#shadowsoverlondon — Public Fediverse posts

The Burdensome Book Two: Thoughts & Reflections on Writing a Sequel

Okay… I’ve written a sequel before (once) and started a sequel (twice). But writing a sequel knowing it will be published? That’s a different kind of pressure.

With Shadows Over London 2 (I promise I’ll reveal the title at some point), I really struggled, especially at the start. In a lot of ways, I built Shadows Over Broad Street up too high in my head, imagining it was such a wonderful novel that it would be impossible to write another book to its standard.

It took me a while to shed that self-imposed pressure.

Now that Book 2 is entirely drafted, I feel like I can look back with a fuller picture, and I have some thoughts about the process, including some things I’m thankful for.

If you’ve ever written a sequel, I’d love to hear some of your reflections in the comments, and if not, I hope this gives you a little window into how it felt for me as well as some tips!

Worrying about how it compares to Book 1 did nothing good.

I’m just gonna say this over and over, apparently.

It makes sense that this was a fear for me. After all, how often do readers complain about the second or third book in a series “falling flat” or not living up to what the author established in the first book?

Yes, I want to maintain a standard of quality, faith, and good storytelling.

But… if I live in fear of falling short of some impossible (imagined) standard, I’m probably going to be afraid to just tell the messy story. Quality never comes in the first draft, which leads into my next point.

It’s still just a first draft.

I’m not really sure why I imagined it might be different.

First drafts always feel impossible, ugly, messy, and like total trash. Book 2 was my seventh full-length novel, and I have yet to write one where I feel great about the first draft.

And yet, after putting Shadows Over Broad Street through multiple rounds of edits as well as having a team of beta readers comb over it… for some reason I figured writing Book 2, I’d be a seasoned pro who loved my first draft from the outset?

I wish I could be a more logical being, but unfortunately it seems my brain is very optimistic about such things, which then leads to disappointment.

A first draft is a first draft is a first draft.

I need to learn to just let them be trash and keep writing. Which, mind you, I did. I just wish I could have done so with a little less self-doubt.

Writing is not for the faint of heart, y’all.

I’m glad I drafted Book 2 before revising Book 1.

This one actually surprised me. I got my editorial letter for Shadows Over Broad Street a couple weeks after finishing drafting Book 2, and boy am I glad that I can make my revisions through the lens of Book 2. There are things that I need to set up in Book 1, backstories I need to develop, etcetera… and because both are still in the works, I can work it out as a cohesive pair.

Now, my books are connected standalones, so you’re not following the same characters and storyline. But some of the characters in Book 2 are important secondary characters in Book 1, so I still need it all be cohesive.

I’m not entirely sure how this will work out, precisely, with book 3, since obviously I won’t be able to go all the way back to Book 1 and prepare for it. But I’ll still have revisions to make to Book 2, and I think that will be enough, because 2 & 3 are very connected.

So… yeah. If your books are connected (as in, not total standalones with loose connection), I would highly recommend drafting the sequel before revising the first book! I think it’s going to work out quite nicely!

Enjoy exploring new facets of the setting/characters!

This is true whether you’re continuing with the same characters or diving into some new POV characters’ heads. Don’t just stick with the same perspectives of your first book. Show different sides of your characters. Grow them in new ways.

For me, since I’m moving to different main characters, it’s been really fun to dig into new themes. I’ve also loved spotlighting different parts of 1850s London.

Honestly, it was kind of hard to write my main characters to be very different from those in the first book, but it was a fun challenge. I liked thinking about things from a different perspective. Also, Charlotte was so serious and disciplined and whatnot, and it was fun to write Margot, who was a bit more sensitive.

Let yourself have FUN!

I may have gotten carried away a few times, but I think that’s perfectly fine when one is writing a first draft.

Let the story be totally different from what the first book was like. Let the characters from Book 1 show up on-page. Let yourself play around with new ideas and paths.

Charlotte and Simon show up quite a few times in Book 2, and while that may not last into the print copy (coming in a little under two years), I enjoyed writing them into the story. And who knows? Maybe they will survive rewrites?

Conclusion

I really did love writing the sequel to Shadows Over Broad Street, especially once I let myself relax and just write a first draft. It definitely felt very different from writing Book 1… until I realized that it was actually the same.

