[process] Writing the second (or third) book

[jaylake]

Greg van Eekhout (who has one of the coolest names, ever) is launching into writing the sequel to his novel The Osteomancer's Son. He made an observation that:
I’ve never written a sequel or a continuation of a series, so this is new territory for me.

My response to this was:
I have been quite surprised by the change in my technique and internal

Comments

[gregvaneekhout]

Yeah, this is good, Jay. It's stuff that only seems like common sense once someone's articulated it.

Another thing I'm running into is deciding which storylines to continue and which are okay to leave where I left them in Book 1. Even with my stand-alones, I can always see the characters continuing after the book ends, and now, for the first time, I have the ability, if not the obligation, to actually continue those stories. So, figuring out which ones are actual obligations is proving a bit of a challenge.

[jaylake]

Those story lines do branch out, don't they? Like a river delta...

[mlerules]

This may be why I quite like series, as I quite like character development and getting to see how someone thinks 'n' reacts in various situations, as well as all the manifold r-ships develop amongst characters w/in a world. This can happen so much more in an on-going series than in a single novel.

[twilight2000]

I dunno about Greg, but it sure illuminates why I've had some of the deadends and development problems I've had with my book 2 - I've been writing it as if it were book 1 all over again.

I do believe I have an assignment for January involving what may be a complete re-write of book 2...

:>

[kellymccullough]

Huh, "That means one's focus as a writer actually narrows rather than broadens" is actually the reverse of how I think of it. Book one for me is about the characters and their internal conflicts and establishing the people in depth. Book two is where you get to broaden focus to the wider world and bigger problems.

[jaylake]

Chances are we're both right... Also, it depends on what you're writing and why.

[kellymccullough]

*grin* As is so often the case in writing.

I'm sure some of it has to do with what does best as well. For me, worldbuilding is the shiny fun stuff and character where I have to work the hardest, so I have to really focus down on establishing character in book one, and then in later books I get to pull out the shiny bits in greater depth and breadth.

[jaylake]

A better way to put is that the focus shifts. I personally don't think of the process I described as a narrowing.