Guys. GUYS. Writing a sequel changes everything!
I have been hemming and hawing on writing the sequel to QUIVER for quite some time. I was ready to query it before writing the sequel, thinking that I had a general enough direction of where the story was going so I didn't need to actually write it yet. My mindset was to get the first book repped by an agent first, then work on the sequel.
Wow, was I wrong!
The instant I sat down to write the second book, I found at least a dozen holes in the world-building I had done in the first book.
I revamped entire scenes in QUIVER in order to achieve proper foreshadowing. I expanded the map of my world and came up with new, exciting places that had entirely different cultures and landscapes.
Basically, I had quite a bit of tinkering to do with QUIVER.
Sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it's so fun!! QUIVER has been revitalized by these changes. The characters have a foreseeable future and a more intricate past. The world is a more fascinating place.
I've actually started dreaming in this world I've created ... something that never happened when I originally wrote QUIVER.
My suggestion to other writers? Write a sequel - or a prequel! Even if your plan is to publish a stand-alone novel, write a novella that happens either before or after your novel. It will allow you to give more depth to every part of your story and it will help you to recognize what needs to change.
It reminds me of a technique I use in acting. With every script I receive, I ask for back-story. If there is none, or not enough for me to understand the motives and quirks of my character, I make one up.
Has anyone else experienced massive need for change upon writing a sequel?
Writing triggers are extraordinarily useful things. It is so easy to get distracted by the piling list of chores to do or the mindless distractions of the internet when what you really set out to do was write.
What is a writing trigger? Anything that sends a signal to your brain that it is time to get serious about writing.
Does it actually work? Absolutely.
A trigger can be a location, an item, a scent, a song, a dance - anything at all, really!
My personal writing trigger is to sit down at my desk with a cup of tea and a lit candle. When I do those three things, my brain zeroes in on writing. It is also immensely helpful to turn off the internet. :)
Anyone else have a particularly useful or unique writing trigger? One author I know found her trigger was to cram her bathtub with pillows and hunker down inside its porcelain walls. Hey, whatever works! I'd love to hear your triggers.
Pinterest.
There.
That's it. That's my research tip for difficult topics. Now, let me explain.
I have recently begun work on a novel that is set in a time period that I am completely unfamiliar with. Of course, this requires quite a bit of research. Specifically, I need to know a great deal about railroads and the design of rail cars in the 1890s.
I began in the traditional manner - GOOGLE!! Yes, I love Google. And usually, I can find a great deal of information through a simple search. However, the results I kept getting - no matter how I changed my keywords - were never quite right. It would be the right topic or the wrong time period or the right time period but the wrong topic.
I was getting desperate. So, one day I sat down and decided to type the same keywords I had been putting into Google into Pinterest. That's when things changed for the better.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Well, it's true. Scrolling stacks of images popped up on Pinterest as a result of my search and all I had to do was click on one to be redirected to the originating site. The images led me to the research.
Now I have my own growing board of actual pins that has commandeered my living space. I needed to see all my research at once - not crowded onto various windows of my computer screen - so I went to Home Depot, bought a giant piece of foam board, and created my ginormous "bulletin board."
It's cheep and effective. Good luck researchers!