Have you ever written a sequel? What did you struggle with? What did you learn from the process?

The Burdensome Book Two: Thoughts & Reflections on Writing a Sequel

Okay… I’ve written a sequel before (once) and started a sequel (twice). But writing a sequel knowing it will be published? That’s a different kind of pressure.

With Shadows Over London 2 (I promise I’ll reveal the title at some point), I really struggled, especially at the start. In a lot of ways, I built Shadows Over Broad Street up too high in my head, imagining it was such a wonderful novel that it would be impossible to write another book to its standard.

It took me a while to shed that self-imposed pressure.

Now that Book 2 is entirely drafted, I feel like I can look back with a fuller picture, and I have some thoughts about the process, including some things I’m thankful for.

If you’ve ever written a sequel, I’d love to hear some of your reflections in the comments, and if not, I hope this gives you a little window into how it felt for me as well as some tips!

Worrying about how it compares to Book 1 did nothing good.

I’m just gonna say this over and over, apparently.

It makes sense that this was a fear for me. After all, how often do readers complain about the second or third book in a series “falling flat” or not living up to what the author established in the first book?

Yes, I want to maintain a standard of quality, faith, and good storytelling.

But… if I live in fear of falling short of some impossible (imagined) standard, I’m probably going to be afraid to just tell the messy story. Quality never comes in the first draft, which leads into my next point.

It’s still just a first draft.

I’m not really sure why I imagined it might be different.

First drafts always feel impossible, ugly, messy, and like total trash. Book 2 was my seventh full-length novel, and I have yet to write one where I feel great about the first draft.

And yet, after putting Shadows Over Broad Street through multiple rounds of edits as well as having a team of beta readers comb over it… for some reason I figured writing Book 2, I’d be a seasoned pro who loved my first draft from the outset?

I wish I could be a more logical being, but unfortunately it seems my brain is very optimistic about such things, which then leads to disappointment.

A first draft is a first draft is a first draft.

I need to learn to just let them be trash and keep writing. Which, mind you, I did. I just wish I could have done so with a little less self-doubt.

Writing is not for the faint of heart, y’all.

I’m glad I drafted Book 2 before revising Book 1.

This one actually surprised me. I got my editorial letter for Shadows Over Broad Street a couple weeks after finishing drafting Book 2, and boy am I glad that I can make my revisions through the lens of Book 2. There are things that I need to set up in Book 1, backstories I need to develop, etcetera… and because both are still in the works, I can work it out as a cohesive pair.

Now, my books are connected standalones, so you’re not following the same characters and storyline. But some of the characters in Book 2 are important secondary characters in Book 1, so I still need it all be cohesive.

I’m not entirely sure how this will work out, precisely, with book 3, since obviously I won’t be able to go all the way back to Book 1 and prepare for it. But I’ll still have revisions to make to Book 2, and I think that will be enough, because 2 & 3 are very connected.

So… yeah. If your books are connected (as in, not total standalones with loose connection), I would highly recommend drafting the sequel before revising the first book! I think it’s going to work out quite nicely!

Enjoy exploring new facets of the setting/characters!

This is true whether you’re continuing with the same characters or diving into some new POV characters’ heads. Don’t just stick with the same perspectives of your first book. Show different sides of your characters. Grow them in new ways.

For me, since I’m moving to different main characters, it’s been really fun to dig into new themes. I’ve also loved spotlighting different parts of 1850s London.

Honestly, it was kind of hard to write my main characters to be very different from those in the first book, but it was a fun challenge. I liked thinking about things from a different perspective. Also, Charlotte was so serious and disciplined and whatnot, and it was fun to write Margot, who was a bit more sensitive.

Let yourself have FUN!

I may have gotten carried away a few times, but I think that’s perfectly fine when one is writing a first draft.

Let the story be totally different from what the first book was like. Let the characters from Book 1 show up on-page. Let yourself play around with new ideas and paths.

Charlotte and Simon show up quite a few times in Book 2, and while that may not last into the print copy (coming in a little under two years), I enjoyed writing them into the story. And who knows? Maybe they will survive rewrites?

Conclusion

I really did love writing the sequel to Shadows Over Broad Street, especially once I let myself relax and just write a first draft. It definitely felt very different from writing Book 1… until I realized that it was actually the same.

Have you ever written a sequel? What did you struggle with? What did you learn from the process?

