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