It's great to be back amongst old friends. People you've known for so long that you know what makes them laugh; what makes them angry; what music they like or what food they hate. And yet it's always fascinating to see how they've changed since you last saw them. What they've learned and how the events of the intervening years have affected them. And it's nearly always a comforting place to be, sat amongst people you know so well, ready to share new adventures with them.
That's where I find myself right now. I recently sat myself down to start a follow-up to "Secrets...". It's the first time I've began a story using characters from a previous book
Like the first it'll be a standalone story rather than part of a series arc, nonetheless, Carlo and Co. will still have been influenced by their previous adventures and will have grown in the intervening few months after the first book.
It's quite freeing to write with characters that you know so well. I don't need to spend time considering their backgrounds and motivations as you would when writing new characters for a story. Their dialogue, actions and reactions come more easily, yet I can't allow myself to fall into the trap of comfort. They are 14 after all and fictional teenagers change just as quickly as real ones. Hopefully I can capture that without losing the close bond they revelled in previously. Their friendship was what drove the first story along and ***Spoiler Alert*** ended up being the secret of the title, rather than ice cream ingredients or family skeletons.
I look forward to sharing how they've changed, their insecurities, their triumphs and new experiences. But they are still the best friends they were in "Secrets..." and it's a pleasure to be working with them again.
No comments:
Post a Comment