The Burdensome Book Two: Thoughts & Reflections on Writing a Sequel

Okay… I’ve written a sequel before (once) and started a sequel (twice). But writing a sequel knowing it will be published? That’s a different kind of pressure.

With Shadows Over London 2 (I promise I’ll reveal the title at some point), I really struggled, especially at the start. In a lot of ways, I built Shadows Over Broad Street up too high in my head, imagining it was such a wonderful novel that it would be impossible to write another book to its standard.

It took me a while to shed that self-imposed pressure.

Now that Book 2 is entirely drafted, I feel like I can look back with a fuller picture, and I have some thoughts about the process, including some things I’m thankful for.

If you’ve ever written a sequel, I’d love to hear some of your reflections in the comments, and if not, I hope this gives you a little window into how it felt for me as well as some tips!

Worrying about how it compares to Book 1 did nothing good.

I’m just gonna say this over and over, apparently.

It makes sense that this was a fear for me. After all, how often do readers complain about the second or third book in a series “falling flat” or not living up to what the author established in the first book?

Yes, I want to maintain a standard of quality, faith, and good storytelling.

But… if I live in fear of falling short of some impossible (imagined) standard, I’m probably going to be afraid to just tell the messy story. Quality never comes in the first draft, which leads into my next point.

It’s still just a first draft.

I’m not really sure why I imagined it might be different.

First drafts always feel impossible, ugly, messy, and like total trash. Book 2 was my seventh full-length novel, and I have yet to write one where I feel great about the first draft.

And yet, after putting Shadows Over Broad Street through multiple rounds of edits as well as having a team of beta readers comb over it… for some reason I figured writing Book 2, I’d be a seasoned pro who loved my first draft from the outset?

I wish I could be a more logical being, but unfortunately it seems my brain is very optimistic about such things, which then leads to disappointment.

A first draft is a first draft is a first draft.

I need to learn to just let them be trash and keep writing. Which, mind you, I did. I just wish I could have done so with a little less self-doubt.

Writing is not for the faint of heart, y’all.

I’m glad I drafted Book 2 before revising Book 1.

This one actually surprised me. I got my editorial letter for Shadows Over Broad Street a couple weeks after finishing drafting Book 2, and boy am I glad that I can make my revisions through the lens of Book 2. There are things that I need to set up in Book 1, backstories I need to develop, etcetera… and because both are still in the works, I can work it out as a cohesive pair.

Now, my books are connected standalones, so you’re not following the same characters and storyline. But some of the characters in Book 2 are important secondary characters in Book 1, so I still need it all be cohesive.

I’m not entirely sure how this will work out, precisely, with book 3, since obviously I won’t be able to go all the way back to Book 1 and prepare for it. But I’ll still have revisions to make to Book 2, and I think that will be enough, because 2 & 3 are very connected.

So… yeah. If your books are connected (as in, not total standalones with loose connection), I would highly recommend drafting the sequel before revising the first book! I think it’s going to work out quite nicely!

Enjoy exploring new facets of the setting/characters!

This is true whether you’re continuing with the same characters or diving into some new POV characters’ heads. Don’t just stick with the same perspectives of your first book. Show different sides of your characters. Grow them in new ways.

For me, since I’m moving to different main characters, it’s been really fun to dig into new themes. I’ve also loved spotlighting different parts of 1850s London.

Honestly, it was kind of hard to write my main characters to be very different from those in the first book, but it was a fun challenge. I liked thinking about things from a different perspective. Also, Charlotte was so serious and disciplined and whatnot, and it was fun to write Margot, who was a bit more sensitive.

Let yourself have FUN!

I may have gotten carried away a few times, but I think that’s perfectly fine when one is writing a first draft.

Let the story be totally different from what the first book was like. Let the characters from Book 1 show up on-page. Let yourself play around with new ideas and paths.

Charlotte and Simon show up quite a few times in Book 2, and while that may not last into the print copy (coming in a little under two years), I enjoyed writing them into the story. And who knows? Maybe they will survive rewrites?

Conclusion

I really did love writing the sequel to Shadows Over Broad Street, especially once I let myself relax and just write a first draft. It definitely felt very different from writing Book 1… until I realized that it was actually the same.

Have you ever written a sequel? What did you struggle with? What did you learn from the process?

