Trouble Moving On–How do you say goodbye to characters?

Well, it’s almost the end of December and the end of the year. I’m also reaching the end of the last book in the Aviandria Trilogy. I mean, I still have a little bit of editing to do, but the time I’m spending actually writing is pretty much over. And now, I have a problem. I’m having trouble moving on.

See, the problem is, I’ve spent more than ten years with the characters in these books. I’ve given them a lot of time and attention. I’ve learned more about them than I know about even most of my best friends. I know their deepest fears and their fondest dreams. I have felt their struggles (yeah, I know I’m the one that gave them their struggles, but still) and I’ve celebrated their victories with them. And now that I’m almost done, I’m going to have to move on.

It’s a weird feeling. Even though these characters aren’t exactly real people, I’ve spent enough time with them that I really do feel like they’re friends. I’m not one of those people that just moves on to new friends easily. It’s not that I don’t welcome having new friends, but I don’t give up old friends. You know, the “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold” thing? But can I keep those old characters as friends and still move on enough to make good, new friends? I’m hoping it is possible. Here are some ideas I have.

While I can focus mainly on the new characters I’m getting to know, I can still visit with my older characters by writing about them occasionally. I’ve decided I’m going to keep my series to a trilogy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do a few fun things that connect to it, like short stories. It would be lots of fun to make a little collection of short stories about adventures that happen in the time skips between the books, or after the end of the books. To be honest, I already have a few. But I have ideas for more.

So, all in all, though I have to spend less time with these characters, perhaps I don’t actually have to say goodbye. I can still keep them as treasured friends while broadening my circle of characters. Once a fictional friend, always a fictional friend.

Whether reading or writing, do you have any characters you can’t let go of? Would you enjoy reading short stories about characters you love?