Tuesday, May 31, 2011

SAND - The Saga Continues!

As I 'm deep into the second book in my YA Paranormal Romance Saga, SAND, I can’t help but ponder the advantages and disadvantages of writing “the second book”.

There is a certain straightforwardness to continuing the saga:  For one thing, main characters are established; their physical descriptions, personalities, quirks, speech patterns, humour, values, relationships. Hopefully, readers will already care enough about your characters to be excited to see them resurrected, so to speak, to stick with them through the long haul.

Then there’s the settings; initil settings have been established and described in the first book, but this will likely expand, and transform. New sights, sounds and smells will have to be imagined and described.

The theme is usually carried on – theme is soul; it permeates the entire saga; it’s your very reason for writing (at the risk of sounding dramatic!).

The challenges arise when faced with “topping” the first MS; giving your readers a reason to carry on reading, to say, "I can't wait until the second books comes out!"

New and improved plot, characters’ newborn hopes and dreams, imaginative rising action and climax. Just like real life, things never stay the same.

The real challenge is the conflict. Conflict will have to be original, and exciting enough to make a continuing story worth reading, of course. Without fresh conflict, there is no fresh story; without fresh story, there is no second book.

It’s a huge commitment, a second book, but it’s an exciting challenge, and a chance to bring your beloved characters - your friends, so to speak - back to life!

And so I say, Flynn, Dante, Kevan, Shiobhan, Dylan, Pippa, and yes, even Lix, welcome back!

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