While I've been letting my last round of revisions to Evangeline rest, I'm finding I can't quite switch gears to work on Strings or my urban fantasy. They're just too different.
Instead, I've been thinking critically about a sequel.
Now, I'm the first person to advise other writers not to expend too much time and energy thinking about sequels when you haven't sold the first novel yet, but I'd like to know if my novel has series potential. If I'm ever in the position of having an agent offer to represent me or my novel, I'd like to be able to tell them whether or not it does.
So I've been doing some outlining and figuring out the plots and subplots I'd like a sequel to include. Which has led to an even greater understanding of some of the motivations of the characters. After so much editing and rewriting and revising on this project, which I officially began in November of 2008, actually planning a new story for the characters has been really refreshing.
I haven't drafted anything new, aside from passages of Evangeline, since October 2009, and just the act of "outlining" (which, if you're familiar with my earlier posts on the subject, is more akin to "telling" the story's main plot points and subplots longhand in my notebook) has made me excited about the characters again after so many months spent revising. Not only has it got me thinking critically about a new story, but I've been thinking more critically about the original one, too. I can't wait to read my manuscript one last time before it goes back to betas. Thanks in advance, y'all. You know who you are. ;)
What about the rest of y'all? Do you think that even plotting a sequel—if that's how you roll—is a waste of time? Anyone else found it helpful?
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