Writing-wise, most of this month has been spent planning the next novel. Character profiles. Research. Chapter outlines. Given that this is the second in a planned series (I wrote the first draft of the first novel earlier this year), my planning process is doubly important. I have solid outlines of where this series is heading in the overarching narrative, but each novel will be a standalone supernatural mystery thriller.

I’m extremely pleased with the first novel, which remains top secret, much as I’m bursting to tell you about it. All I can say is the protagonist is an ex-police officer. She’s wondering what to do next in her life when a friend finds herself at the centre of a truly baffling, seemingly ghostly mystery, and asks for her help. The second novel also begins with an inexplicable, possibly supernatural puzzle. However, at this point, the breadcrumbs are starting to drop, indicating the bigger story lurking in the background.

How many breadcrumbs of this sort get dropped is an important skill, I think. The last thing I want is for people to read the first book and feel it is incomplete, teasing them with half-baked cliffhangers. It needs to be complete in and of itself, with a satisfying resolution. To that end, I took a bit of an editorial hacksaw to the first draft (which was around 110,000 words; it’s now down to about 96,000) before giving it to beta-readers (I received elated responses, which is hugely encouraging). I’ll doubtless continue polishing the first novel next year, once I’ve written the first draft of the second.

Again, the second novel must also be its own entity, not beholden either to the first novel or subsequent novels. Therefore, the breadcrumb dropping is judicious. A name dropped here, a location mentioned in passing there. That sort of thing. But nothing that detracts from the specific mystery of that novel. The aim is not to raise questions that detract from the main narrative, but to sow plot seeds for future instalments that can gradually grow in the background.

Sometimes, when it is vital to introduce a mysterious element that will be important in subsequent novels, it is possible to disguise it and make it appear resolved when it isn’t. Based on beta-reader feedback, I managed this in the first novel. By the conclusion, one particular plot point, although it appears explained, actually remains unsolved and will be important in the third novel.

Anyway, that’s a vague and doubtless frustrating glimpse into the fictional world in which I am presently residing. I’ll be taking a break over Christmas, before hitting the ground running in January to write the second novel in this series. But I’ll be back next month, with my annual summary of what I’ve been up to in 2025.

(Image created by author in Canva.)