The Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

IWSG Day, April 3, 2019, The Second to Last of Anything Syndrome by Pat Garcia









Hello Everyone,


It is the first Wednesday of the month, and IWSG Time. 

IWSG is a writers' support group created and led by Alex Cavanaugh. It is a big help to many of us who do not mind sharing our insecurities, our successes or giving encouragement and help to others. 

So, if you are interested and would like to join, the link below will lead you directly to us:




My report: 

Still Outstanding

Glimmer Train: Very Short Fiction












The Second to Last of Anything Syndrome by Pat Garcia

The second to the last chapter of a novel, or the second to last paragraph of a short story or a piece of flash fiction or the second to last verse of a poem gives me severe headaches.  My mind goes blank, and I shut down. I sit at my desk asking myself why I even started writing, as I go through my mood swings.

Beginnings don’t phase me. Neither do the middle passages. I confess that even the endings don’t give me headaches. It could be because I usually write the conclusion of anything I am going to write first, and then I move back to writing the beginning. But that the way I read. I start reading books by other authors in the last chapter, and then I go back and read the book or the poem, or the short story, or flash fiction from the beginning.  

I have never given it much thought as to why I do that. I just do it. 

I haven‘t figured out any solutions to deal with this queer syndrome of second to last of anything. But again, I have to be honest and say that I haven’t really looked for any solutions.   I believe everyone has quirks that no one can iron out, so I face it and deal with it every time I write, and that is A-Okay with me.

Wishing all of you a lovely month of April. 

Shalom aleichem,


















Pat Garcia