Sue Macdonald's Blog: Keeping up with the Carmichaels

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Last week, I tried something different. Instead of trying to snatch moments for my writing, I used some holiday time that was owing to me and worked steadily on Book 3 of The Littlewood Chronicles.

I didn't have a set writing goal in mind in terms of number of words or chapters, but I did want to give myself some uninterrupted writing time.

I managed to write drafts of the first three chapters, and I'm pretty happy with that amount of writing. But there are real challenges to any later book in a series! Here are some of the things I had to grapple with this week...

The first two books in the series, Thunderstorms and Honey, each feature some minor characters who are about to become much more major. So I have to go back and re-read them to remind myself of key details: what do they look like? What did I already establish about their timelines and temperaments? How can I make sure these ideas are followed through consistently?

Then it's a matter of developing their stories in authentic ways. That's much more complex than just making sure they still have the same age and hair colour. How would the character we've already seen in earlier books react to good news? To a shock? To a compliment? Readers want character consistency and development in a series.

There's also one big change in this book, compared to what we saw in Books 1 and 2, but I'll save that for a later post.

If you're a romance writer working on a series, how do you handle these things? If you're a romance reader, what are your do's and don't's? I'd love to hear your wisdom and suggestions, so let me know in the comments.

It's the first of the month tomorrow, which means time for new beginnings, new ideas, and new inspiration!

I've now published the first two books of The Littlewood Chronicles. Never heard of it? It's a wholesome romance series, set in the fictional town of Littlewood, and based around the six women of the Carmichael family.

Book 1, Thunderstorms, follows Tempest's story, while Book 2, Honey, follows her cousin, Bea.

I love writing the Carmichaels' stories, but life is busy and I don't always get the time I need for creative work. So this week, I'm trying something new. I'm using up some of my holiday time to do a DIY writing retreat and make progress on the third book in the series.

Day 1 task: try to write the opening chapter, which will be a bridge between the end of "Honey" and the new story. Timelines and facts need to align but perspectives need to change.

First thing tomorrow, the coffee will be on, the phone will be on silent, and it will be time to get started. Have a beautiful day as the new month begins - if you're a fan of the books, send me a question, and if you've not read them, what are you waiting for? :)