a little reluctance, instead of eagerness to learn how it ends. And I read the last paragraph with pleasure but with regret as well.

I think it's the French who say that sex is the "little death," but writing can be, too. I'd love to know how J.K. Rowling feels when she pens the last line.

And I hope she does it soon ... because ... I can't wait to read the book!!

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