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Writing Advice & Discussion
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Duet or not to duet?
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I suspect that it would be hard to tell without reading the book. I thought A Curse So Dark and Lonely did not need to be more than one book, it was annoying that the romance was dragged out. But I think you are right, that sometimes there is enough in the book to make it two books. I think that for something that is primarily a romance, two might be too long.
Interesting~ I haven't ready A Curse So Dark and Lonely but I will read to see what I think. Thanks for your input, it's very much appreciated!
@Rebekah You're not alone with your thoughts towards A Curse So Dark and Lonely. I loved most of that story, but I personally don't care for when it feels like extra storylines and conflicts are being added in to extend (or drag out) an ending that could've happened in Book 1. At the same time, reading is very subjective.
I am in a process of writing a trilogy supernatural+romance+thriller (I dont know yet what it is). I'd say it depends on the book. I read bad examples where I wanted the romance story to end quickly and good stories where even 3 books are not enough. You'll never know
And about cutting the text. Always! Like I lost 3k words out of 18k in my first editing process
Commenting as a reader...I want a complete book when I buy (or review...) a novel. If the book ends abruptly on a cliffhanger or without some type of ending, then I am disappointed and feel manipulated by the author. That doesn't mean, however, there cannot be loose threads or that the story cannot continue. And certainly, if I like the characters/world/storyline, I enjoy reading more about those characters.
With romance, keep in mind that readers expect a HEA. It's basically a genre requirement in the way that a cozy mystery can't be too gritty or dark, or that historical fiction needs to be set in the past. I would keep that in mind as you write - even if the overarching story about the couple continues, if you're going to market this as a romance, then each book should have its own HEA ending.
@Isabelle very interesting and I agree reading is subjective. From what I've seen some readers like the familiarity or characters and how the setting stays the same whilst others like them short, sweet and to the point@Darya Thanks for your comment, it's really appreciated. Unfortunately I've added during the editing process and back to cutting! Any tips on cutting text?
@J.R. Alcyone Thanks for sharing your insight and perspective. Definetly, got me thinking (and nodding ha) Do you think your expectations for reading the novel would be different if you knew it was in two parts?
Clementine, look at every sentence if it pushes the story further or not. Even if it is a brilliant sentence but adds nothing - cut it out
Clementine wrote: "@Isabelle very interesting and I agree reading is subjective. From what I've seen some readers like the familiarity or characters and how the setting stays the same whilst others like them short, s..."I would say, in general, yes, because then I know what to expect.
If you're an indie author, I would suggest completing the two books and releasing them together or within a month or so of each other. (As a reader, if I'm *really* liking a series, I want the next book right now and will go get it. But if I have to wait for the next book, I find I often will lose interest or forget about it, having moved onto something else.)
what about putting both books into the one book? I'm giving that a try next month. Jim O'Brien
@ J.R. Alcyone thanks again that's another thing for me to consider: the timing and scheduling. Really useful and prompting comments! Thank you for reading and sharing!@Jim O'brien Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate it. That was initially the plan but the story has expanded way over the average of 100k for my genre. Through the editing process, i'm going to see how much I can cut before deciding again.
Hi there - I’ve never written a novel (so I know nothing about rules for word count, etc.), but I can offer my perspective as a very active reader: I love duets and trilogies that continue with the same characters, and there are not nearly enough of them IMO. Here’s why I love them:
- you have time to develop relationships, and really establish who the characters are - or even have them grow and change throughout the story
- you can add or elaborate on scenes in order to “show” the story/characters/relationships, instead of cutting words by “telling”. This is this kind of thing that makes a big difference in my reviews.
But as someone said earlier, and I agree, you do need to make sure you have enough of an overarching story to keep it interesting & that you segment at the right time. I think it can be when they are “finally happy”, or just broke up, there was a big decision made, or a twist/reveal. Maybe they ‘beat the little boss’ but not the big one… depending on your story there are lots of ways to do it well.
I will add that I very much prefer a single POV. Especially with a story that goes into multiple books, it can be very frustrating to know what the heroes don’t and feel like things are getting stretched out for the sake of making the story longer. For example - when there is a misunderstanding or someone is keeping a secret, I’d much rather be in the dark and feeling the feels along with the MC, than pull my hair out because I know what more than one character is thinking.
Good luck!
@Molly Thanks for your comment! Really insightful to know and get in the mind of a reader. What you've described is what I'm aiming for as well, weirdly I feel more confident now that you've hit the nail on the head. Your POV point is interesting and got me thinking on some parts too. Once again thanks for even clicking and taking your time to comment, much appreciated!
Personally, I love trilogies and duets in the romance genre, it gives me time to get to know the characters and really feel what they're going through.I dislike multiple POVs in the romance genre. But that's when it's ONLY romance. When it's romance mixed with another genre, to me it makes more sense. Unless the main character is on the other side of the world, it just doesn't make sense to me. But bear in mind I don't know all the details of your story.
But even if you do decide to do a duet or even a trilogy, cutting down words won't do any harm. I read something from a publisher a while back, and they said getting rid of words like 'just', 'that' and 'very' instantly make a book seem more professional.
Good luck and I hope this helped a little. :)
J.R. wrote: "Commenting as a reader...I want a complete book when I buy (or review...) a novel. If the book ends abruptly on a cliffhanger or without some type of ending, then I am disappointed..."
I came here to say this. I think if you haven't a start, middle and end to your story in one book, you haven't written a book, you've written an unskippable ad to the rest of the story and nothing makes me more annoyed as a reader.
@Nicole-Mary Thank you for your comment and it did help a lot npt just a little. Always good to know reader and people perspectives hence the question! Liking the advice on cutting the small worda out and it has been making a difference and will be keeping an eye out when writing as well :)@Thom thanks for your insight, i liked the unskippable ad part haha i would agree and say nothing more annoying when story doesn't have a 'point' or any sort of direction
Some duets and trilogies make sense, it stretches long enough to tell the story. Others draggg it out too long.
So what do you think about them?
Yay, nay or not bothered?
Because i'm not sure if my WIP would suit as a duet or it is simply too long and needs cutting down... a lot...
Thanks in advance!