Fighting It

So, I wrote a children’s book. It’s a short, 6000 word chapter type book, like one of thos series books that early readers hoover up. My idea was to write a series of them.

The first one went really well, and I think part of it was the simplicity. I used a published book as a model and worked out how many chapters there should be, and how many words in each. Then I wrote until I was close to the word count, put in a few cliff-hangers at chapter ends, a climax near the end, and then wrapped things up.

(It still needs some polishing, but it’s basically there).

So now I’m writing the second one and it is giving me bother. As I’m getting to know the characters better, I’m straying from the format I had set up, and wondering if I should let this book become more complex, which would make it for more advanced readers.

So I’m letting it meander. And I’m stalling every time I sit down to write.

I’m getting to know the characters better and I’m enjoying writing what I’m writing, but I think it’s time to take it back to the original set up.

I’m also struggling with the setting of the book. I’m not sure where, geographically, to put it. If it’s a shorter book I’m not sure it matters all that much: at 6,000 words there’s not an awful lot of room for location-specific descriptions or dialect.

OK. I think that’s decided it: take this one back to the shorter format, and keep the more complex stuff for that other series I have in mind.

Hmmm, back to the drawing board.

(Incidentally, I wish I had a drawing board. I learned to write on a sloped desk and have never entirely adjusted to horizontal surfaces… However, I’m typing this story, so…)

UPDATE 4/4/09: I’ve just gone back in and reworked the first few paragraphs. MUCH happier :) I still like some of what I had written (some of the stuff that has to go), but this is much more the book I’m trying to write. Yay.