In a previous post, I made a statement about using your fear as fuel to propel you through a task. In my case, it was to move forward full-steam ahead with writing the sequel to Pangaea: Unsettled Land. I had mentioned plowing through a draft no matter what, but some things are best left on the back-burner.
Not Plowing Through
I went back to my old outline and was surprised at how far I’d come in terms of conceptualizing the story. This was in no small part thanks to my decision to write the prequel, The Auctorati. Also, I’d completed the outline in 2016 – just weeks after publishing the first book – so I was surprised that the story had been on my mind all this time. Almost three years. It was time to get it all on paper.
Not! Since writing my last blog post, I’ve tried to get a firm hold on this story, but got stuck yet again. What was I doing wrong? I went to other writers for help.
Help on Twitter
I posed this question on Twitter:
The responses were amazing. With comments ranging from just letting the story sit and marinate to personal accounts of going through the same thing, I could tell that this problem was nothing new. And I was grateful to know that I wasn’t alone. It all added up to one main lesson.
Never Force The Story
This experience taught me to never force a story. I wrote Pangaea as a standalone, but after requests to see more, I wanted to oblige. Despite my desire to satisfy fans with a continuation of Slade, Douglassaire, and Gisela’s journeys, I’m just not able to do that right now. And it’s okay. I haven’t completely ruled out a sequel, but I’m going to give it time to come to me the right way. I want to make sure to give readers my absolute best.
So, if you’re a creative of any kind, here’s some advice: Be disciplined, but be patient. It may sound like an oxymoron, but the real juice of creativity flows somewhere in between.
If you’d like to get a taste of just how exciting my stories can be, sign up to my email list and get a short story in exchange. You’re gonna love it!