I have poured out some new words on The Huntsman, but things are still not coming together the way I would like them to. As such I’ve gone back to the beginning again to smooth what I have and hopefully push forward again.
Going back to the beginning of my story does two positive things for me. One, the beginning is rather solid right now, so it helps me remember I’m not a terrible writer and it lifts my spirits. Two, it allows me to shift the story as a result of new things I have discovery written, including relationships between characters, because, let’s be honest, the thing I enjoy most about writing is the relationships between characters. So whenever they get more nuanced and detailed, it makes me happy and keeps me motivated.
I was listening to a podcast from DIY MFA.com where the author Sebastien de Castell talked about how much more difficult writing a sequel book is. As he pointed out, in the first book you can just create as much as you want, but in the sequel there are already rules, rules you can’t change (especially if the book is already published.) and expectations that have been set.
It just made me realize how true that was, and I stopped beating myself up so much about the expectation that I had that since the first book only took me two years, I should be able to do that for the second. The book is going to take as long as it’s going to take. I may never be one of those authors who pounds out a book a year. And that may change when I have an agent and/or editor helping me out. Right now I can only work with what I have. My goal right now is aimed at having an alpha ready by the end of the year. It’s good to always have a goal, even if you don’t make it. And who knows, tomorrow I might have that idea or write the scene that fixes all the problems I’m having. That’s part of why writing is so much fun.
PS: Sebastien’s Greatcoat books are super amazing, so if you like swashbuckling and snarky narrators, give them a shot.
