The Dark One
Auror
I'm sometimes astonished on writers' forums, including this one, to read of people planning trilogies, or even longer series of novels before they've written Word One of the first book.
I'm not suggesting this is the wrong way to do things - everyone works differently - it's just that I could never work that way. For several reasons, and I'm the quintessential Planner but WITHIN a novel.
Despite being a Planner, and working methodically towards the ending I'd planned, I always have much better ideas by the time I get to the end - surprising both myself and the readers with twists that were buried in the story's DNA, so make sense despite being very hard to see coming.
That sort of thing might completely ruin plans for a trilogy.
The reason I'm interested in sequels at the moment is that I'm writing one. But rather than having planned it before writing the first book, I've taken a couple of loose / unconcluded threads from the first book, blended those with some new ideas, and bingo! I've got a really strong plot already and motoring towards a first draft that will be finished before the first book is published (next year).
I have great confidence in the first book so this might be the first time I'm able to jump off the momentum of a book to generate interest immediately in the next one.
I read a lot about momentum being the key to book / brand marketing so very much looking forward to having a go myself.
I'm not suggesting this is the wrong way to do things - everyone works differently - it's just that I could never work that way. For several reasons, and I'm the quintessential Planner but WITHIN a novel.
Despite being a Planner, and working methodically towards the ending I'd planned, I always have much better ideas by the time I get to the end - surprising both myself and the readers with twists that were buried in the story's DNA, so make sense despite being very hard to see coming.
That sort of thing might completely ruin plans for a trilogy.
The reason I'm interested in sequels at the moment is that I'm writing one. But rather than having planned it before writing the first book, I've taken a couple of loose / unconcluded threads from the first book, blended those with some new ideas, and bingo! I've got a really strong plot already and motoring towards a first draft that will be finished before the first book is published (next year).
I have great confidence in the first book so this might be the first time I'm able to jump off the momentum of a book to generate interest immediately in the next one.
I read a lot about momentum being the key to book / brand marketing so very much looking forward to having a go myself.