Going Back to 505 (Sequel) | Brad Simpson [DISCONTINUED]

Important Author's Note: Where I've been

Hey guys, remember me? I started writing that second book because you all liked the first one so much and then I didn't update it for a year?✌️

About that...

I hope that you're all doing good and keeping safe right now. I've been meaning to write this for a while and I'm finally getting round to it. I know a lot of you guys have been asking me about updates on the story. I apologise for the lack of proper communication regarding updates for the past few months and if you left me a message about it and if I didn't get back to you, I'm sorry. I just feel it's better to address it in one post to everyone, so I hope this clears everything up.

I started writing Love & War during early 2015 when I should have been revising for my A-Levels (btw wouldn't recommend that) and it took me around three years to finish. It genuinely brought me so much joy to write. I would write at any moment available to me because I was so excited to write it and I had so many ideas and the story developed so naturally as I wrote. I look back and I'm not even sure how I came up with some of the ideas and the pacing; the story just fell into place.

I didn't plan to write a sequel but it was so heavily requested that I decided to create one. But when it came to writing it, even though I had ideas for how I wanted the story to go, the writing of it itself just wasn't coming as naturally to me as it had before.

So I was already struggling with writer's block, and I don't want to get into all the depressing details, but my mental health really took a nosedive around April last year. I've had chronic anxiety problems since I was young, but last year, I had some of the worst anxiety episodes I've ever had. I felt anxious all the time, every day, for months until I reached a point where I was so emotionally burnt out that I would come home from work and not have the energy to do anything but cry and sleep. I couldn't focus on anything other than trying to force myself to get through the workday.

In all that time, I just couldn't find it in me to write. I felt bad because I wanted to be writing and getting chapters out for my readers, but it just wasn't in me. Writing used to be an escape for me, a way to get out of my head and focus on this fictional life that I'd created for myself where I get to control everything that happens. But last year, I was so focussed on what was going on inside my head and how I was feeling that I couldn't allow myself to get lost in writing a story how I used to. It wasn't coming to me naturally like it once did.

I'm not telling you guys this for any sort of pity and though I'm still dealing with my anxiety issues, please know that I'm in somewhat of a better place mentally than I was; I just want you to understand why I haven't been able to write and why I, therefore, haven't been updating the story. I also hope it might help anyone who is going through anything similar regarding their mental health. My messages are always open if you want to talk to me about any of that stuff :)

Even though I'm feeling better in a lot of ways, I unfortunately still haven't found a way to motivate myself to write again. And I'm not sure what it'll take, but I really hope that I get there again at some point because writing used to make me so happy.

So with that being said, I've spent a lot of time thinking about everything and I've made the decision that I won't be finishing Going Back to 505, and there won't be any more chapter updates. I know that this will disappoint a lot of you guys, and believe me I'm disappointed too, but I just cannot write right now. And it isn't fair to carry on letting you guys think there will be more updates when there won't be.

It hurts me so much to tell you guys this news, it really does. I felt so much pressure for so long to be writing and I felt so guilty that I wasn't and that I wasn't putting out chapters for you guys. But when I finally considered that not finishing the book was an option for me, I honestly felt so much relief, so I know that I'm making the right decision for myself as a writer right now.

I really hope that you understand why I've made this decision and that it wasn't taken lightly. My readers have always been a consideration and the support from you all has been why I held onto this story for so long and had any reason to write it in the first place. Please know that all of your support so far is so appreciated. Writing is one thing, but having people read your work and connect with it and get something out of it makes all the time and effort put into it worth the while.

I will leave those first few chapters of Going Back to 505 up for now, and I may choose to leave them up permanently if you guys want me to, so let me know if you do.

I can't see myself writing any more fanfiction but I hope that one day I'll be able to write some of my own original fiction so if that time comes soon (fingers crossed), I'll try to let you guys know if any of you are interested in reading it.

Again, I'm so sorry if I've disappointed you guys, but I have to do the right thing for my own mental health right now.

Thanks so much again, for everything, I really do mean it :)

Much love,
Becky