I’m discovering there a massive advantages in writing five novels back to back.
The stories are connected in your head while you write them.
And then they’re connected in your head while you revise them. On the writing side of this, seventy-five pages into Book Two, I haven’t had ANY continuity errors from what I wrote in Book One, the characters and situations were clearly fresh in my mind as I was developing scenes and situations.
From the point of having all those novels cool down while the next ones were being written, I came at Book Two not as someone who remembered what was in there really well, but as a brand new reader.
It all fit with the first book, but I didn’t remember a damn thing about it. So I found myself laughing my ass off at stuff that took me by surprise, and being surprised a whole lot.
And occasionally horrified, and grossed out (in the place where I was supposed to be). Distance lends perspective, and while I had a LOT of typos, I’ve only had a few places where stuff had to be modified to fit what I know is coming in later books.
Nothing — so far — breaks the revised version of Book One.
And I am looking forward to tomorrow.
(Yeah, I know it isn’t all going to be smooth sailing. I already know there are places in TWO that are going to require significant revision to fit stuff coming up. But so far… WHEEEEE!!!)
Hurray! Enjoy it while it lasts! 🙂