Brian StaveleyWelcome to Brian Staveley, who’s on a blog tour for his second book, The Providence of Fire which I am greatly enjoying at this very moment. It’s outstanding! (I loved the first book, too.) Fittingly, he’s here to talk about the challenge of writing a sequel to a successful debut, and to ask you about sequels that you’ve enjoyed. One commenter will win a copy of both The Emperor’s Blades and The Providence of Fire. You don’t want to miss these books!

Stop Pissing on the Floor; the Challenge of the Second Book 
by Brian Staveley

When I was teaching high school, I had a good friend, also a teacher, who used to say, “The first day of school is great; even if you just come in and piss on the floor, the class will be interested.”

fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsI never tested this particular pedagogical gambit, but I understood my friend’s point. In some ways, beginnings are easy. In the classroom, you can get through the first day by rearranging the chairs in an odd configuration, or playing some unusual game, or posing a riddle up on the board. All but the dullest of dullards will go with you for a day. It’s the rest of the school year that’s tough.

It seems to me now that the same principle applies to the writing of a fantasy series. The first book is the easiest. The writer can introduce strange mysteries and unusual settings, can hint at wicked plots and fantastic monsters, and the reader, who presumably picked up the damned book because she wanted all of these things, will usually go along for the ride. For one book.

It’s the second book when people get impatient. By the second book, novelty has worn off, and it’s time to start delivering on all those promises so blithely made over the course of the first volume. If an author has hinted all through book one that a certain character had an amazing back story, by book two it’s time for her to put her cards on the table. If we’ve been led to believe that the evil scheme is beyond brilliant in book one, we’d better seem some serious brilliance in book two. Book one is all about promises; book two is about delivery. Book one is the whispered innuendo; book two is the kiss.

fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsAnd yet there are limits. You can’t, as an author, go all the way in book two. After all — there’s another volume still to come. The writer needs to be fulfilling expectations with one hand while continuing to string the reader along with the other. For every plot thread that gets tied neatly off, another has to ramify. Otherwise the reader will tire of the tryst before it’s truly finished.

I enjoyed this challenge immensely as I worked my way through The Providence of Fire, and I found myself turning to second volumes that I admired to see how other story-tellers before me had handled the task. High on my list are Ursula Le Guin’s Tombs of Atuan and, of course, The Empire Strikes Back. Both strike that delicious balance between satisfaction and frustration. In this vein, I’m curious what second installments (either in books or movies) the rest of you have enjoyed, and why?

One commenter will win a copy of both The Emperor’s Blades and The Providence of Fire.


BRIAN STAVELEY is a teacher and writer. He has taught literature, religion, history, and philosophy, all subjects that influence his writing, and holds an MA in Creative Writing from Boston University. He works as an editor for Antilever Press, and has published poetry and essays, both in print and on-line. He lives in Vermont with his wife and young son, and divides his time between running trails, splitting wood, writing, and baby-wrangling. BStaveley.wordpress.com. @BrianStaveley. Facebook. Goodreads.

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  • John Hulet

    JOHN HULET is a member of the Utah Army National Guard. John’s experiences have often left a great void that has been filled by countless hours spent between the pages of a book lost in the words and images of the authors he admires. During a 12 month tour of Iraq, he spent well over $1000 on books and found sanity in the process. John lives in Utah and works slavishly to prepare soldiers to serve their country with the honor and distinction that Sturm Brightblade or Arithon s’Ffalenn would be proud of. John retired from FanLit in March 2015 after being with us for nearly 8 years. We still hear from him every once in a while.