2 of 2

Write now Article Tools

Sequels call for special attention to scene detail. You must spark memorable scenes to get your reader to latch back onto the evasive teat. Did you get a picture? It's all in how you say it. Most of the time you will help your readers remember something about the protagonist from the earlier book. Starting in the thick of things rather than final chapters also is a trick to guide your readers deeper into the story from the get-go. Take for instance the Potter stories: Intense driven opening chapters delve right into the dark scenes. You get an earlier sense that your character has grown deeper and more mystical than in previous books. Fantasy type sequel stories often leave readers feeling as if they're hanging from a cliff until the next book comes along. You can usually tell when an author has a part two in mind by the ending of part one.

When you carefully cull difficult scenes from your earlier story to weave them into the sequel it helps your reader connect new ideas easier. You want to transit from time space and memory the holistic feel of your protagonist life. In other words you can't have Finn; your protagonist from the first story, have a tragic accident that requires years of rehab with little hope of recovery suddenly racing through town on a bike to catch the bad guys right off the bat in part two.

If you use an outline to keep order of your chapters be sure to keep them organized for reference when you work on the details of your sequels. It helps to make comparison notes as well in the white space of the outline. It's too easy to miss important facts from story to story that simply confuse the reader if you don't have some organized system to refer too. Even if only a wall full of notes; a clever source of inspiration to prompt one to get the job done, for those of us that procrastinate.

Next keep this motto imbedded in your forethoughts; like real estate, always bear in mind location, location, location. Make sure Finn hasn't fallen off the map from story one to story two. He can't be wandering throughout Europe all through the first book and suddenly surface in the states without something to help him transit from one world to the next or your readers will be confused.

So to sum it all up; sequels are well organized chapters of transitional scenes developed from the earlier book. Basically the key is organization. So if you feel book two coming while birthing your first book be sure to plan a well ordered filing system. A well kept file of earlier work can also be used as a sort of fill in the blanks in your story. You simply remove words and restructure sentence with active verbs, and voila' a new idea emerges.

Learn more about this author, Sandra Gillhouse.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Understanding the importance of scene and sequel in fiction?
We want to hear your view. Write now!