Writing Prequels

Has anyone written a prequel to a novel they have already written? If so, at what part did you decide to write the prequel-- was it while you were still writing the other book. As soon as it was done? Months or years later?

With NANOWRIMO, I am working every day on Almighty Whispers in Our Souls, which is the prequel to No Sensible People. It follows the points of view of Jennie Halifax's parents, Molly and Nate, who die early in No Sensible People. Jennie is one of the narrators in No Sensible people and is 9 1/2 when th story begins.

I knew right when I declared the book finished that Molly needed to tell her side of the story, and almost a hundred pages in, Nate asked for a voice too. I set it aside for about a year before picking it up again late this summer, and thanks to my modified NANOWRIMO rules I've written 3000 new words so far in November, and I passed the 40,000 word mark. If pacing is any indication this will be longer than No Sensible People. I'm 2 1/2 years into a ten year story. No Sensible People is just under 70,000 and spans less than a year.

With characters touched on in another book, and even plot points, it is a unique experience to try and stay true to them while still discovering opportunities for them to surprise me. But they do. What are some other's experience?


Gretchen Lee Bourquin is the author of the novel No Sensible People, available in print from Lulu.com and Amazon.com. A preview of the 2nd edition is available as a free download for a limited time via her website.