Writing a Sequel

Guest Post by YA Author Melody Personette

I’ve never been very good at writing sequels. They’ve always given me the hardest times.

The first sequel I ever wrote in full was for my YA superhero novel Weapon Icean. I ended up having to rewrite it from scratch and do major edits even after the rewrites. For Cursed, the sequel to my Fae fantasy book Wayward, thankfully, did not have to go through a huge rewrite but it was one of the hardest books I’ve written and edited.

Sequels have a lot of expectations on their shoulders. They have to live up to the first book, and if your first book sold big time or did even marginally well, that can be a lot of pressure.

I always worry my sequels will never live to readers’ expectations or to how well the first book did. But now, having written three published sequels and three unpublished sequels, I feel like I have a bit of a better grasp of them. I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned over the years of writing several sequels.

Same, but Different

The very first thing, and possibly the most important, is to make sure your sequel is the same… but different. Readers are coming back for more because they loved something about the first book, whether it be the characters or the world or the theme. They’re going into the second book expecting to get the same thing… but slightly different. In a way, it’s keeping the same tone as book one, but adding new elements.

One of the best examples I can think of when it comes to this is Catching Fire from The Hunger Games series. In Catching Fire, you’re getting all the things you loved from book one: the danger, the characters, the world, the themes, and the action. It’s book one, but slightly to the left. 

Up the Stakes

To go off of that, Suzanne Collins also upped the stakes. Suddenly it wasn’t just about Katniss surviving the Hunger Games. She now has to survive real life, too. Her problems and life and death situations slowly bleed into real life. It’s not just her life on the line anymore. It’s her friend’s and family’s lives in danger as well.

The sequel should up the stakes, even just a little bit. The threat needs to get bigger; the villain needs to get more involved and become more dangerous, the protagonist needs to be challenged more than they were in book one.  

Add a Twist

In that vein, it can also add suspicion, stakes, and something new to the story by having a big surprise or a reveal in book two. This can be as simple as adding a surprising new character or as huge introducing a new villain to the scene.

Legendary by Stephanie Garber not only introduces new characters but also has a few big reveals about each of the characters. She left some secrets unturned in book one for readers to discover in book two. In Emerald Phantom, the sequel to my book Golden Touch, there’s a big reveal at the end that sets the stage for higher stakes throughout the rest of the series. Catching Fire also waits until the end of the book to have a big reveal and for Katniss to discover a bigger plan she’s been a part of the entire book.

Deepen World Building

Another aspect of a sequel, especially if this is going to be a trilogy or a longer series, the world building needs to be deepened in some way. You need to expand upon what you already have in book one. Readers fell in love with the world in book one and now they’re hungry to see more of it.

In Legendary, the sequel to Caraval by Stephanie Garber, we get to see the city of Veranda and are introduced to the Fates and a new magic we didn’t get to see in book one. In Catching Fire, we get to meet the winners of previous Hunger Games, see more of the different Districts and the Capital. 

These are just a few ways to keep a sequel interesting and keep readers coming back for more. Each writer is different and so it makes sense that we’ll each approach writing sequels in different ways. None of these have to be hard rules to how to write a good sequel, but if you’re stuck or are like me and really struggle with writing sequels, these are a few tips that might help you out.

Melody Personette, a YA author, book dragon and follower of Jesus. She’s been writing since she can remember and now tells stories about the magic of hope, light in the darkness and love conquering all and is passionate about inspiring teens and young adults with her novels.

Amaya Wilson already thought her family was struggling to make ends meet when she comes home one night to find her father has lost his job. Hopelessness starts to settle in until her younger brother, Tyler, remembers a map and a story their grandfather used to tell them: a story of their ancestor who found and hid a Golden Gift up in the mountains of Tennessee.

Find out more about Melody at melodypersonette.com or on her Instagram.