Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…About Ending My Journey to My First Novel

Late Morning/Midday, Friday, March 28, 2025, Miami, Florida

“Finish the book. The world is full of first chapters.” – Julia Quinn

Well, Dear Reader, my long and winding journey as a first-time novelist is finally reaching its dramatic climax. Not today, and unless I channel my inner superhero and write Reunion: Coda tomorrow and Sunday, not this weekend. But soon, very soon, I should be done with the “writing the damn story” part of the process.

How do I know, you ask, that the end is nigh? Well, I wrote the first draft of the novel’s final scene late Wednesday night, which surprised the heck out of me. I always imagined I’d write the conclusion of Reunion: Coda in a linear fashion, just as I have written the bulk of the story. But, as life often teaches us, things rarely go according to plan. I must have been mulling over which of two endings I was going to choose when Calliope, my ever-so-clever Muse, snuck up behind me, gave me a gentle smack upside the head, and said, “I like Idea B best, but Idea A would work too!”

Even though it was past my usual quitting time of 6 PM – I’d already eaten dinner then, and I usually have my evening meal between 6:30 and 8 PM – and I was tired, in my mind’s eye I could see and hear my characters, knew where they were and (more importantly) why. I even heard the music Jim and Maddie were listening to, as well as the last line of dialogue in Reunion: Coda.

With all that stuff floating around in my subconscious mind and rising to the conscious level of Writer’s Central, how could I just stream something on Amazon Prime Video or go to sleep? (Spoiler alert: I couldn’t.)

So, yeah. I wrote the rough draft of Chapter 30’s Scene Four not quite two days ago. It needs some editing and revising, of course, but the idea is solid enough, and my friend Juan (the only person who has seen it so far) says it’s a good ending that doesn’t sound too obviously like a conclusion.

Yesterday, with Scene Four in its first draft mode, I retraced my literary steps and drafted the first scene of Chapter 30. Ironically, this was a bit harder to do because I had to decide WHEN in 2000 I should set the chapter. Most of the story that takes place in the year 2000 happens between mid-February and late March, but since Jim and Maddie both have jobs with fixed schedules, I needed a time jump to mid-June. So once I figured out the “when,” the “what happens next” came a bit more easily.

Now, all that’s left to do in the “storytelling part” of the process is to write Scenes Two and Three.

It’s a funny thing, really. You spend months, even years, weaving a tapestry of words, and then, almost on a whim, the final stitch falls into place. It’s like that moment when you realize you’ve eaten the last cookie in the jar, and you’re left with a sense of satisfaction tinged with a sorrow that there isn’t another one waiting. But such is the life of a writer – a delicate dance between creation and completion.

Alex Diaz-Granados, on writing the ending of Reunion: Coda

 It’s a funny thing, really. You spend months, even years, weaving a tapestry of words, and then, almost on a whim, the final stitch falls into place. It’s like that moment when you realize you’ve eaten the last cookie in the jar, and you’re left with a sense of satisfaction tinged with a sorrow that there isn’t another one waiting. But such is the life of a writer – a delicate dance between creation and completion.

I must confess, there’s a bittersweetness to realizing that the characters and places that have become so real to me will soon be locked in their final moments, their destinies sealed within the pages. Yet, there’s warmth in knowing that these creations will live on, shared with readers who might find a piece of themselves in Jim, Marty, Mark, and Maddie’s story. Perhaps, that’s the greatest gift of all.