We all love the sequel don’t we? Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…

Oceans 11, 12 and 13.

Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum. Personal favorites of mine. Jason Bourne just rocks.

But I love Back to the Future 1 and 3. Two, not so much.

Yet all of these sequels star the same recurring characters.

What would happen if Rocky 7 became Son of Rocky and Sylvester Stallone played a secondary role, if any role at all, and some new guy, say Jesse Metcalf, played Rocky’s son.

For all practical purposes you have a brand new story and it must be treated as such. You can’t rely on the old Rocky standards of hit movie making. You can’t just promote Rocky’s son into his father’s place. He has to take on a broader, more dynamic characterization and take the movie series to a whole new place.

I talk to a lot of writers who series in mind while writing their first novel. Often questions I have about the current WIP (work-in-progress) is answered with, “… in book two we find out that…”

Personally, I think writing with a series in mind, especially for a new writer, is a mistake. Why? Because we typecast our own characters. We get stuck on something we like about them and can’t let go. After all, it was in the first book, why not the second? It’s hard to even consider that the character’s endearing flaw doesn’t work when they are the lead protagonist.

Having a series in mind also causes you to ride the clutch. You have fun little tidbits for your next book and you drag out the action or tension in the first book so you can drop bombs in the next.

Writers do this even in stand alone books. Rehash a story point for three to five chapters then, boom! drop a revealing plot point. Don’t drag it out. Drop the bombs. It’s even worse if the writer has a sequel in mind.

It hampers you.

Novels must stand alone. What if there is no book two or three? Then what? It’s fine to hint at on going issues or problems, but you must never leave a reader with questions because you want to save some plot reveal for book two.

Tell it all! You can still come up with something juicy for the rest of the series. Pack the story with action and problems, and bring them to a satisfying conclusion.

 

Did you know that….

 

Series don’t sell well. They just don’t. I know we see them all over the place, but book one sells well, but book two less than one and book three more than two but less than one. I know! It sounds like a math word problem. But it’s true.

Most publisher don’t put a lot of stock in a series. They just want good stories that can stand alone. If there’s a tie-in to other characters or to a setting, good. They love it. But banking on a series sell is not a big deal to most publishers.

 

So, free yourself up to write a good, solid first novel and if you have story left over that is strong enough to develop a book two from, then go for it.

Create strong secondary characters that can take the lead in another novel.

When I was writing Sweet Caroline, I had no real thoughts of a sequel. I’d planned on doing another lowcountry book, but Caroline was a completely stand alone story in my mind.

Then Elle walked onto the page and by the time I was done with Caroline’s story, Elle earned the right to have her name on the cover of a book.

I loved Elle. She was funny, savvy, smart, beautiful. Light on the page. An encourager, a Jesus girl, a friend’s friend.

When I decided to write her story, we almost divorced. The honeymoon was over. Oy! Everything changed. Elle became a complex, difficult character I had to discover.

Recently I worked with the fab Beth Voghts on her second Howard book. When I read the first chapter, the heroine didn’t appeal to me at all. She was shallow and inconsistent. When I sent my feedback to Beth, she was a bit flummoxed. (Yes, Beth, you were flummoxed! What a word!)

“I love this character,” she said. “Meghan was so fun in the first book.”

Ah-ha! Beth had run into the paralyzing problem of a secondary character becoming the star of her own story.

Same thing happened to me in Love Starts with Elle. Suddenly the vibrant, over-the-top girl seemed frivolous and petty, kind of self-focused.

Then as I developed her character and crafted her story, and gave her some depth by contrasted her greatest fear with her secret desire, then turned her world upside down, she became a dynamic, empathetic character. And very hard to write … just like all my other heroines!

What gives?

Secondary characters are often the light and huor of our stories. They speak truth when no one else will. They add depth and tension to the protagonist. While they also have their problems – Elle set up Operation Wedding Day in an effort to find a husband in Sweet Caroline– they are more light hearted. Less angst filled. The let downs aren’t so deep. They rebound quicker and easier.

But once he or she is the main character, you have to dig into the psychie and figure out the protagonist’s darkest moment, her lie, her fears, her wants and desires.

For Beth, the fun girl who loved shopping and Starbucks coffee had to have deeper issues that missing a sale at Target. So she rolled up her sleeve and went to work.

 

Here’s some tips on how to make the secondary character a sparkling protagonist.

 

1. Based on the character’s appearance in the first novel, lay out all the great things about her and then ask why? Why does she love to shop? Why does she love Starbucks? Why does she love to wear skirts, bangle bracelets, and green eye shadow? Why did she launch Operation Wedding Day?
2. Once you’ve done the basic intel on your character, get out your My Book Therapy Book Buddy and do your character work. What’s her greatest fear? Secret desire? What’s the lie she believes about herself, life and God? What dark moment from her past defines her? What does she want in this story?For Elle, I started with her story with a proposal from her dream man. Or was he really? She quickly realizes she’s not in love with him. When their relationship breaks up, where does she go from there? What does she really want? What is this story about?

   For me, it was difficult to write a much more troubled and flawed Elle. I kept thinking she was too dark and sad, but in truth she was finally beginning to shine.

3. Give your protagonist heart and soul. What does she love? What does he want out of life? What are her dreams and fears? What would she do anything to achieve? What would she give up for someone she loves?
4. Create secondary characters to bring out the hero and heroine’s great qualities. “Show” them through the eyes of others. For Elle, I used her troubled sister Julianne to highlight Elle’s compassion and wisdom. It also created a more emotional story over all.
5. Pause. Slow down. Think about what your character is going through? Beth was struggling to let go of her original premise about her secondary character now heroine. She was writing Meghan exactly as she was in book one and it wasn’t working. She was too frivolous and casual.When we talked about the story, Beth often answered with surface traits or habits, Meghan’s avant-garde side and her wacky mannerisms – all things that made Meghan great in the first book. But Beth didn’t have a handle on what would make her great in her own story.

   Beth got to work and did some deeper digging to Meghan’s core. Her essence. And she transformed her character and her book.

6. The former primary characteristics of the secondary must take a back seat and a deeper, more meaningful character must be developed. Be warned, they are harder to write. But in the end, you’ll have a much more dynamic and well rounded character and story.
7. Remember, books aren’t written, they are rewritten.

 

 

Hope these tips help. Write on!