Today I am featuring Heather Topham Wood with a guest post, dream cast, and creative writing prompt, it's sure to be a fun time! Stick around for all of it!
Don't forget to drop by the
kick-off post and enter the HUGE giveaway!
Tips on Writing
Sequels
Over
the span of my three-year career as a novelist, I’ve written multiple sequels.
I tend to go through phases where I’m all about the standalone books and other
phases where I plot out a series arc. I found myself falling into certain traps
when writing my sequels and I thought I would share some of my most common
mistakes.
Don’t Bore Your
Readers
Avoid
the information dump in the beginning of the novel. Of course, you want your
book to be checked out by as many people as possible—regardless if they read
your first book. However, summarizing the action of an entire novel in the
first few chapters is a common mistake when writing a sequel. Instead, work in
tidbits about the first novel throughout the sequel.
Leave Things Open
I’m
a big fan of the finite when it comes to my reading preferences. Although I
enjoy series, I like each book to have a clear cut beginning and ending. The
main conflict for the first book should be resolved enough to satisfy the reader.
However, you can leave a sense of openness at the end of the novel where a new
conflict is likely to arise in the lives of your characters.
Don’t Write a Sequel
Just to Write One
Think
about the movies. How many unnecessary sequels are made because of the success
of the first movie? A few examples: Teen Wolf Too, Dirty Dancing 2, Sex and the
City 2, Hangover 2, and almost every Disney movie ever made. Only write a
sequel if it makes sense to the story arc.
Stay Organized
You’ll
be surprised at how many things you forget between now and when you wrote your
first novel. Read your first book again and go over your notes. You want to
make sure things are consistent including the setting, character descriptions
and character development. Last thing you want is a blonde character to somehow
end up as a redhead in the second book.
I
went back and forth on many of these, but I think I narrowed my choices down.
Falling for Autumn features college football player Blake Preston and the sweet
and vulnerable freshman Autumn Dorey. My choices are based on who I felt would
be best at portraying athletic (but sensitive) Blake and the actresses that
could pull off Autumn’s girl next door vibe.
Blake
Preston-My top two would be Zac Efron and Chris Hemsworth
Autumn
Dorey-Elizabeth Olsen and Shailene Woodley
Lexi
(Autumn’s best friend)-Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Casey
(Autumn’s friend)-Kaley Cuoco
Darrien
(Blake’s roommate)-Michael B. Jordan
Delia (Blake’s sister)-Ashley Benson
Imagine your life is now a book. In 100
words write the blurb for it.
Heather Wood thought she had it all:
a loving husband, two beautiful children and a budding career as a freelance
article writer. But her grandmother’s unexpected death shook her to the core.
She returned home and was reminded of the past. A past where she dreamed of
being an author and sharing her musings with the masses. Heather didn’t realize
she was about to embark on a journey that would bring her heartache and
triumphs, but in the end make her realize she could thrive in any
role—including the roles of wife, mother and author.
Heather
Topham Wood’s obsession with novels began in childhood while growing up in a
shore town in New Jersey. Writing since her teens, she recently returned to
penning novels after a successful career as a freelance writer. She’s the
author of the paranormal romance Second Sight series and the standalone novels
Falling for Autumn and The Disappearing Girl.
Heather
graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor's degree
in English. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as USA Today,
Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine. She resides in
Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, Heather is
a pop culture fanatic and has an obsession with supernatural novels and TV
shows.
Connect with Heather:
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