I have a manuscript that I'm almost done with, but I've been saying that forever. I'm on what I think will be the second-to-last chapter. It's a story about chance and coincidence.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was very fortunate that my first novel captivated the imaginations of so many readers who asked for a sequel. After that, one book led to another as I discovered other facets to my characters I wanted to investigate further.
Every time you finish a book, you have a terrible feeling that there's just never going to be another one. But fortunately, so far, the next one has always shown up.
While I'm writing, I'm also the first reader, and I want to write a book where I'm excited about what happens next.
You don't just have a story - you're a story in the making, and you never know what the next chapter's going to be. That's what makes it exciting.
Nothing bores me more than books where you read two pages and you know exactly how it's going to come out. I want twists and turns that surprise me, characters that have a difficult time and that I don't know if they're going to live or die.
You should be writing for the love of the story, and when it comes time to return to the manuscript, everything else belongs behind a closed door.
I never know what I'm going to write next. If I'm still writing the book but I'm very near the end, and I begin to think of what I'd like to do next, then I'll know that what I'm writing is in hand. I'll think of an ending and it will be fine.
Often I sort of work up and down the manuscript. I sometimes used to go ahead of myself to see what was going to happen next, to make certain it fits what was going to be happening soon.
I can't even say I've begun yet, but I'm trying on the idea that there is a book in my future.
In books, as in life, there are no second chances. On second thought: it's the next work, still to be written, that offers the second chance.