The Burdensome Book Two: Thoughts & Reflections on Writing a Sequel

Okay… I’ve written a sequel before (once) and started a sequel (twice). But writing a sequel knowing it will be published? That’s a different kind of pressure.

With Shadows Over London 2 (I promise I’ll reveal the title at some point), I really struggled, especially at the start. In a lot of ways, I built Shadows Over Broad Street up too high in my head, imagining it was such a wonderful novel that it would be impossible to write another book to its standard.

It took me a while to shed that self-imposed pressure.

Now that Book 2 is entirely drafted, I feel like I can look back with a fuller picture, and I have some thoughts about the process, including some things I’m thankful for.

If you’ve ever written a sequel, I’d love to hear some of your reflections in the comments, and if not, I hope this gives you a little window into how it felt for me as well as some tips!

Worrying about how it compares to Book 1 did nothing good.

I’m just gonna say this over and over, apparently.

It makes sense that this was a fear for me. After all, how often do readers complain about the second or third book in a series “falling flat” or not living up to what the author established in the first book?

Yes, I want to maintain a standard of quality, faith, and good storytelling.

But… if I live in fear of falling short of some impossible (imagined) standard, I’m probably going to be afraid to just tell the messy story. Quality never comes in the first draft, which leads into my next point.

It’s still just a first draft.

I’m not really sure why I imagined it might be different.

First drafts always feel impossible, ugly, messy, and like total trash. Book 2 was my seventh full-length novel, and I have yet to write one where I feel great about the first draft.

And yet, after putting Shadows Over Broad Street through multiple rounds of edits as well as having a team of beta readers comb over it… for some reason I figured writing Book 2, I’d be a seasoned pro who loved my first draft from the outset?

I wish I could be a more logical being, but unfortunately it seems my brain is very optimistic about such things, which then leads to disappointment.

A first draft is a first draft is a first draft.

I need to learn to just let them be trash and keep writing. Which, mind you, I did. I just wish I could have done so with a little less self-doubt.

Writing is not for the faint of heart, y’all.

I’m glad I drafted Book 2 before revising Book 1.

This one actually surprised me. I got my editorial letter for Shadows Over Broad Street a couple weeks after finishing drafting Book 2, and boy am I glad that I can make my revisions through the lens of Book 2. There are things that I need to set up in Book 1, backstories I need to develop, etcetera… and because both are still in the works, I can work it out as a cohesive pair.

Now, my books are connected standalones, so you’re not following the same characters and storyline. But some of the characters in Book 2 are important secondary characters in Book 1, so I still need it all be cohesive.

I’m not entirely sure how this will work out, precisely, with book 3, since obviously I won’t be able to go all the way back to Book 1 and prepare for it. But I’ll still have revisions to make to Book 2, and I think that will be enough, because 2 & 3 are very connected.

So… yeah. If your books are connected (as in, not total standalones with loose connection), I would highly recommend drafting the sequel before revising the first book! I think it’s going to work out quite nicely!

Enjoy exploring new facets of the setting/characters!

This is true whether you’re continuing with the same characters or diving into some new POV characters’ heads. Don’t just stick with the same perspectives of your first book. Show different sides of your characters. Grow them in new ways.

For me, since I’m moving to different main characters, it’s been really fun to dig into new themes. I’ve also loved spotlighting different parts of 1850s London.

Honestly, it was kind of hard to write my main characters to be very different from those in the first book, but it was a fun challenge. I liked thinking about things from a different perspective. Also, Charlotte was so serious and disciplined and whatnot, and it was fun to write Margot, who was a bit more sensitive.

Let yourself have FUN!

I may have gotten carried away a few times, but I think that’s perfectly fine when one is writing a first draft.

Let the story be totally different from what the first book was like. Let the characters from Book 1 show up on-page. Let yourself play around with new ideas and paths.

Charlotte and Simon show up quite a few times in Book 2, and while that may not last into the print copy (coming in a little under two years), I enjoyed writing them into the story. And who knows? Maybe they will survive rewrites?

Conclusion

I really did love writing the sequel to Shadows Over Broad Street, especially once I let myself relax and just write a first draft. It definitely felt very different from writing Book 1… until I realized that it was actually the same.

Have you ever written a sequel? What did you struggle with? What did you learn from the process?