I just read a blog written by Jennie Marsland, pointing out the dreaded fear we writers have, failure after success. Her words really hit home. She asked the question- could a first book success be nothing more than a fluke? As creators, most of us are private, introverted, afraid to open the doors to our hidden world of words. We write because we have to, but share it, have someone see it, read it, and god forbid, comment on it is scary.
Many of us are closet writers, and to be outed by success only makes us more fearful of the possible rejection to follow. At some point the rose must die, right? I just keep thinking of the hundreds of pages I need to fill-with thousands of words. How did I ever do it the first time?
If writing the first book is acquainted to giving birth, then the second novel is more like a breach birth. I'm writing a follow up to A Soldier's Embrace. I thought reliving the characters, the landscape, the history would be like coming home, and for most of it, it has been. But why then is the plotting seem so unsure and taken me far longer to come up with? My first book fell together. I've changed this plot outline for this second book, three times and as soon as I'm done here, I'm going to attack it again.
Eric and Elizabeth deserve my best-but what if I can't give it? A writer once said, or maybe it was a trucker who coined the phrase, "It's a long haul." Yep. You said it. Anyone else have this fear or any advice to over come the second book blues?
Hang in there, Julie. It sounds like you have your direction now. Maybe we should collaborate on a book about avoidance behavior, and chocolate.
ReplyDeleteAn experienced writer I know said SBS can strike after any number of books. or her, it was the seventh. The good side is once you slog through it, you know you CAN write another book!
Even though I have yet to even finish my first book, much less try to get it published, I have thought about this many times. I think that's probably the reason some top-notch authors like Margaret Mitchell and Harper Lee never wrote second novels - they were afraid they couldn't top their first...and truthfully, maybe they couldn't.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, but I hope you get past it...I'd love to know what ever happens with Eric and Elizabeth!
Wouldn't it have been horrible for Margaret Mitchell to come up with a second novel and have it no where near the perfection of GWTW. Yep, I can see that.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing Ethel, we'll go through it together. :)
Julie, don't stress out, girl. I'm working on my fourth book now. The other three, my Truth Teller series as you know, still needs work after all the years I have been working on them, but my new one needs hardly any work. Don't forget you have grown as a writer. You have learned so much from your first book. It's not your writing abilities that needs work, just your confidence :)
ReplyDeleteI have every faith in you! So should you.