New Voices Good Stories discussion

My challenge is introducing new characters while bringing back old characters with new issues. I want my audience to be happy that I brought back the old characters and I don't want to take away anything from them that they loved in my first book, "A River Moves Forward." By the same token, I would like for them to get to know the new characters and feel inspired by them in some way too.

My biggest challenge has been a personal failing. I have spent too much time trying to promote my first book and not enough time writing the second one. This is due in part to a pathological craving for approval as well as a genetic disposition towards procrastination.

As soon as the first few readers finished my debut book, they wanted to know how soon the second one would be finished. I don't want to disappoint anyone, but it takes me a while to get there. I'm hoping to finish it before November of this year.

My problem is I craft the characters to fit the story for the first book. So when I try to write a sequel (currently working on sequels for two different mysteries) I have a helluva time trying to fit the old characters into a new plot. I get to about the 20,000 word point and start wondering if I shouldn't just be writing a new book with new characters. So the sequels go on the "work on it later" shelf and I start on an entirely new project. Maybe I'm ADD.

I totally understand Ubiquitous! You're not alone. Sometimes we can put too much pressure on ourselves. I've received the same feedback from people. Instead of rushing to put out my second book, I think about how many people still are not finished the first one. Sure they bought it, but we are not the only procrastinators or in some cases "BUSY". Many of us writers do not write full-time, so we have other responsibilities to. I tell myself that they can wait. I want to make sure the sequel is just as good as the first, and not rush it. It's almost like a good movie that comes out with the a part 2. It's usually not that great, but it's the third one that's good.

Ubiquitous wrote: "My biggest challenge has been a personal failing. I have spent too much time trying to promote my first book and not enough time writing the second one. This is due in part to a pathological crav..."

Dave, I was stuck there too, so what I did was, I started off with the old characters first! I crafted a wonderful one to have the old characters introduce the new. By Chapter 3, readers will want to explore the new characters more, and towards the end they will love both the old and new characters....I hope!

Dave wrote: "My problem is I craft the characters to fit the story for the first book. So when I try to write a sequel (currently working on sequels for two different mysteries) I have a helluva time trying to ..."

Selena, that's what I tried; I started the sequels with the old characters front and center and then gradually introduced the new characters. But after I had the new characters pretty well established is when I ran into trouble. I liked them so much they started taking over the story. That's when I started to wonder if I should just ditch the old characters and write an entirely new mystery with the new characters and the hell with the sequel angle.

But there's a certain comfort to be found resurrecting the original characters. So I hate to just let them die the inglorious death of author indecisiveness. Arrrghh!!! Back! Back to the shelf of Work-On-It-Later!

LOL- I understand that too David. I was wondering if I should address an issue that happened in the first book, but then it takes away from the new characters. On the other hand, it helps keep the old characters alive. However, trying to figure out how to include that in with so much going on with the new characters is a tough pill to swallow.


Dave wrote: "Selena, that's what I tried; I started the sequels with the old characters front and center and then gradually introduced the new characters. But after I had the new characters pretty well establis..."

I think I found a solution to that problem. I write from a universe perspective. (I write Middle Grade Sci-Fi, but I think this would hold true for you even if you write a mystery.)
If I want to add new characters, I contemplate how I can fit them into the pre-established universe. Perhaps I will introduce them in a book that I will continue with my main characters. Afterward, if I want to expand upon the new characters, I create a story wherein I can expand upon the new characters more fully. This results in a nice way for your audience, as they will find characters they know and are excited about, but they don't lose out on the focus characters of your story.
New characters don't always warrant a new story. Certainly, if you have multiple story-lines in a single novel, it can be perfectly acceptable, provided you don't overwhelm or confuse the reader. But when those new characters take on a life of their own that detracts from the story arc you are currently working on, it's time to take on the "save for later" approach.

that's true!

I was attempting to write two parallel stories in the sequel I was working on. Only, as I told those stories they grew further and further apart. The storylines became too complicated when grouped together (especially as I am writing for a middle-grade audience), and the story fizzled.

With a bit of reconsideration, I discovered that the entire series would have been best written as Novellas. The first half of my previous book already had a nice conclusion point in the middle, and I had named them Book 1 and Book 2 in an earlier draft, as I saw in similar works. (Fortunately, when I made this discovery, my first book hadn't been published yet. But Novella is an ugly word in the genre of my series, because most publishers won't touch anything less than 50,000 words.)

On closer inspection, each story became stronger when it was reduced to Novella length. I could either have a better novella or a weaker, overly-complex novel. I made a hard decision to self-publish my novella series. And at this point, I'm not looking back. The first book will be released on April 14th.