The brain is a wonderful and terrible thing. It gives us all these ideas to write. Then again, it gives us all these ideas to write.
LOL, I know. That looks weird. But it's true. We have all these wonderful and glorious ideas that we can write, but also can have too many ideas of what to write and how to write it. So many ideas that sometimes we can get tangled up in them all.
Case in point: I've written a fantasy novel. I'm damn near done editing it. In fact, I'd say I'm less than two months away from it being publishable. And my brain comes along and says 'what if we expanded on certain things and in certain areas and instead of one book, we turn this into three books?' Silly brain.
Shut up, silly brain. I know what you're doing. You're afraid of sending this out into the world and having it flop, so you're throwing landmines in the way of publication.
If I listened to my silly brain, I would spend the next few months writing more words and editing more stuff, and still maybe not have a solid thing to show for it. I have a solid thing NOW. It's a good book. The more I read it, the more convinced I am that it is a good book. Sure, I could expand on stuff, but that's not what this book needs. It is what it is without further futzing around.
Sure, I could delve deeper into the whole 'school for mages' aspect, but that isn't what this is about. This isn't Harry Potter, for pitysakes. This is about a bunch of kids - teenagers, really - thrown into training to protect the Shroudlands because there is no one else to do it. And they don't exactly have a lot of time because, like I said, they're it. Evil stuff is coming out of the shrouds and they need to handle it, whether they're trained or not.
So, no, I will not be expanding this one book into three. The book is done. I'm editing it. I'm looking ahead to what will happen in the next book. I have some ideas. My silly brain needs to focus on that and drop the damn idea of reworking this book.
Okay, now that I've smacked my silly brain a bit, maybe I can get down to getting it done. Finish the damn book and let what comes come.
Do you ever have so many ideas you're getting tangled up in them?
One solid, (almost-)ready to be published book is good! You can always expand it into a series by focusing on individual characters or later adventures or consequences of winning if the mood hits.
ReplyDeleteA book I enjoyed recently was labeled Part 2 of the series, but it happened 100 years before Part 1. So you're not confined by time, either. :-)
Let's not talk about writer brain, umkay? I'm trying to convince mine to silence Iffy because the dang Muse is hop-skip-jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean. If she drank coffee, I'd say she's having withdrawals she's so jittery. More stories! Mover books! Different books! Makes one want to run screaming into the night, right?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm glad you're looking ahead to a book two that builds upon book one instead of expanding book one. Because I need more of your books to read! 😉 Now get to work! Me too. Now that I'm back from Wallyworld.