Sequels
Let’s take a peek at the cogs inside the machine and talk about why I write and how I write on Behind the Scenes Sunday! Today I’d like to talk about the challenge and joy of writing sequels: how to make the process easier and what makes it so much dang fun!
I think there are few things more satisfying for a writer than getting a chance to expand the universe or world you’ve created. Every book, every story I’ve ever written, no matter how short, only ever includes a fraction of what I’ve actually imagined. This is largely by necessity and design – a story needs to flow and move at a certain pace that just doesn’t allow for the author to explain every single detail of what they’ve created. In addition, as a writer you also want your readers to feel free to interpret and interact with the world you’re putting before them. If you explain everything down to the last detail, that doesn’t leave them much to do!
But sequels can be that chance that every writer dreams of – the chance to go back and revisit ideas that had to be cut or abandoned from the first book. They can be given new life in subsequent stories and truly deepen reader engagement with your world.
As fun as it is to go back into the sandbox and play with old toys, it can also be challenging to craft sequel books. That’s because authors have to be very aware of continuity, of keeping details consistent from book to book so they create a world that seems real and that makes sense mechanically. The richer the world, the more sequels an author may write, the harder it gets to keep track of all the details!
This is why I highly recommend starting a Series Bible the moment you think you might have a sequel in mind. Even if you’re still in the weeds with book one, do yourself a favor and start writing down the worldbuilding details that you’ll need to carry over into book two. You will thank yourself later!
As always, if you’re interested in supporting me and my work, thank you: Hungry is the Night, my urban fantasy, is available on all major platforms, as are my classic murder mysteries with scifi twists, The Cadence Turing Mystery series!