3 Lessons from writing a trilogy

Hello once again!

I am so glad that I have officially finished the A Spy's Memory series. Grace's story was an honor to write, and I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it... but I must admit, I'll miss that world, and those characters. 

I have dozens of other projects in mind, and I already have one picked out to work on next, I'll likely talk about these more in future. For this now, however, I thought it would be nice to talk about some of the lessons I've learned over the course of the last five or so years, as I completed, and published my first-ever trilogy.

As a trilogy is composed of three books, I'll be sticking to three categories of thought, and three lessons from each. Published over the course of three different posts, (not more than once per month though!)

This week I thought it would be nice to start with writing, not editing though, as that will be its own post.

1. The trick to writing... is writing.

Sorry about this one, I know you've heard it before, and I know it sucks, but unfortunately, that does not make it any less true. There are thousands of places and ways to learn about writing, and tons of tools available to improve your typing, handwriting, and sharpen your storytelling skills, but at the end of the day, you are still going to need to face your project. I'm not saying you shouldn't use these tools or even take classes if you feel drawn to do so, but there really is no substitute for simply writing. Stick with it, one day you will be able to look back, and grimace as you give this advice to someone else!

*Note you should ABSOLUTELY still take breaks if you feel it would be best for you and your story, trust yourself!* 

2. Ignore the word count. 

When I wrote The Shoreline of Memory, I was checking the word count CONSTANTLY! I was so worried about checking the word count that it took distracted me from actually writing the story. 

IF you plan to be traditionally published-then you will need to worry about word count at some point, but the first draft is not the time or place. 

3. You are going to get attached.

When I started writing The Shoreline of Memory, I never could have imagined exactly how much I would grow to love Grace, John, and all the rest of my characters! I have laughed, cried, and lost sleep over my stories, and it's hard to believe I'm moving on to different projects. 

I was honestly scared of finishing Memory's Terminus, not because I didn't know how it would end, (I wrote the ending before I finished The Passageway of Memory!) but because I was afraid of saying goodbye to my world, and my friends. That said, I'm very excited to work on something different for a while!

And... that's it for this week! What lessons have you learned from your own writing?

Have a great day, and keep writing!