Tag: frustration

I’ve come to that proverbial fork in the road and I don’t know which way to go.

When Of Dreams and Shadow: Forget Me Not (Book 1) was published in September 2013,  I immediately started work on the sequel.  But by January, 2014, Britney and Michael had popped in my head.  Their story took over and in July, 2014, The Reason’s Why (e-book) was published.   The paperback followed in September.   The Wretched Life of Maxine J Mattocks, a novelette, is being published in episodes on Wattpad and my blog.

My dilemma:

• It is now December – 15 months since the first book was published.
• I’ve written about 12,000 words of sequel.
• Writing the sequel feels like a chore.
• Part of me wants to stop working on it and maybe get a new cover for Dreams (taking off the Forget Me Not: Book 1)
• The first book could have been a stand alone story.  At this point, I wish I had decided to do just that…

It’s frustrating. 

In the past, I’ve been a “pantzer”.   I like the spontaneity and the creative flow that happens between the characters and myself.   With the sequel, I decided to be a “planner” – to use an outline.  Is it possible that’s the problem? It didn’t seem so at the time.  In fact, I thought it was helping.   Maybe my problem has less to do with my writing process and more to do with my emotional connection to the story.  It’s not that I don’t love the characters.  It feels more like I’ve outgrown them – if that makes any sense at all.

Is it possible to rekindle the flame for Book 2?

I know the importance of having sequels follow as quickly as possible especially with the whole marketing thing.  I get that I’m behind the power curve and honestly, that just adds on another layer of frustration.  And then, when I get the chance to write, I sit in front of my laptop – I type, delete, type, delete… It’s amazing that I’ve managed to move forward at all.

And then there’s other distractions…

Like the new characters who have stopped by to introduce themselves.  They want their stories told.  But the longer I ask them to hold on, the less often they visit and that worries me.

So now you know… 

When I talked to my husband about this, he got that “deer in the headlights” look.   I got a lot of hemming and hawing and nothing else.  And that is why I’ve turned to you – because maybe you’ve been in this same spot or know someone who has.  Even if you haven’t, maybe a fresh set of eyes can see the better path. Either way, your  thoughts and experiences would be so appreciated.