Book 2 - A New Path and Series Direction

So, I have been struggling with book 2 on several levels. First and foremost has been complexity. Book 1 for me seemed like a breeze. I knew exactly what I wanted to write, with the arc of the book pretty much laid out in my head for so long it felt relatively easy to get it all down. I’m not saying there weren’t a few learning curves and additions to my original ideas, but all in all, beginning to end of first draft in 7 months is pretty good I think for a 500+ page novel for a first time author.

Now we have book 2 and while I know the general story arc, it was much less defined than the first. Couple this with the fact that I have almost three times the number of storylines to write and a timeline to adhere to for them to converge…first time author boy was getting a bit overwhelmed. I was constantly having to go back and reference material for continuity. As a new author who maintains a day job to fund this little hobby, I have to say, it has been a much more difficult writing experience.

Additionally, the more complex and varied storylines that have evolved during my writing of book 2 has me wanting to dive down into them and how they affect our world and characters. As I have gone down this rabbit hole with all the new stories in book 2, I have come to realize that the original ending I had laid out for the end of book 2 was getting farther and farther away from being achieved in an appropriate book length.

So, with this in mind I have changed my original concept of book 2’s ending. In addition to this, I spent a lot of time actually outlining the remainder of the stories in book 2 as well as its new ending. Once I did this, then I had to start thinking about how all these changes impacts book 3 and potentially…wait for it…my trilogy expanding to a fourth book. Who would have thunk it right?

All kidding aside, I really did struggle with this a bit and after talking it all over with Holly, I just decided to go back to where I was when I decided to start this journey, “Just write a story that I would want to read.” With this in mind, and the added complexities I mentioned above, I have spent the last month or better going back over what I have written in book 2 and outlining its new ending. Which led me down the path of how they impact book 3 and a potential book 4. I’m not convinced a 4th book will happen but I’m not going to sweat it. If it happens it happens. I think I had it in my head that, “Hey, go write a fantasy trilogy. It’s what all the cool kids are doing,” instead of just telling myself, write your story, one book at a time and forget about how many that is. The trilogy thing was kind of messing with my head and now I’m over it, and I think the series will be better for it. It will make for a far more detailed and rich story, and in the end a much more structured and detailed world in Galleant, that I can go back to and explore in many more novels.

So, all that being said I have done actual little writing over the last month+, but I do now have a bit more structure and path forward given all the new storylines emerging in book 2. I’m now looking forward to not really caring how much I write or how detailed or depth I want to add to a character or place. Just go with the flow and write my story.

Have a Happy Holidays and New Year Everyone. See you on the other side!