Sequels

Sequels . . . Wow.

I started originally writing a sequel to my novel Target after finishing the 2nd or 3rd draft (There were a lot of drafts!). I always wanted to call it ‘Takedown’. That title has been in effect since at least 2009. I could never seem to crack it though.

I had ideas about what I wanted the sequel to include, yet at the same time, I kept changing Target. Every time Target changed, I had to change the sequel.

When everyone was going trilogy mad a few years back, I attempted to jump on the wave in 2011 and somehow managed to write the third book before the first was finished! I have no idea how, but I did it. I wrote it alongside another first draft in the summer of 2011.

There was a lot of unrest and tension, mainly stemming from the London riots and some local situations that I won’t talk about. They’re not my business, but nonetheless, these situations spurred me on to a productive month of writing. I knocked out an 83k word first draft and then left this, determined that now I would be able to finish the second book.

I could not.

I wrote some killer scenes (one scene towards the end of the book remains the best thing I’ve ever written in my oh-so-humble-opinion), but I couldn’t do it. Something was missing. It was a mesh of seemingly random scenes rather than a structured draft. The characters I thought were strong enough to lead the sequel seemed work. I tossed the book on the back burner determined to work on Target, which I vowed would be a stand-alone sequel.

Fast forward to 2015. I’ve improved as a writer (apparently), Target is finally complete (for good!). I’m reading everything in sight and even though my instincts scream not to do it, I start up with the sequel again.

Not only do I start it up, I tweak my Target ending, then add in another scene to tie it in. I ignore the 100k or so words I’ve already done on this sequel, vowing to go in another direction.

Maybe it was ego. I don’t enjoy failing at anything, and something told me I could write the shit out of the sequel. After all, everything was in line in Target now. I had found my voice, perfected my themes and fleshed out a protagonist and a book I am and will always be, damn proud of. I set myself a word target (100k words), outlined point by point what I would put into this sequel, and jumped to it.

The writing was coherent. An improvement on the first draft. The characters felt strong, yet something seemed to be missing again. I kept at it though, carrying on my usual tradition of writing multiple things alongside it (how the hell do you writers control this? Do you write multiple projects at once, or are you just more disciplined than me?). I wrote some strong scenes, and slowly but surely, with the help of my pillars, I managed to finally make some headway.

As of this morning, I’ve hit the 95k word mark with no end in sight. But, I’m confident that it will be done by my deadline date (with all the marketing and promo I’m doing, I’m aiming to have this draft finished by July – hold me to it!).

I’ll be more prompt with these updates from now on. You writers who manage to hit your word count, avoid procrastination and still manage to market and promote with a smile on your face, you are my eternal heroes!

Feel free to add some insight, comment, message me, whatever you feel.

Thanks for reading,

-Ricky Black-