Okay, you’re all just going to have to shut it!…or A Study in Writing the Sequel

Ha! Well, that was an abrasive start, wasn’t it? And I don’t mean it…exactly. I love it when people make contact with me – it verifies that this whole writing thing isn’t, in fact, a fantasy of my own making.

The “you” in “you’re” from my title, in actuality, refers to all the voices in my head.

Hmm, doesn’t sound much better. Allow me to explain.

In the midst of selling my new cozy mystery series, I have been endeavoring, the past several months, to write a sequel to SIDEKICK. Now, that I am a mere week away from sending it to my agent (just copy-editing stuff at this point), I’d like to sum up the experience in one sentence:

OH MY GOD THAT WAS HARD!

Okay, so writing in general is hard, but writing a sequel when your debut has just come out? Well, let’s just say I wasn’t prepared for that level of difficulty. Suddenly, I was trying to make everybody happy – reviewers, friends, family. It didn’t matter who – if she or he had an idea, I was trying to work it in. I knew it was getting out of control when I had this little conversation with an acquaintance:

Him: Have you ever thought about zombie superheroes?

Me: Um, only every day.

Him: Well, what about, Bremy?

Me: What about Bremy?

Him: What about killing her and making her a zombie?

Me: What about killing…what? No! I mean, well, maybe…”

(On a side note, I googled “hot zombie .gifs” to get this image before I really thought about what I was doing. I’m not sure I would recommend it unless you’re into that sort of thing.)

My head was swimming. Some readers wanted more romance, others less. Some wanted more Ryder. Others more Bart and Queenie. Some loved the funny tone. Others wanted Bremy to go dark. Eventually, I felt a little like this:

(On another side note, even as I post this .gif, I’m thinking – people are going to accuse me of being insensitive to people with mental illnesses. Sigh. They’re probably right. I have a psychology degree. You could make the argument that I am a horrible person for posting this .gif. But then again, ultimately I am just mocking myself, because, really, who thinks this much about a .gif? The type of person in that picture. That’s who.)

Anyhoo, eventually, I had to decide to just write. I can’t take a list of requests and fulfill everybody’s wishes. Right now, I know some of you are probably saying, Wow, deep insight Ms. Psych. Major. To which I reply, Why you being so mean? Believe me, it seems obvious, but even if you know something to be true, that doesn’t mean it’s any easier to put it into practice.

Hopefully I can remember all this next time I have a sequel to write!

Have a good one,

Auralee

Disclaimer: This entire post was written under the influence of cough medicine. I think it has made me extra charming, even with my running nose.