Writing Sequels Is Hard
Yes, that’s my conclusion of the week. Or even the month. The year? Hmm. Maybe not.
At the moment, I’m busy working on FRAGMENTED, which is Book #2 in the Untamed Series. I’ve got a completed draft (actually it’s the 13th draft of this book), and I’m going through it, working on pre-sub edits. And one of the big things I’m looking for are the continuity errors from book #1. And at the moment, there seem to be a lot.
Mainly, these errors are just little things… like does this character have a scar beneath their left eye or right eye? Which clothes was the main character wearing at the end of book one, and is she still wearing them at the start of book two?
So, yeah, there are no big plot continuity errors, thankfully–I’ve already sorted those in earlier drafts. But these little ones also need to be sorted. Every time I read through this manuscript, I find more details like that. And I have so many square bracket notes in the document that say “Check this!” and “Really?!” and “He looks like that?”
But the closer I get to sending book #2 to my publisher, the more I worry about whether FRAGMENTED is any good. You see, it’s very different from books #1–it has to be. And I find myself doubting whether it is too different. What if people don’t like it? What if all the things readers liked about book #1 aren’t in book #2? What if I’ve ruined the characters?
Okay, so I don’t think I have ruined the characters. I mean, I still love them. And I do love the plot (even if it does involve more aspects that are slightly out of my comfort zone and require vast amounts of research). But it’s different, and having had so much great feedback from people who’ve read UNTAMED, I feel under a great amount of pressure to produce a sequel that they love just as much–if not more.
But, at the same time, I want to write this book truly. By that I mean I want to write it for myself, I don’t want to worry about what other people will think of this book, because the moment I do start worrying, I’ll start changing the plot thinking that readers won’t like certain bits. I’ll start censoring my own work. And that’s bad.
And, you know what? I know I won’t please everyone. I just don’t want FRAGMENTED to be one of those sequels that the majority of readers are disappointed in. And I really hope it won’t be one of those books.
To be honest, as I’d already written a rough draft of book #2 before I even started querying UNTAMED, I thought tidying up the sequel would be easy. How wrong was I! UNTAMED actually changed so much during the edits I did with the fantastic editor my publisher allocated me, and there was just so much stuff to sort out with the first draft of FRAGMENTED before I even started thinking of ways to develop it.
And, since writing that first draft, I’ve improved a lot as a writer. There were huge sections that I rewrote completely, and I completely scrapped chapters three to five and replaced those with nine new chapters that are so much better–yes, I added in so much new material there too, as I’ve changed the ending to book two as well, so for that to make sense, there needed to be extra scenes in near the beginning. And it works! (Well, I think it does).
I’m incredibly excited about book #2, but I’m excited about it in a different way to how I was with UNTAMED. FRAGMENTED deals with much more personal themes. Book #1 was all about survival and which group are the better group of people. Book #2 focuses on the more ethical questions that arise in Seven and Corin’s journey, following decisions they make … and I’m trying not to say too much here!
But there are certain things that I want both UNTAMED and FRAGMENTED (and the rest of the series) to share. And one of these is the fast pace, and the sense of danger. And, these are two things that I have noticed readers praising in reviews–yeah, I know, I shouldn’t spend so much time looking at what others are saying about my book…. But the pace is hugely important to me. It kind of sums up the Untamed world to me, as it’s all about danger and uncertainty. And this is something that I’ll be keeping firmly in the books throughout the series.
Soon, I’ll be sending the latest draft of FRAGMENTED over to my beta-readers, and then critique partners, and waiting nervously (read: very, very nervously) for their feedback, ready to make final pre-sub changes before submitting it to my publisher sometime in late autumn this year.
