Writing a Sequel with Speed

Today's author guest is published by the same publisher as my novel Cry of the Sea, Fire and Ice Young Adult Books. She is writing a trilogy of high fantasy young adult novels that would enthrall any fans of elves and magic. I was amazed that her first novel The Sword of Lumina: Mira's View was released in May of 2014, and the sequel, The Sword of Luminia: Mira's Hope, was released a mere five months later. Wow! That was some speedy writing and editing. Erin is an author on a mission. I asked her if she would write about how she was able to put together a sequel so quickly, and here is her response. Enjoy!


Erin Elliott:

          The question for the day, how does one write a sequel so quickly to the first book? For me, it was simple. Long before I’d even started the first book, I had the whole story laid out in my mind. I knew right from the start that I wanted a three part series— that’s right, the third part comes out in April/May 2015. I knew roughly what would happen in each story and where I would put the break. Now granted, I had a great deal of filling out to do, but the main idea was all in my head. I knew how I wanted the story to start, how I wanted it to end, and a little bit of what would happen on the journey in-between.

This was something that I spent a lot of time thinking about before I even began to write it all down. Plus, like a good book, once I got started, I was anxious to see where the characters would lead me. I think all authors go through a period where they just start writing, not sure where their characters will go, and find themselves pleasantly surprised with the end results. The same held true for me. I started with my main character and let her lead me down the path of her great adventure. It was exciting and I enjoyed almost every minute of it!

I also seem to suffer from a condition called, I-have-to-write-it-all-down-quickly-or-I’ll-lose-my-mind. You may not have heard of it before, but I assure you, it’s very real. The main symptom of this rare disorder is: having to write everything down or the characters in your mind feel the need to drive you crazy until you’ve told their story. I feel like my mind will explode if I don’t get it down on paper. It’s a bit like cramming for an exam. You spend a whole night, or several nights in a row studying and studying for a test that you know will be worth half your grade until the day of the actual exam. On that day, your brain screams for you to get all that information out or it’ll simply do a dump, making you forget everything that you tried to shove in. That same feeling is the one that I get when I’m really into a story that I’m writing. Debilitating, but at the same time, it allows me to get a lot of writing done!

The fact that I can fly while typing, is also a benefit to writing quickly, especially concerning my disorder. Once I get started, it’s nothing to write several thousand words a day. Put all these things together and it makes me into an effective writing machine, capable of producing sequels at an alarming rate! Whether or not they’re good, is for the masses to decide, but I’m proud of them either way!

Thank you Donna for inviting me to share my story and writing process on your blog. It’s been fun!

Please follow these links and learn more about Erin's writing.
https://erinelliottwriter.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swordoflumina
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8338995.Erin_Elliott
Fire and Ice (publisher): http://www.fireandiceya.com/authors/erinelliott/1mirasview.html

Get her books:
The Sword of Lumina: Mira's View
The Sword of Lumina: Mira's Hope

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