{"id":1194,"date":"2012-10-29T10:19:55","date_gmt":"2012-10-29T10:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomastaylor-author.com\/?p=1194"},"modified":"2022-01-13T11:59:07","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T11:59:07","slug":"observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/","title":{"rendered":"Observations on that Tricky Second Novel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Or rather, novella, because here I\u2019m referring to the sequel to Dan and the Dead<\/em>, the first draft of which I’ve just sent in to my editor. And this is the first time I\u2019ve ever taken existing characters out for a second outing — an interesting experience, though far from smooth. The working title of Dan 2 is \u2018Dan and the Caverns of Bone\u2019. And, since most of the action takes place in the catacombs of Paris, I have a feeling that title might stick. Anyway, in no particular order, here are a few observations:<\/p>\n

— In a sequel, it\u2019s okay to follow the same path and do many of the same things, as long as the story<\/em> is completely different. I worried initially that a second book had to do more than simply break new ground with the same tools, but I see now that if something worked in Book 1, readers will expect it in Book 2. Obviously this suggests a satisfying solution for things that didn\u2019t<\/em> work in Book 1, too. Not, er, that this applies in my case \u2013 Dan and the Dead<\/em> is perfect in every way and available form all good retailers, etc. Um\u2026<\/p>\n

— A second book should probably be slightly longer than the first, in order to avoid looking like a decline. More than slightly longer, though, and that can look like a decline too, only in something else. I will say no more.<\/p>\n

— The most important thing to keep constant from one book to the other is tone. There was one point during The Caverns of Bone when I found myself writing 3k word chapters and describing weather. It took nearly a month of revision to realise that the only thing important about the weather in Dan\u2019s eyes is how high he should turn up his lapels.<\/p>\n

— Characters who don\u2019t develop are boring. Even if they have been dead for 300 years. But you knew that…<\/p>\n

As with the first, the second book has been written very much with reluctant readers in mind. Not that it\u2019ll ever say that on the cover. If I were into shameless plugging and online marketeering, here\u2019s the part where I\u2019d point out that Halloween is a great time to give under-read (un-dead?) kids the gift of ghosts (with a twist, naturally). Okay, so the first book only has one review on Amazon<\/a>, but it\u2019s a good one and from a teacher on behalf of his\/her pupils, so it counts for at least five. I just hope Book 2 doesn\u2019t let it down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Or rather, novella, because here I\u2019m referring to the sequel to Dan and the Dead, the first draft of which I’ve just sent in to my editor. And this is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,37,38,39,40,41,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books-for-boys","category-dan-and-the-dead","category-gothic","category-humour","category-novella","category-readers-9-14","category-reluctant-readers"],"yoast_head":"\nObservations on that Tricky Second Novel - Thomas Taylor - Author<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Observations on that Tricky Second Novel - Thomas Taylor - Author\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Or rather, novella, because here I\u2019m referring to the sequel to Dan and the Dead, the first draft of which I’ve just sent in to my editor. And this is...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thomas Taylor - Author\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-29T10:19:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-13T11:59:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Dan-II1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"579\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"582\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Thomas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/\",\"name\":\"Thomas Taylor - Author\",\"description\":\"Eerie-on-Sea & Harry Potter\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Dan-II1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Dan-II1.jpg\",\"width\":579,\"height\":582},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/\",\"name\":\"Observations on that Tricky Second Novel - Thomas Taylor - Author\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-29T10:19:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-13T11:59:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#\/schema\/person\/ad2d5f310c8c4476ef907348e3aca96d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Observations on that Tricky Second Novel\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#\/schema\/person\/ad2d5f310c8c4476ef907348e3aca96d\",\"name\":\"Thomas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/08865f82b77d1a9c7fb8eb2d2f211b22ec33c4f08346d8341fc52f1d4b802597?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/08865f82b77d1a9c7fb8eb2d2f211b22ec33c4f08346d8341fc52f1d4b802597?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Thomas\"},\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/author\/taylor464\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Observations on that Tricky Second Novel - Thomas Taylor - Author","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Observations on that Tricky Second Novel - Thomas Taylor - Author","og_description":"Or rather, novella, because here I\u2019m referring to the sequel to Dan and the Dead, the first draft of which I’ve just sent in to my editor. And this is...","og_url":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/","og_site_name":"Thomas Taylor - Author","article_published_time":"2012-10-29T10:19:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-13T11:59:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":579,"height":582,"url":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Dan-II1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Thomas","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/","name":"Thomas Taylor - Author","description":"Eerie-on-Sea & Harry Potter","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Dan-II1.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Dan-II1.jpg","width":579,"height":582},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#webpage","url":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/","name":"Observations on that Tricky Second Novel - Thomas Taylor - Author","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2012-10-29T10:19:55+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-13T11:59:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#\/schema\/person\/ad2d5f310c8c4476ef907348e3aca96d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/observations-on-that-tricky-second-novel\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Observations on that Tricky Second Novel"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#\/schema\/person\/ad2d5f310c8c4476ef907348e3aca96d","name":"Thomas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/08865f82b77d1a9c7fb8eb2d2f211b22ec33c4f08346d8341fc52f1d4b802597?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/08865f82b77d1a9c7fb8eb2d2f211b22ec33c4f08346d8341fc52f1d4b802597?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Thomas"},"url":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/author\/taylor464\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1194"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1944,"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions\/1944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}