End Notes

Well there you have it, all done. I enjoyed writing this more than the screenplay, I found it more flexible and could do more with it. With the screenplay version there was more stop-start thinking as I had to consciously stop writing and think how to insert a camera movement or a short description and that broke up the flow of thought. In the novel version you should see that I had times when the flow of thought became a torrent and the words spewed out, almost by instinct which I really enjoy. The two new scenes in the novel version work well for me and I found The Fountain really sweet and touching (the stuff about the Stradivarius violins is all true) and the time spent in the airport waiting for the flight home another strong scene. We get here a hint of the new super improved strong Shizuku who grows in The Other Side of the World.

Now that I have been working away since 12th December on Other Side it's odd to come back to Summer and write this end note (this is the middle of the night on 29th December). I have to flick through the chapters and refresh my memory but even after many re-reads (and I probably read Summer about 50 times right through doing test and checking reads) I still enjoy relaxing with a hard copy of it and reading it again. There isn't a page that bores me, it's still fresh. That's a very self-indulgent comment but I make no apologies for it, I just wanted you to know how I think about this stuff.

If you want some real background 'meat' to the story, what inspired it, why I wrote it, etc then please read the final chapter of the Summer screenplay/script version where all that juicy stuff is stored.

Oh, and finally, thank you for reading. I've enjoyed your company. If you enjoyed this then please leave a review or visit my forum. Please come back soon and we'll head off into the future with Shizuku and Seiji: to Luisa's garden again in Italy, to the final moment of discovery for Seiji and why he says his violin playing isn't anything special, to a difficult struggle with school, to a death, to a gorgeous wedding in Tokyo, to an awkward moment for Shizuku at her wedding, to Germany on an obsessive hunt for closure to the Baron's story; to ten years of hard work for Seiji in Cremona, to Rome, to Brussels and finally to Paris where Shizuku will suffer a harrowing encounter with herself. Finally, in 2007 we will return briefly to the attic room. This all takes place on The Other Side of the World. Please join me.

MS-C
29 December 2006