Two is Better than One

Sorry it’s been a while since my last update, but I’ve been hard at work on the second novel in my series, and let me tell you…it’s going to be a doozy. There’s so many crazy things happening in this story that I can barely hold back my excitement.

Whereas my first novel (it’s called the Land of Shadows, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it but you should really go check it out) focused more on the main character, Maran, the second book-The Gate of Perdition-is going to heavily revolve around the relationship between him and his brother, Jerathim. I’m trying to show a lot of tension and anxiety between the two of them as they grow and change. There’s a lot riding on their shoulders with war brewing on the horizon, and this leads to a lot of head butting. I grew up with four brothers, and trust me, there’s a lot of head butting going on even at the best of times.

Being the middle child in my family, it’s relatively easy for me to step into the shoes of either of these characters and try to imagine how they would act and react in certain situations. Regardless of your background though, it’s always beneficial to imagine yourself in your character’s positions. Not that you should always make them behave in ways you would, but you can at least get a sense of what would be rational behavior in their eyes. You definitely don’t want to take this too far though like Robert Jordan did for the Wheel of Time series. Don’t get me wrong, I like the series well enough, but every character is almost identical in their thoughts and behaviors.

The other thing I’m trying to work on in the second novel is having an overall darker tone. Not that the first book didn’t have its dark moments-spoiler alert, a lot of characters die-but the stakes are much higher in The Gate of Perdition. I’m still having a difficult time holding back on the world building though. There’s so much background I want to share with my audience, but as with all things, in due time. I don’t want to get too expositional.

Overall, I’m excited to see how the second book is shaping up. It’s gone through a lot of changes in the second draft, but I think for the better. I still have a long way to go, heck I haven’t even gotten to the editing yet, but I can’t wait to share the next step of my story with the world. Don’t forget to share any thoughts you all have on your writing experiences, and as always happy writing out there.