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One thing I realised when I rewrote the conclusion of Just Another Week in Suburbia is that the original conversation between Casper and Jane was too scattered. Part of that was intended to follow Casper’s fragmented thinking. And part of it was just me trying to cram everything in and letting stream of consciousness dictate the order (or the disorder, if you like). The conversation (published in the book) works much better. There’s an evolution to it. It starts with a sense of hopelessness, explores all the dark nooks, and then retreats just enough towards the light to offer hope – or at least the glimmer of it. Interestingly, people…
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First off, a warning: if you haven’t read Just Another Week in Suburbia, this scene is going to be something of a spoiler (as will this post). The reason for that is because in both versions the conclusion is the same. It’s the journey to get there that differs, but get there they both do (hence the spoiler warning). However, in the published book, the journey is a simple, tempered conversation. The characters are spent. All they have left now are words. But it wasn’t always that way. Originally when Casper and Jane met, it went like this … Chapter 52 (in the original manuscript anyway) Jane’s wearing a…