Writing a trilogy is hard. Harder, even if you’re like me and can’t remember your current hero’s eye color (handy for me that the current hero has eyes that are different colors. or maybe not so handy since this means I have to remember two eye colors)…

Larissa knows this about me. Sometimes, she will ask me what our current Syd hero’s eye color is and I’ll say, they’res kind of like a blueish greenish grayish brownish color.

And then she just stares at me. Yes, I can tell this through email.

So anyway, back to trilogies. They’re HARD. If you’re the organized type, maybe not so much. But you have to remember everyone’s ages and when they met their current girl/boyfriend and when their book took place and if things were resolved in the book before the one you’re writing. You have to be able to carry over subplots without retreading too much old ground but yet, going over old ground for the readers who’ll pick up the series out of order. So basically, you’re taking books that are delicated interwoven and you’re attempting to make them stand-alone as well. All without ripping your hair out or throwing the books out the window.

I recommend a lot of chocolate if you’re writing a trilogy. Feel free to send some along at any given time…

Steph T.

Do not choose your critics because they are the best at constructive criticism. Your best critics may be totally undiplomatic; you need to find the people who best understand your best attributes. If they understand your strengths, then they understand when you’re not using them.
-Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist

I love this quote, because it’s so spot on it’s almost painful. Sometimes, when you’re writing and trying to improve on parts of craft that might not be your strong suit, you forget to make what is your strong suit shine. It helps when there are people out there, editors in particular, who know your strong suit and who can remind you that, this is what you need to do – this is what makes you shine, do more of this.

I’m 3/4 of the way done with some final revisions for TOO HOT TO HOLD (Nick’s book) – the hard parts are done and so I’m working on Chris’s subplot at the same time I’m writing his book, HOLD ON TIGHT. Trilogies are hard but being able to work on all three at the same time is really helpful – I can go back and check facts, change facts and timelines, make sure everything is both smooth for people who read all three in a row and yet stand-alone for those who pick the books up out of order. It’s definitely been a challenge, but I’m damned lucky that the books of my heart happened to also be marketable – I know that doesn’t always happen.

When I was talking to my editor today about the books, I told her that the first two were particularly difficult because I’ve had the characters in my head for so long (hello Jake!) that I’ve built a canon for them – and anything that has me deviating from that makes me crazy. For Chris’s book, I changed the canon and I can already feel that the book is easier. Although I wouldn’t trade the first two books for anything – I’ve gotten to do everything I’ve wanted and some things I didn’t know I needed in them, I’m looking forward to (hopefully) a more straightforward path with Chris’s book (read – fewer revisions).

What? I can dream, can’t I?

Steph T.

I wrote four scenes yesterday on Nick’s book (Too Hot To Hold) – good scenes, necessary information, but not great scenes. Scenes that drove me crazy trying to fix them, tweak them, do something with them. Then I finally figured it out late last night, right before I collapsed.

They were all in the wrong pov. :sigh:

A few hours today spent moving dialogue and motivations around and now everyone’s happy. But I lost time, dammit. I hate when you spend all day writing and you don’t make any page progress. I like to see page progress. But I have the whole night for that – hopefully now that my plot is semi-squared away, things will move faster.

*fingers crossed*

That’s if, of course, Gus decides to vacate my seat:

Anyway, tonight my reward will be a new episode of Rock of Love!!! But I seriously hope they don’t go to anymore dark restaurants because that was just nasty.

Steph T.