I question my sanity sometimes that I want to extend a series or start a new one when I know what’ll happen. This is the hardest part of writing while being the most rewarding. Readers want more, so you want to give them more of what you love to write. Great, except for one small problem–how do you keep a series fresh and exciting yet give readers more of what they’ve loved?
That’s been the problem plaguing me with SA3. Each book is a standalone yet part of a coordinated whole that I had envisioned (unlike LEGEND OF THE WHITE DRAGON, which is one big book broken up into parts). You can step in anywhere and not really miss what came before. You can read BROKEN WINGS without having read STARFIRE ANGELS and not miss anything, or at least not miss much. I’m trying to do that with SA3.
Keeping the characters as they should be even while they’re changing is the most difficult challenge. Part of the challenge comes from the plot. The characters need to stay true to themselves for the plot to flow. But the plot can’t involve too much or it becomes convoluted and senseless. I mentioned before that I had stripped out most of what I had written for SA3, but I’m still struggling a little with it. I needed a new bad guy, but this one is a bit of a gray character. It should add a layer of suspense to the story, but it isn’t as much fun as Nina or Valdas, both of whom I loved writing because they were clearly against Raea and Elis. Or maybe I loved writing them because they were narrowly focused on their goals. This new POV character is focused on his goals, but he just doesn’t have the edge that the women had. Maybe I just like writing b**chy women for antagonists >:) I don’t know.
In any case, this new character can work, but it will take a lot of consideration to make the most of what he has to offer. I know the plot I want now. It’s just making it all come together that’s the difficult part. I’ll make it work, one way or another. I did it with BROKEN WINGS, which had given me some trouble too; I can do it with this.
