For novelists: How was writing your second novel different from writing your first novel?
Friday, August 8th, 2008
Roald Ellsworth asked:
I’ve written pleny of short stories and articles, and been published a number of times. I’ve also written many longer manuscripts, but none of them felt as exciting as the one I finished this past year. It’s the first that I really got involved in and loved, and the first that has attracted the attention of an agency. So, I consider it to be my first real book. While I edited it, I had wonderful ideas for a second book, but now that I’m writing it, all I can do is compare it to the first and worry that it won’t be as good. I’ve heard that writers have a hard time with second books, and I’d like some advice. What were your experiences, and what kept you going?
Please don’t answer this like the first person. It says “for novelists.” If you aren’t one, go somewhere else.
Steven
I’ve written pleny of short stories and articles, and been published a number of times. I’ve also written many longer manuscripts, but none of them felt as exciting as the one I finished this past year. It’s the first that I really got involved in and loved, and the first that has attracted the attention of an agency. So, I consider it to be my first real book. While I edited it, I had wonderful ideas for a second book, but now that I’m writing it, all I can do is compare it to the first and worry that it won’t be as good. I’ve heard that writers have a hard time with second books, and I’d like some advice. What were your experiences, and what kept you going?
Please don’t answer this like the first person. It says “for novelists.” If you aren’t one, go somewhere else.
Steven