Writing a sequel. It should be easier right? I’ve made the world and created the characters. Just press play.
I wish.
I decided to take a week out and just write. Really give myself the time to get my head down and stick a dent in the word count. I took myself off to the Forest of Dean and holed up in a cabin for a few days.
I admit, it had a hot tub! but it was all about the writing (for the majority of the time). It was all going well until day 3. Suddenly, without warning, I just stopped and couldn’t write anything. I had a classic ‘creative wobble’ and just didn’t know what I wanted the sequel to be, or where it should go. It ALL felt wrong.
The interesting thing is what happened next. Rather than panic (my usual mode at times like this) I just relaxed (yes, the hot tub was involved) and spent the ENTIRE day thinking.
Just thinking.
You know, staring off into space…
When do we ever get the time to do that??
And, guess what? It worked. The following day I cut a load of scenes (hard but necessary) and then introduced some excitement back into it. I actually wanted to write the scenes in my head and then BAM. I was off again. Then, when I got home I completely cleared my pinboard and filled it with imagery to help me write. I knew the next few chapters would be the hardest scenes in the book.
Now I’m pleased. It’s exciting again and feels EXACTLY like the sequel to Whisper should.
Take a look… can you guess where we’re going in book 2?
