Writing the First Draft of a Series Novel

Writing the first draft is exciting. It’s what I’m doing now—writing the first draft of A Clear-Cut Case. The possibilities are almost endless. Although I have a plot outline, at this point I can easily make changes. Add characters—and eliminate some.  Alter the personality of my murder victim. Reorder events. Delete scenes or create new ones. Move action from one setting to another.

Because this is the second novel in a series, however, a few things are more or less fixed. I can’t create a new protagonist. Or make big changes to her history.  Nor can I redesign her house, her gardens, and the view from her bedroom window. Only six months have elapsed since the events that occurred in Family Matters. While her daughter could divorce or her son remarry, I can’t transform her children beyond recognition. Not in that short a time period.

Still, the existing possibilities are both a blessing and a curse. Should I rekindle the romance between Jeannie and her old “boyfriend” (he’s in his early sixties)? What would happen if I elevated a minor character to a position of importance? And while it’s necessary for the events of the novel to change the protagonist in some important way, would it be preferable for me to make her a kinder person or a more courageous one?

It's impossible to make these decisions before I start writing. Characters on the page take on a life of their own. While I can impose a preordained conclusion on the events of my novel, I don’t know in advance what happens to every person. That makes writing interesting. Sometimes I can’t wait to see what happens next.