The original title for this entry was "#PlotterProblems". Then I realized that could be the title for this entire blog. It's probably best that I wasn't in the habit of using hashtags when I started this thing.
So as I've talked about before, I'm plotting the sequel to THE ACCIDENTAL WARLOCK. I'm not saying what the title is, both because that seems a little presumptuous and because everything else about this damn book has changed so far, so there's no reason to think the title won't too. -_- I've been hacking away at this plot on and off for months, and I've never been able to get it to be what I want it to be. And I only recently realized what the problem was.
I started creating Abraxas, the world of TAW, over a decade ago. That world had its seeds in the second novel I wrote, and also became the world of the D&D game I ran in college. So I've been living in Abraxas for a long, long time. When I sat down to write TAW, I made up new stuff and changed other things as necessary, but I knew the place and the people. I knew where I was going and what I was doing. And I expected writing another book in Abraxas to be much the same.
I was wrong. Really, really wrong.
Although it's long for a YA book, TAW only covers a few different places. All of those places were ones I'd developed long ago, places I'd seen in my head for years and knew well. The sequel, as far as I know, will take place in only one location. It's a new place, one only created while I was working on TAW - it didn't even exist until I made the changes at the end of the second draft. And I didn't realize the problems this would cause.
To make a long story short (too late), I thought that just because this new place was part of Abraxas, I'd be able to dive into it and just go. Yeah, not so much. Funny thing about sequels: they're books too.
So I sat down and started hashing out everything about this one place, this small piece of the world, and everyone plot-relevant who lives there. And once I set the place and its people firmly into my mind, the plot started coming together. It's not there yet - I know how things start and how they end, and various bits in between, but how Shiloh gets from point A to point Z is still something of a mystery. But at least now I truly know where it happens.
And if it all falls apart again, at least that won't be anything new.
Bit of an aside for the end of this: one of the characters in that D&D game was Rashad RiLeon, a fighter my then-roommate played. I liked the name so much I brought him into Abraxas, along with Aerillion, a port city that was part of his journey. Rashad himself appears briefly in TAW, but his sister Alexi plays a significantly more important role, one that truly starts when she and Shiloh arrive in Aerillion.
I love when D&D characters make their appearance in novels. As for stories and plots, well, remember how recalcitrant those PCs were? I'd expect a fairly boring book if the characters all got in line and behaved like good little children. Isn't that the whole point of larger than life people?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I keep playlists for places so I can get back into them later.
I hate to say it, but my characters are a lot better-behaved than my PCs ever were. :P I've never had characters note my failure to chain a plot together and decide to just up and leave. Eh heh heh...
DeleteIt's the same for me: I can't write a story until I have the place fully visualized. I have to know what kind of place it is before I can write the MC realistically. I hope that once you dive into this sequel it's smooth sailing from there. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you. ^_^ It's going better now, since I've done more location work and decided to have things go wrong quickly and from the very beginning rather than on more of a slow burn.
DeleteTwo steps forward, one step back. That's writing for ya.
ReplyDeleteHang in there, Mason. It'll come together.
Pretty much, yeah. -_- But thank you. Things have been going better as of yesterday, so I hope that continues.
DeleteSorry you couldn't just dive in. World building takes so long.
ReplyDeleteAnd cool your roommate's D&D character wound up in the story. One of the names in my series was a D&D character as well.
What's kind of funny is that Rena's using her character from a D&D game I ran in one of her own novels. And I've written a somewhat altered version of a character I played in Rena's wife's game in some other stories I've written. It's all kind of bizarre.
DeleteI don't share my titles either -- until the manuscripts are out on the query-circuit. Then I figure if agents are seeing it, my readers and fellow writers should too. Keep on keepin' on, Mason. It's good that you focus on your worldbuilding; that's something TOR editors look for, in particular.
ReplyDeleteI like sharing titles, but usually I won't until I either have a finished product or one I know I'm going to write. And ye gods, I would love to sign with TOR someday. They've published some of my favorite books.
DeleteTAW sequel!! YAY! WANT TO READ!
ReplyDeleteAhem, ok, sorry. I just got a little excited.
It's funny the problems that come up when you've been living with a world and an idea for a very long time. You highlighted some of the main ones here - and they're so different from the issues that come up with a brand new idea. Keep going though. I for one would like to read this sequel :)
Excitement like that helps more than I can say. ^_^ I'm hoping to start writing it in September, if all goes well.
DeleteI love worlds that have been so thoroughly developed. I've got one in my head that's been there since I was 13, and whew! When I sent in my manuscript to my first editor, he had to spend the first twenty minutes trying to get through my head that things can change.
ReplyDeleteKeep at it with your sequel!
I know what you mean. I deliberately avoided checking my old Abraxas notes when I was writing TAW, as I didn't want to feel like I had to stick with stuff that I'd written ten years ago if it didn't fit the current story.
Delete