On December 5th 2014 Terry Pratchett wrote his final words. His assistant, business manager and long time friend Rob Wilkins, reflects on the last creative hours they spent together in a series of poignant messages, delivered yesterday from the writers Twitter account.
Terry’s final day of writing was exactly one year ago today.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) December 5, 2015
We spent the morning working on his biography and we laughed. A lot.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) December 5, 2015
Later, he called Rod Brown – MD of @Narrativia_Ltd – and Mark, his accountant, before heading back down to the house.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) December 5, 2015
He then called @rhipratchett for a chat over a cup of tea and we talked about the next novel. Specifically, which one should come next.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) December 5, 2015
And then – on December 8th – after such a blessedly slow decline, PCA became Alzheimer’s and nothing was ever quite the same again.
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) December 5, 2015
Mind how you go, Terry #speakhisname
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) December 5, 2015
Terry and Rob worked together for over fifteen years and, in between fiddling around with electronics and old computers, telescopes and chickens, the Discworld was polished and characters created, bringing book after book to readers the world over. Terry’s sharp wit, wry observations of the human condition and a unique perspective of our own world earned him a legion of dedicated fans, and Rob walked every step of the journey with him. “Terry made the writing process look effortless and he was able to do that by working very, very hard,” said Rob. “He made every sentence shine and he kept polishing and polishing until I pulled the manuscript away from him. I miss that. I miss Terry my friend, obviously, but being so close to the creative process and Terry the writer, well, that’s the thing I miss the most.”
