Challenges of finishing a series –
Writing a trilogy isn’t easy. The process, for me, took years, many drafts and a lot of sleepless nights, and balancing family, work and not becoming a hermit (not completely).
The frequent twists and turns when creating a huge plot, subplots and breakout characters (Brett), leaves loose strings that are waiting to be tied together. Its creation requires enormous concentration. Once the first in series was finished, if I’d knitted all the strings together perfectly, the reader would follow along with me on the journey through the next two books.
At the end of TSTD I had this vision of holding out my hand to the reader and saying, “Come along with me and I’ll take you on an exciting adventure.” I want the reader to be as in love with the characters as I am.
For the series, keeping the small details consistent was a challenge. I like to use a storyboard and sticky notes while I’m writing. The visual reminders help me focus. I think for every writer it’s about finding a process that works. In TSTD I left the plot points open-ended on purpose. My debut novel was always going to be a first in series novel. My only regret is that I’m not a faster writer and the wait for Terrible Lies and Heartlines was long.
Another challenge of writing a trilogy is the recap overload. In Terrible Lies and Heartlines you’ll find that I’ve kept the recap to a minimum. How much info dump from the previous book to include in the follow up books is tricky and can certainly make for a dull read. The challenge is finding the balance of how much to include.
For the finale, I hope that Heartlines is the moment readers have been waiting for. If they’ve been following along from the beginning or have waited for the final installment to start reading, the series finale ties everything together.
Before sitting down to write my guest post, I hadn’t had a moment to really absorb the emotions of how it feels to be finished with the Thirty Seconds To Die Series. I did cry when I wrote the final few pages of Heartlines. The feeling of being finished is bittersweet, but at the same time as a writer it’s nice to be able to move on to a new project. I am sad to say good-bye to the world and characters I’ve created, but I’m excited to move on to my next project.
I have a couple of standalone projects lined up and after that I’ll be taking on another trilogy.
The frequent twists and turns when creating a huge plot, subplots and breakout characters (Brett), leaves loose strings that are waiting to be tied together. Its creation requires enormous concentration. Once the first in series was finished, if I’d knitted all the strings together perfectly, the reader would follow along with me on the journey through the next two books.
At the end of TSTD I had this vision of holding out my hand to the reader and saying, “Come along with me and I’ll take you on an exciting adventure.” I want the reader to be as in love with the characters as I am.
For the series, keeping the small details consistent was a challenge. I like to use a storyboard and sticky notes while I’m writing. The visual reminders help me focus. I think for every writer it’s about finding a process that works. In TSTD I left the plot points open-ended on purpose. My debut novel was always going to be a first in series novel. My only regret is that I’m not a faster writer and the wait for Terrible Lies and Heartlines was long.
Another challenge of writing a trilogy is the recap overload. In Terrible Lies and Heartlines you’ll find that I’ve kept the recap to a minimum. How much info dump from the previous book to include in the follow up books is tricky and can certainly make for a dull read. The challenge is finding the balance of how much to include.
For the finale, I hope that Heartlines is the moment readers have been waiting for. If they’ve been following along from the beginning or have waited for the final installment to start reading, the series finale ties everything together.
Before sitting down to write my guest post, I hadn’t had a moment to really absorb the emotions of how it feels to be finished with the Thirty Seconds To Die Series. I did cry when I wrote the final few pages of Heartlines. The feeling of being finished is bittersweet, but at the same time as a writer it’s nice to be able to move on to a new project. I am sad to say good-bye to the world and characters I’ve created, but I’m excited to move on to my next project.
I have a couple of standalone projects lined up and after that I’ll be taking on another trilogy.
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