Sequels - The temptation to 'Tell'

After a well earned break of sorts, one that saw me restless and writing both a short story, and trying to tackle something of a plan for the rest of the Delve series, I’ve started to get down words for the second book in the series, aptly named Evolve. I always think of a tag line for each of my novels, something to capture the essence of the book, and to keep me on the straight and narrow as I write it. This one is simple – Rowan’s powers begin to evolve, but she soon learns that she can’t save everyone, not even those close to her heart.

Having said that, it’s my first time tackling a sequel and whilst I have a rough outline in mind which no doubt will develop along the way, I’m pondering over the whole area of sequels and the temptation to ‘tell’ i.e. to reveal backstory from Delve so that anyone picking up the second book without reading the first will have some idea of how Rowan, my main character, and the rest of the crew got to the point that they’re now at.

The temptation to ‘tell’ is strong but goes against my every instinct. So I thought I’d do a little research, picking three young adult authors, to see how they’ve tackled this particular area.

The first thing that springs to mind is picking up Passion by Lauren Kate, not knowing that it was the third book in a series of four. I remember reading the opening scene at the Racetrack and being really confused about who these people were, and the world that they operated in. Who were the elders, what the hell was the Zhsmaelin, and who were the Outcasts? It wasn’t until I purchased and then read both Fallen and Torment that it all started to make sense. So not much backstory going on there, but I’ve since found some subtle hinting here and there which I think is perfectly acceptable.

I’ve done the same thing with Maggie Stiefvater’s Forever, and I’ve found that it stands on its own without having to read any of the preceding books in that particular trilogy. Again she drops some subtle backstory hints, but it doesn’t detract from Forever, a story that unfolds in its own right.

And then of course, there’s the Twilight series. I found Eclipse on my bookshelf, and found on page 6 a blatant ‘tell’. That she would have to bracket the words werewolf and vampire to describe Jacob and Edward I think personally is going too far.

So I’ve got a way forward now which means I need to re-write part of my opening scene, to remove my own cringeworthy ‘tell’ and somehow drop enough subtle hints without compromising the integrity of Evolve as a stand alone novel within the wider context of the series. It will be a balancing act for sure, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

And my wordcount target for Evolve? Well I know I’m not going to go at it at the same pace as The Curse which was as near to as a rough a draft as I could get, but I’m aiming for at least 2,000 words a day starting tomorrow. If I stick to this plan, I should have a decent first draft down by early March 2012.

This is where the real work begins.

Lorraine x

The Curse - First draft complete!

Finally I can say that I've actually to stuck to one my New Year's resolution. On 2nd January, I set myself the challenge of finishing the first draft of 'The Curse' (working title). I'd already pushed my way through December to 40k words, but the challenge was to finish the rest of the manuscript in 9 days.  At an average of 5,000 words per day, I saw it as a tough but achievable challenge. After all, I have a demanding full time job as well as a family. Of course, I could have used that as an excuse, but I didn't.

As at 12.30am this morning, I have completed my challenge.  I wrote for 9 consecutive days, and achieved during that time a wordcount of 36,473 words, averaging at just over 4,000 words a day. For those interested in the stats, this was how it went down:

Daily Wordcounts

Day 1   3,475

Day 2      630

Day 3   2,963

Day 4   3,435

Day 5   3,022

Day 6   3,819

Day 7   6,194

Day 8   6,175

Day 9   7,030

Total   36,743

Day 2 was my worst day. Not only did I realise that my plan was not as well thought out as I needed it to me, but I sensed a domestic on the horizon. But I really hit my stride from Sunday onwards, as I found all the elements coming together to make for a dramatic close. 

I'm pleased that it's done, and that I set myself the challenge and saw it through, ending up with a total first draft of circa 77,000 words. I knew that this particular novel was going to be technically challenging what with multiple POVs, switching timeframes, and forensic aspects. And when I come to look at it again, it will need a lot of development in order to refine it into the manuscript that I think is worthy of the original essence of the story. But for now, it will go on the back burner.

I think a well deserved rest is in order, although I know that it will peppered with all the things that I've neglected to do and need to get on with. When was that tax return deadline?  

I'll give myself a week, maybe two, and then what I really want to do is to pick up the Delve series again. My first manuscript is already out there. But I had an outline for another two, maybe three books in the series. And I almost can't wait to pick it up again, and start planning them out in detail.

Finally, thank you to everyone for your comments and support. They have really helped to spur me on.

New Year - Fresh Start

Well my Twelve Days of Christmas challenge floundered right around Christmas Eve. The bottles of plonk sitting under the stairs, and the obscene amount of food that we buy every year and then wonder why, lured me away from the laptop.

Still for a novel that I began in July of last year, and which had only reached 17,000 words by December, I found that the fact that I'd laid the gauntlet down to myself spurred me that much further on. I managed 15,307 words in total over 5 days which is almost as much as I'd done in 6 months!

I've been trying to get back into the swing of things again in the last few days, and I'm slowly climbing in terms of wordcount, with a total of 7,717 words in 3 days. And though we are now still officially within the 12 days of Christmas, I'm setting myself a new goal - to finish the first draft of The Curse by 10th January 2012.  My wip currently stands at 40k words, and I imagine I need to get though another 40-45k in the next 9 days, averaging at 5k per day. I think it's acheivable as I've proved to myself that I can write 5k in one sitting now, but I need to adopt the same fast writing priniciples from my pre-Christmas glories.

So a new year brings with it a fresh start, and this wip has been hanging around my neck for too long. I want to get it done, and then start to plan the rest of the Delve series.   After all, I may have wanted a break from Delve but I now feel the urge to go back to it, and with a new and fresh perspective as well as  agent interest, the timing feels right.

Here we go - Day 1 of 9 begins. Wish me luck.

Lorraine x