Sequels

For a long time, I've been very hesitant to work anymore on my novel I wrote during Nano last November - mostly because I gave it a very rushed ending that I wasn't very happy with so that I could close out my last of the fifty thousand words. Since then, I've thought often about how to continue it, because I know that where it ended is not where the full story ends. There are still a number of plot points that I want to hit, and the climax of the story has yet to occur. And yet, the more that I think about it, the more apparent it becomes to me that where I ended the novel is in fact the end of the book - to finish the story, it would be best for me to write a sequel.

This is an idea that I've been opposed to. After all, while fifty thousand words may sound like a lot, most people would consider it more of a novella than a novel. It's just too short. And I have a feeling that, in editing the book, it will become shorter. My goal was to write a book, not a short story, and I'm afraid that that's what it's going to become. So I wanted the story to continue, and fulfill the rest of the plot.

But I've finally decided that there's nothing I can do about it. The rest of the story simply has to take place as a sequel to the first. Which kind of changes my focus about what the first book is about, which in turn means that there are places in the middle that I need to flesh out further. Hopefully this will give me the length and substance that I'm looking for. There was a lot of kind of empty space, and while not necessarily a huge time skip, a time skip nonetheless. I've recently decided that I want to explore section of the story more, which will add a darker tone to the story as a whole, but I think will also give more substance to the later events.

The question then is just what all I will put into the sequel. There are a few events that I know I want - the main character learning a way to fight, revealing more about the villain, and of course the fateful encounter. But that definitely isn't enough to constitute another entire book.

In the meantime, I have to think about some of the other ideas I've gotten in the meantime. Things like adding more perspectives to the story, eliminating the intro to the story, and rewriting the reasons for why certain things happen. I've talked before about how I don't mind cliches, but I feel like some of the ones that I have used in my story thus far are a bit much. Especially concerning why the magic I have in place exists, and how it is used by those who wield it.

I definitely still have work to do. But I'm getting more comfortable with stepping back into it.