I just finished reading Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva (Flatiron Books, 2017). It is a delightful imagining of how Dickens' beloved Christmas tale came into being.
Toward the end of the book, and as Dickens finishes writing his, I was struck by the wisdom and beauty Silva gives to his thoughts:
"Dickens laid down his pen. There was a frisson in finishing, a rush of great feeling for the life of his characters, all the Cratchits and Fezziwigs, Fred and his wife, and Scrooge most of all. He didn't want to say good-bye; he wanted to keep them close, where he might watch over them. But he knew that the end of his book was a beginning of their life without him, and he must let them be born into the world, and welcomed, as he felt sure they would be. Still, how grateful he was to have known them all."
This echoes the words of one of my favorite quotes from Dickens himself: "It is the fate of all authors or chroniclers to create imaginary friends, and lose them in the course of art."
How true and poignant. As we writers struggle to get our work published, there is also a sense of loss. It's not easy to let go of the people and places we have lovingly created. Over the course of months, even years, they have become dear companions.
Sometimes a sequel is the writer's answer to this painful farewell, but sometimes it is better to just say good-bye... and bon voyage.
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