Wednesday, July 30, 2014

That Scary Thing Called "The Second Book"


 


As I'm putting the final touches on my debut novel and getting it ready to give to an editor to proofread, I am already thinking about my next novel. I know I can write the second one. I even have a few ideas. The question is—will it be any good compared to the first one?


It's nothing new that many, if not even most, debut novels are very closely related to the author's personal experience. It migth even be an actual biography, but for whatever reason, we call it a novel. Perhaps we've added details to the point where it makes no sense to call it a biography or perhaps we want to protect our near and dear. Writing what you know is a great advice, especially for your first one. But it's not just that you know it. If you've lived it, you also know how it feels.

I'm currently writing a novel about a young woman who moved to L.A. from Sweden, who's struggling to survive in and adjust to the corporate American culture, which is very different from the Swedish one. Things don't go the way she would have liked them to, and she now has to deal with that loss and try to get herself back on track. (No, it's not set in the entertainment industry, although there will be hints of it... After all, it is L.A.)  And if you've read my bio, you might suspect it is loosely based on yours truly. The protagonist and her emotional journey is in fact based on myself, but set in a different context. The point is, I have felt the feelings that I am describing.

However, my second book will not be related to reality, and therefore I have to describes situations and reactions to these situations, that I may never have found myself in. Now that, my friend's, will be the real challenge. 

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