Ahh, this is the life - getting back to what is just hilariously fun about writing - planning out and doing basic outline for book II (Persephone Rising) after being elbow-deep in editing the first book for so long. I've given out the manuscripts of the first to friends, and now I'm forcing myself to take a week or two off from it and get thier feedback before I send out. And in the meantime, looking into getting on paper all these ideas that have been swirling amorphous in my brain about Book II.
And it is just so much fun. Just straight storytelling - thinking of the first obstacle, resolution, next conflict, relationships built along the way - new characters, new conflicts. I'm introducing Hercules, who will be kind of a bastard out for his own ends, and Prometheus, who will teach Persephone to learn how to finally value the beauty and dignity of mortal life - all the more beautiful because of its fragility and transient nature. Figuring out where Hera is during all this, and Zues' sneaky longterm plan (which will come to fruition in Book III). I'm finally understanding what author's mean when they say that even if the first book doesn't get published, they still have to write the others, if only for themselves. Because the stories are banging away inside, wanting to be told.
Plotting a book is like creating a puzzle - sneaking bits in at the beginning that won't click till the end. But right now, I'm discovering it as I create it - I run into a problem, and get to brainstorm around a solution - usually resulting in something else super cool I can incorperate from mythology. It's an endless mine of great characters, images, themes, stories. Freaking fun.
My working tagline for the entire series is:
Ages from now, bards will tell tales of the times when the gods walked among men. This is the story of how that era came to an end.
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