Sequel fun

[N J Sturgess]

So after about six months of leaving it to one side I've started rewriting my first sequel whilst people look at Book 1.

True to form of first drafts it's terrible and falls into a lot of the traps I fell into in the first one. These will now hopefully be removed.

What would people recommend in terms of referencing the first book? Obviously aspects of the overall series arc do start creeping in, but the events of the first don't really affect the plot of the second (bar character issues).

Should I work on the grounds that people will have read the first or limit references only to where they're relevant? Or anything else I've not thought of....

Nick

 

[RK Wallis]

I'd recommend reading a sequel you like and see what they do

 

[CageSage]

What's the difference between a serial and a sequel? Sequel vs Series - What's the difference? -- you've used both words above, so you need to define it before diving too deep.
Knowing what it is you're writing will help answer the question, however, I see a lot of reader groups say they prefer that each book that's a sequel can stand alone if necessary. If they read the middle book first, they don't want to have questions about what something means or to meet characters who don't get adequate person-on-the-page attributes.
HP is a serial, needs to be read one after the other to make the most sense. GoT is a serial.
Sequel is related to the same world/universe, and not necessarily the same characters even if the story flows from one to the next. It doesn't require the first to be read for full understanding.

 

[RK Wallis]

Hey Nick,

This is a great discussion and they touch on pros and cons of serials/sequels