Last Line

I’m confident this is crucial to all authors.

Are you worried about how the first line in your book must be? You should do so because it will invite your readers to visit the world you have created. However, you must also worry about the last line.

If you feel that the book you have written continues to be yours after publication, it is because it is still attached to your ego, which is not good. Why. Because your characters won’t be free or have their own voices, and nothing in the book will be free of your presence. Like a child that is now an adult, their parents must resign to let their grown-up child go and start their own life. As the poet says, it doesn’t come from you. It comes through you. So, once you have finished your book, it will no longer belong to you. The last line must be the ax that cuts the rope that holds your book to your ego. Henceforward, your book becomes part of people’s hearts and memories. We who aspire to become better authors must strive at this level.

Your thoughts on the above statements are welcome.