In past “Writing a Novel” guides I’ve spoken of the process to create your first novel, how to handle certain scenes and how to focus on the emotional impact. But I realised there was one aspect of the creation process that I hadn’t touched on: Sequels. If your novel is a single self-contained story with no loose ends or more tales to tell, then your job is done. But if you wrote your first as the beginning of a larger series—trilogy, saga, call it what you will—then you’re back on the drawing board almost immediately.
While the process to create a sequel is exactly the same as the one for your debut novel—consisting of planning, outlining, drafting and the editing—Sequels do have their own considerations, things you need to be aware of when you’re planning and outlining and more importantly when you’re down to business.
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