Even though you may not consider this part of the story, please continue to read on. It's a lot of information.
When I began writing this series, I felt that I wanted to keep Leslie alive for the entire run since I loved the character so much.
The stories at first may not have seemed as mature as the later ones. This is because I was getting comfortable with the storyline. (Also, since this is my first Fan Fiction story, I was learning for the first time how important reviewers are)
Obviously, for most of the chapters, I wrote from Jess's perspective rather than Lesley's.( For example, when Jess leaves Leslie's house in Chapter 1, I continue talking about Jess's thoughts and reactions in chapter two."
But in the final chapters, I wanted you (The Reviewers) to just focus on Jess's POV rather than a story-tellers version of it.
I don't want to take credit for all my work since it was inspired off of the original Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
In any-case, I choose to dedicate my story to Lisa Hill, as she ultimately was the basis for Leslie Burke.
Somehow, even though I wasn't even born so many years ago, I feel a great amount of sadness for the experiences it must have been like to Know Lisa and how her death impacted the Paterson family and the whole world by creating Terabithia.
Clearly great people of this age do exist. Such as prime example, Actress AnnaSophia Robb.
Anybody who can portray Leslie Burke as wonderfully as she did is undoubtedly an amazing actress.
Also, I am sad to see the world for what it is right now. Full of prejudice, hate, and ignorant people.
I know one person such as I cannot possibly fix everything, but I can still hope to inspire others towards a brighter future, by writing books and with my passion for acting.
For now, you and a few of my friends can enjoy my story-telling work. That's a small step, but it's in the right direction.
-Writer's notes-
Well, to tell the truth, I hadn't expected to go this far.
I was considering ending "Life Goes On" at Chapter 20. But since so many reviewers seemed to love this series, I kept on writing.
I admit, the long waits weren't totally because I was busy. I'm just like the rest of you, I do get writer's block. Except, my writer's block takes a bit longer than the most of you.
Anyhow, at around chapter 23, I just couldn't think of anything that would sound plausible. But then, something sparked in my mind,
At first, I thought it was far-fetched. Obviously, getting Jess and Leslie married is no simple task to do.
I was faced with their ages, the laws bound in Virginia (Yes, I do try to keep it realistic) and the fact that Jesse"s father wouldn't be happy about it because in his mind, its unchristian.
Once I started writing, I found it so sentimental that I was doing this all for the last time. I had ended the two's childhood and forced on an adult issue.
Did I make the right choice? Was it a bad idea? What have I done?
Those were the questions I asked myself. I knew it left open only one solution.
A sequel.
Yes, you heard me right. Now your probably saying, "Leave it where it is!" "Don't ruin it" (If I haven't already)
Sure. If I get negative feedback from you all that you don't want a sequel, I won't write one. I'll just go to something heartless like making a series in the Hawaii Five-0 Section of this website.
I know...Lots of other Bridge To Terabithia sequels didn't get the attention the author intended because people have a hard time letting go of what they've had all along.
It's hard doing sequels. Your story has to be good enough to keep momentum and on top of that, reviewers. Otherwise you start up with a new Audience and it just goes horrible.
And On-top of that (Did I use that word already?) I personally at first, wasn't getting enough reviewers on my original series to begin with.
So, honestly, after what seems like months, I've apparently earned something like 5 constant reviewers. Which, to me is great. I only need a few hundred more and I'll be signing autographs.
Putting those issues aside, I know how I want the sequel to be.
Everything, and I mean "Everything" Would start off differentially.
Instead of Jess facing bullies at school, he would have to deal with a large companies boss.
And to what seems like it's not possible, he suspects that Leslie is cheating on him!
I know...Interesting already. You want more.
I'll see how that goes when you guys review my series.
I almost forgot to mention, that during Chapter 25, I had an idea going that Jack had a heart attack. But I quickly rewrote that after reading it.
If you want a copy, just Pm me and I'll be more than glad to send you one. I can't post it here because it might apply as a duplicate on Fan fiction and I don't want my series to get removed.
I just noticed a few chapters back that I have made a recurring mistake. I am a dedicated fan of Bridge To Terabithia but I always had to turn to Wikipedia and IMDb for the names of the bullies and Miss Edmunds. One thing I feel stupid about. I talk in Chapter one about the Aarons name ending as Aaron and how I'm changing it for my series.
Looking back, I noticed, that it was never Aaron. Oh well. I'll pay more attention next time.
Most of you probably use programs such as Microsoft Word and so forth. I just use Notepad. It looks decent most of the time, except when I need Bold text and dividing lines.
Most notably, Notepad doesn't have spell checking. So I manually have to use another program (Open Office) to read the file, and correct the words one by one. I'm sure there's an easier process that I don't know about. In fact, I didn't start spell checking till like chapter 25 because of the time it took to do so!
On one final note, I would like to say that I thank you all for reading. I honestly couldn't have gone as far as I did without you all.
You've been kind, honest, and compelling to me.
I can't help but contemplate, is this ending justified?
Yes, I believe it is. In the hopes to start another series.
Since its my birthday today, I understand it's a time of celebration. A time when your happy.
My only wish, is to meet somebody like Leslie Burke or perhaps even AnnaSophia Robb. That would be a privilege.
And on that, it's time to end.
I'll be looking forward to your reviews.
"Bye."
