Hey everybody. How are things? Everyone hiding from hurricanes?

I’m busy on the Superego sequel — maybe about a quarter done of first draft. And hopefully a number of you got the beta copy of Hellbender for feedback. Looking forward to what people think on that one; thought it was fun, but maybe a little weird.

Anyway, this Superego sequel is my first sequel writing experience. I’m worried I waited a little long (it’s approaching three years since Superego came out), but I guess compared to some authors with two R’s as their middle initial, I’m moving pretty briskly. Still, it’s fun to revisit the characters and also try to correct what I thought were some valid criticisms of the first one.

So, agenda for a sequel:
* Up the stakes — but not too far that you have no where to go for the next sequel
* Further character development while not just repeating character beats from the first
* Make it fun

And now I’m trying to distill what people liked about the first book and make sure that’s in there — while not too much that it gets irritating. Rico can be kind of a fun character, but I’m always worried that his strong personality can get grating with too much of him — which is always a problem when it’s in first person and he’s commenting on everything.

And I’m aiming for a trilogy. I’ve been advised before to set things up as just an ongoing series, but I always think in big stories and having an end point in the future helps me focus things.

I know a lot of times people think sequels aren’t as good as the first one, but they really should be an opportunity to improve because as a writer you start with a good understanding of the characters and can course correct from what you learned writing the first. So what are your favorite sequels? I liked Highlander 2, The Exorcist 2, and Speed 2.