Writing Sequels: The Dos and Don'ts of Continuing Your Story

    I hate when I'm writing something,and the dreadful fact comes to fruition thwt what I'm writing, is destined to be split into two works. I hate sequels, because in this age where no story ever truly finishes, because we need to capitalize on a good mine, and I am a fan of the book industry, but I also respect the so-called art of writing. Still, sometimes a sequel is forced, because the story simply cannot be contained in one book. I've written sequels before, and I've got several I need to write currently, and I will tell you that it's a very slippery slide down into monotonous Hell. 

      Most of you have written something in The past. Even as children, we write fanciful little stories to test our limits as creators, pushing the extremities of what is considered a standard story.  We write for the passion of the word, a thicket of charlatan lies we weave together, plunging the restless mind of bottomless projects. Sequels cannot be stopped, they come upon your story like a lioness stalking the keys, and lounging on them with the three words of your work's inevitable downfall: to be continued. 

      If you must see fit to write a sequel, therre wee dos and don'ts thwt can help you calibrate that story so it's not just a continuation,mbut a growth spurt for your characters, and for a conflict that varies with maturation. I know it sounds a wee bit strange to see a sequel as a completely idle eft book, but that's what makes them so ostentatious to your growing audience! We as readers want something different, but don't mind the characters being the same, especially those we love. Take Doughlas Adam's Arthur Dent of Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy fame. He's a very porous character thwt develops from some whimsy guy that's losing his house to a freeway in the first novel, it being a powerful force in ten galaxy by Mostly Harmless. Over the course of five novels, he grows indefinitely as a character,mandnthenorignslmstorynwill barely mirror each other by the end. Even the sequel: The Reataruant at the End of the Universe feels almost alien (no pun intended) to the first novel. His character, along with Trilian, grow immensely, and the stories are nearly stand-alone. This is the telling of Adams' superior storytelling, and maybe a hint of sardonic chaos, which sometimes flew under the radar, even when it was chock full of happy British glee. 

      Sequels can follow suit, they can be chronological, and although Hitchhiker's was meant to follow a sequence, each novel could very well be it's own story. However,with another sequence of novels like the Dark Tower series, you can also see that the attention from one book to the next was demanding of chronological order. From The Gunslinger, all the way to the Dark Tower, each book told Roland's story perfectly, and even had two distinct endings, which is a risk, but Steohen King has become a grandmaster of the craft, it doesn't even phase him to take such a risk. The magus opus he has created within his own works, allows for the reader to see that this was almost a personal intervention for the author,and is much deeper than simply writing genre, it's writing literature, and for sequential books, that's dire. 

     I am no Strohen Kings, I'm barely an Ariana Huffington, and it pains me deeply to say that, but I am an avid admirer of the craft, and if can give you my best impressions on writing a sequel, and multiple sequels. 

      In my first novel, The Divine, I wanted to convey the fact that I could write a novel, and have it seem as complete as any novel at the time, this was eleven years ago. I sought to finish the story, and instead, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to finish it, and it would require a sequel. So I did something unique to sequels with the second novel....I made it a prequel, and tied in the sequel at the end. Naturally this would force me to turn it into a trilogy, and maybe one day I will do thwt, but I moved on to other things, and decided to write a third book which was it's own story, and finished within one book.  Sequels are a pain.  I have two books currently that require me to either write a series of books to complete, or to finish in one sequel. Luckily, I'm a seasoned writer,and am not intimidated to change up a story just to benefit the overall telling of the individual novel.

      When writing, look at the book as a standalone story, it will allow you the same benefits of freedom that came from the writing of the prequel. Writing a sequel should be as creatively diverse as it was spontaneous to make it's origin point, and that also means when writing a book with a storied history, you may want to jot down key points from your first novel. Don't fret not remembering every single detail you've written, even Stephen King barely remembers writing a book called Cujo, but that was because he was mostly hopped up on cocaine at the time. Still, you are not expected to be a fan of your own work to the point you memorized every syllable, but knowing the key aspects of your novel will help turn your sequel into a well-oiled machine. 

      To conclude, writing sequels can be fun, but they don't have to be done in a way that's generic. Some of the best sequels are ones that follow no resemblance of their sister work. Still, understand your work before continuing it, and you will discover you have a greater chance at success.