Not all books are created sequel
I never thought that writing a sequel to Grey Death would be a doddle, but I confess that I didn’t anticipate some of the problems.
Continuity errors.
The classic problems. Readers are frighteningly good at spotting change.
What colour are Simone’s eyes? Or Lulu’s hair? Does it matter? Can’t she dye it? How old is Harry Drake? Which tea does Andy drink at Eddie’s café? What cars does Volkov drive? I already messed that up between chapters in Grey Death.
I can’t have forgotten the names of Volkov’s dogs, can I? Maybe just one.
What about the Merry brothers’ first names? I chose to give them unusual names because I thought they’d be easier to remember. That didn’t work.
Why not solve this by cutting down on description in the sequel? This is supposed to be a pacey thriller after all.
Too late. I’ve already given a major new character piercing blue eyes. That’s a bit of a descriptive cliché, isn’t it? So what. My eyes are blue. Why not the dodgy new guy?
Remembering what happened in Grey Death.
I can’t believe how much detail I forgot.
Was Andy stabbed in the left leg or the right? Where was Charlie wounded? One of the bad guys had a scar, didn’t he? Did he survive? Where was his scar?
What was wrong with the patients that Andy saw? Were there too many coughs? I need to present Andy with some new conditions to treat.
Escalation Olympics.
Whatever happened in Grey Death, the sequel must be bigger and better. Andy saved his family from certain death. Should he save the whole street? Volkov and the dogs took on two or three bad guys. Perhaps they can deal with a dozen angry psychopaths pointing their Glocks.
Re-explaining the world and re-introducing the characters.
Should I re-introduce and re-explain my characters, their dogs and their world for new readers, or risk baffling them? Perhaps a reference in the margin. See Grey Death page 162.
Writing style.
The blank page of a sequel isn’t like any old blank page. It’s a blank page with an attitude problem. Must do better. But if it all goes wrong, there’s always the prequel…
