Has this happened to you guys?

I worry, but then a phrase or something will strike my fancy and I start something new...relax...and go with it. I am assuming you have some time? You can play the What if...game with your characters...and GL and also, Congrats are in order for your 2-book deal. How wonderful for you!

Gl is good luck...

What if your Main Character.... got hit by a car, won an award, got a new dog, moved to Europe, his parent's divorced, he got cancer, etc.

Congrats on the two book deal! I like the What if? game, too. It works.

Hi everyone, I'm the Hannity Chick

I was given that name by one of the guys at hannity (Yuck) I hate that board.

This seems like a great place. Thanks for the invite!

Toothpaste said:

Does anyone ever feel like they have put absolutely everything into one book, never assuming it would be published, and now worry that they have nothing left to give?

Click to expand...

How about getting some distance between you and the book (need not be distance in time, perhaps just read a couple of romances or westerns or something completely different) then come back to the book to find the character's voice within yourself and ask him/her where he/she wants to go next?

I suggest this from the position of completing a YA novel, thinking it was done, and then finding the sequel developing from something that was missing in the life of the character. In this case the MC is a teenage boy whose mother died at his birth - book 1 is about his relationship with his father, book 2 (about 20% done) begins with a song being sung by his girlfriend's mother and will resolve his inner conflict over his mother's death.

The difference between this suggestion and the others above is that it is character driven rather than plot driven. It depends on your own style how you go about getting the sequel up and running. If you know how you like to write, then the next book is one step closer.

Kim