Author's Note
Firstly I just want to say: if you've made it this far, thank you for reading! It means the world that people who aren't me can enjoy my writing and relate to my characters.
And... yeah. I guess this is it. I guess I've officially written a novel now. Well, I'm not sure the word "novel" applies any more once you reach nearly half a million words, but... yeah, I've actually finished a long-form story. Well, for a certain definition of finish. I initially intended this to be the first book in a series, and maybe at some point I'll write the others. But not now.
I owe you an explanation for why. I guess partly it's that I'm still uncertain of my future and where writing fits into it, and I don't want to make a multi-year commitment and find in six months' time that I can't follow through on that. Better to have an approximation of an ending now than a perpetual cliffhanger later.
And also I'm not fully satisfied with this story. I am proud of what I've achieved, but I can't help seeing the ways it could be better. In particular the fact that I wrote this without ever having a proper outline or plan beyond a vague knowledge of what I wanted the ending to be has undoubtedly led to problems. Subplots that have been forgotten or not fully concluded, inconsistent details, worldbuilding not done in the right places or clearly enough.
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The other reason is that... well, I've changed a lot in the two and a half years (internal screaming) since I started writing this draft, and even more since I was the fifteen-year-old who first came up with the ideas that turned into this story. Tallulah is pretty heavily based on myself, and there was a lot I didn't know about myself when I started writing (that has led to a few moments of me breaking my own mind upon realising just how much I put into this story without being consciously aware of it). And the kind of story I want to write, and what I want to accomplish through writing, has changed as well.
So yeah. I could write Volume Two building on the somewhat shaky foundations I laid in Volume One, trying to work within the confines of the story I originally set out to write to tell the one I now want to. Or I could rewrite Volume One altogether, possibly splitting it into smaller sections, turning it into something I'm actually (approximately) satisfied with.
Or I could start again from scratch with a new world and a new story. And that's what I want to do.
And oh, look, there's a Writeathon starting soon, I wonder if I could... I'm probably going to regret trying to write my second novel during exam season, but I'm going to do it anyway. See the below note to find it!
In the meantime, I might decide to return to this world for bonus chapters on occasion (I still owe you the third part of the original one). And I'll update you all here if and when I return on a more permanent basis.
Once again, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed the story!