I am writing what I believe will be a trilogy in an epic fantasy.
I don't outline. I grab ideas out of the cosmos and those I like, I write down and expand upon. As a result, I have a vague idea where this book is headed and the tone of it. It is dark.
When I was working on the first novel, I reached a place where I had to send it off to betas after I finished it and wait for their comments. During that waiting period, I started on the second novel. I finished two chapters, and then set it aside when the comments from the betas came in on the first book. I have finished the revisions and polishing on the first book and sent it off for a final pass of copy-editing. Now that I've sat down with the second book again, I'm wondering if I'm starting in the wrong place.
I intend to show the inner workings of the antagonist in this novel as well as pick up with the other characters who were in the first book. And the thought has flitted through my head today that perhaps I should start showing the antagonist in those final moments of the last book instead of starting later in the story's timeline, as I had originally planned. It will mean pushing almost everything I have written in the first two chapters (the second chapter made me cry) to a later place in the novel, which is ok if this is the right decision.
Before I ask, I already know that 1) it depends on the execution and 2) you can only give generalized feedback since you haven't read it. Don't worry. I haven't read it yet, either. I'm asking more for your thoughts than any concrete advice.
What do you think about starting a second novel at a time before the end of the previous novel, if done from the viewpoint of a character that hasn't had more than a brief introduction? Readers of the first novel will know him because he is integral to what happened at the end of the first novel. But I never went deep with his viewpoint. If the scene replays from his perspective, do you think the readers would be ok with that? Or would the repeat be tiresome? Would you be interested in reading a scene again if the viewpoint is changed to a different angle?
Thanks in advance for your comments. I am trying to figure out what chapter one should look like as opposed to what it currently looks like and I do appreciate your opinions.
I don't outline. I grab ideas out of the cosmos and those I like, I write down and expand upon. As a result, I have a vague idea where this book is headed and the tone of it. It is dark.
When I was working on the first novel, I reached a place where I had to send it off to betas after I finished it and wait for their comments. During that waiting period, I started on the second novel. I finished two chapters, and then set it aside when the comments from the betas came in on the first book. I have finished the revisions and polishing on the first book and sent it off for a final pass of copy-editing. Now that I've sat down with the second book again, I'm wondering if I'm starting in the wrong place.
I intend to show the inner workings of the antagonist in this novel as well as pick up with the other characters who were in the first book. And the thought has flitted through my head today that perhaps I should start showing the antagonist in those final moments of the last book instead of starting later in the story's timeline, as I had originally planned. It will mean pushing almost everything I have written in the first two chapters (the second chapter made me cry) to a later place in the novel, which is ok if this is the right decision.
Before I ask, I already know that 1) it depends on the execution and 2) you can only give generalized feedback since you haven't read it. Don't worry. I haven't read it yet, either. I'm asking more for your thoughts than any concrete advice.
What do you think about starting a second novel at a time before the end of the previous novel, if done from the viewpoint of a character that hasn't had more than a brief introduction? Readers of the first novel will know him because he is integral to what happened at the end of the first novel. But I never went deep with his viewpoint. If the scene replays from his perspective, do you think the readers would be ok with that? Or would the repeat be tiresome? Would you be interested in reading a scene again if the viewpoint is changed to a different angle?
Thanks in advance for your comments. I am trying to figure out what chapter one should look like as opposed to what it currently looks like and I do appreciate your opinions.