I sat down to begin the fifth book in my series. It should be easy, I told myself. You’ve written a sequel three times. But I froze. What was I missing? A clear vision? No, I knew what my book was going to be about. Still uncertain whether I can pull off the story I’m going for, or whether perhaps it will blossom into something else entirely, and hopefully something wonderful either way. But I know the plot.  This should be easy.

And that was where I realized I was approaching the story all wrong. It’s not the plot that leads me to write. Many writers theorize that there’s only so many different plots. I won’t likely cover new ground. And if you point me to a book written in the past decade which had a truly original plot, I dare say the universe would stop. It’s Good vs Evil. It’s the Hero’s Journey. Or as Spiderman’s teacher said, (and I think Jackie Chan would agree) Who Am I? And that single plot is the key to any beginning. It will make your writing zone easier to reach and your readers will thank you.

Who Am I? If there is no truly unique plot, why do we read? Why don’t we start each new book with Haven’t I read this before? It’s because of the unique people we meet when we read and write. The character is the key. The story that lingers in a person’s mind, surpasses good to great or even excellent, is the story with the most vivid characters. So don’t dive into writing the next great plot. Give your characters another chance at life.

Now I will be honest. I didn’t write this blog for everyone out there in Cyberspace. I wrote it so I can look back at it when it’s time to write book number six. But if this helps someone else in some small way, that’s what I’m about. Writers learn to become better at their craft from other writers. So teach me something. How do you get into the writer zone? How do you approach writing a sequel. I’d love to hear your insights too.