jkwsquirrel

Yeah, Dustin is a tragic character for sure. Billy's note of Dustin's lengthening hair at the end of the story signifies Dustin reverting back to his old ways, his future uncertain, having severed his ties to Billy. It's not easy to get over what happened to him.

Thanks Karl! I appreciate the kindness! Glad you enjoyed the story!

Thanks bro! You were with me pretty much from the beginning. I pushed the envelope a bit and put the boys through hell, but I always promised a happy ending, especially when things looked bleak. Thanks for your patience! It's been a long road, but worth the journey I hope!

I totally pictured Woken Matt Hardy when I read this! WONDERFUL!!!! 😄

You still have questions, and that's a good thing! "Always leave them wanting more" as the saying goes. I wanted to give you just a little glimpse into the future without too many details. You know the boys will be happy and still together, the rest is up to you. It is the right time to bring it to a close, at least on my end. I'm very happy with how the story turned out. I'm grateful for the friendships that have developed around this journey.

Thanks! It's the right time. I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

Thanks again, Spikey! It means a lot!

You're welcome! It was my pleasure!

I probably wouldn't really use my real name. I'd probably come up with another name. Ya never know where I might be lurking!

At its heart, writing is entertainment. Readers want to have a good time and confusion hinders their enjoyment. Being taken too far out of the comfort zone makes it difficult for the reader to forget that they are reading a story. Scripts are meant to be performed, so reading dialogue in the manner you described will take the reader out of "entertainment mode" and into "I'm reading a script mode." It's like seeing the microphone in the shot of a movie. It takes the reader out of the moment and reminds them, "I'm reading a story" r "I'm watching a movie" rather than "Oh God, what will happen next!" This is why the Harry Potter bonus book didn't succeed as well as the others did. Conventional writing methods are conventional because they work. I agree when conventional methods are done poorly, and confusion develops, that can just as easily take one out of the story. Sometimes, one can forego the "Bob said," "Jane said" tags and just let the characters talk. Like so: "No, Bob, I'm not going to watch the movie." "But Jane! It's number one at the box office!" "I'm not going to see a movie so poorly-made they can't even film it without getting the boom mike in the shot!" "Why do you have to nit-pick everything?" "Up yours, Bob!"

Thanks guys for the nice comments and encouragement. I feel kind of bad. I'm retiring, not dying! Writing WAR was fun, but it did come at a personal cost. Things are in a better place now in my life, with even better things to come. But writing is hard work and consumes too much time if you want to do it well, which I wanted to do. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep up with the replies to comments like I wanted. I just loved getting comments, and wanted to reply to everyone, but it just got to be too much with the other stuff going on in real life. Once I got behind schedule with the writing, it got very hard to do everything I wanted to do, like release a chapter every week to the end. I feel like I lost some people when the schedule got off. I was really happy with how the story came together overall. There were some things I wasn't completely happy with. I am an incredibly harsh critic of my own work, so seeing people enjoying the story and telling me they thought it was good really encouraged me. Writing like a melodramatic over-the-top teenager was challenging and tiring at times. I tried to keep the age of the characters in mind. It was more appropriate for a teenage character to flip out than an adult. I tried to keep true to that. I always promised a happy ending, especially when people got mad at me for putting the boys through hell. That was always my promise. It might hurt to read a chapter in the moment, but it was always meant to go somewhere, to earn the happy ending. The low point was probably the big fight between the boys when Brett said he was glad Dustin was being abused and Dustin kicked Billy's broken arm. A lot of people were pissed off at me for that chapter, but it was essential to the story. Without the darkness we can't truly appreciate the light. I tried my best to avoid unnecessary cliffhangers. I think the only true cliffhanger was the end of The Broken Boy, where George's fate is uncertain and Billy is a bloody mess on the bathroom floor. I wanted every chapter to mean something on its own while telling the larger story. I never wanted to abuse my readers' trust. You trusted me to take you on a journey through some very dark places. That trust was sacred to me. I always wanted to respect your trust in me to get you through to the end and have it all make sense in the end. I feel good about how it came together. Now that the story is truly finished, it's no longer truly mine anymore. Now it belongs to you. That's the joy of writing.

I've been addicted to Breath of the Wild since I bought it. So many shrines...

Yes. It was interesting because Paula was always there, but always a little bit distant. Most of Billy's parental attention was directed toward his father. Every once in a while we'd see the momma bear side of Paula, when Billy hurt his eye, when Brett punched him, when George slapped him, but we also saw it when Brett got hurt too. That was really the key to her story. When one of her boys was hurt, she was the first one to protect them. And as Dr. Reilly said, she never lied to Brett about why she did what she did. The boys didn't like it, but she was honest about her struggle, trying to reconcile her faith and her family. I'm proud of her story.

Thanks jaysalmn! You've been here from the beginning, and I've appreciated the support! It's been my pleasure! See you later!

Thanks Dahawk! Don't worry about me, my friend. I'm in a good place in my life right now, looking forward to what's on the horizon. Maybe I'll even write something professionally under my real name? Who knows? Life is good. I've appreciated your support more than you can imagine! See you later!

Thanks Spikey! I've really appreciated your comments along the way. (I've always looked forward to what you had to say!) I think you helped me write a better story, and helped me think about things in a different way. I'm very thankful for you! And yes, actions speak louder than words. Jen was a horrible mother.

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Thanks Okiegrad! It was my pleasure to share the story with you all. See you later!

I don't know if I'd call Dr. Reilly a bad psychiatrist, or even a bad person. A bad mother? Certainly! They say the plumber's toilet is often the one that overflows. Too often we focus on other people's issues and neglect our own. Dr. Reilly's parenting skills were neglectful at best and abusive at worst.

Yeah, I had to work him in there somewhere!

Thanks for your awesome support, my friend! I've truly enjoyed your passion and love for the story. Paula's journey was an interesting one, kind of the counter-point to Billy's story. So much of the focus has been on the other parents, but Paula ended up being the rock of the story. Yes, Billy's response to Sarah's insults really summed up Billy's growth in the story. Pretty much saying, "I don't have to respond to this." Dustin's scene may have been the saddest thing I've written, and that's saying a lot. No big dramatic moment, just the inevitable march of time. Dr. Reilly... Yeah, always manipulating. The future wedding - Yeah, that's all for you guys to picture. Some things are better left to the imagination! (Like Star Wars prequels...) Any way, I'm thankful! I'm glad you've enjoyed the adventure. I've appreciated your support more than you could ever know. See you later, my friend!

Thanks glennish! I've enjoyed our time together! I had to do the happy ending after putting my boys through hell for 85 chapters! They earned their happy ending, and so did everyone who came along on the journey. Thanks for the kind thoughts. Remember, it's not really goodbye. See you later!

I had to give Sarah one last scene. What a bitch! lol. The scene with Dustin was sad to write, but way too true. They're going in different directions, and things will never be like they were before for them. I like when things come full circle, and the lake in the park has been the centering point of the story. Seemed appropriate to bring it back there once more time. I'm really happy you enjoyed the story. I've enjoyed your comments very much! See you later!

Thanks Estiveo! Glad you enjoyed the journey!

Thank you! I've appreciated your excitement and energy! Glad you enjoyed the trip!