Resisting the urge to sequelize

LeeFlower · Nov 6, 2006

So I finished my first full-length novel a month or so ago. It's out getting some tough love from my betas. In order to keep my grimy writer-paws off of it until they finish, I started working on a completely unrelated project. I drafted out a few scenes, worked on the outline, did a bit of research... and then hit a plot snaffoo and started spending an inordinate amount of time lurking AW.

Today, I gave myself a good talking to about how AW is only a good resource for writers if said writers are actually writing. Closed Firefox. Opened word processor. Started writing.

You might think that would be the end of it-- back to work and all that-- but oh no. Apparantly, I've got the Procrastabug but good. Instead of working on the new project, I find myself six pages into a stupid, cheesy sequel to novel the first.

Has anyone else had the irresistable urge to sequelize? I wouldn't be that worried if I had a good thing going here, but I don't. There's no more story to tell here; just a way for me to convince myself that I'm working while I avoid my real projects. It's just that this world and these characters are comfortable. This storyline doesn't have any potential, but it does have a whole lot of momentum. I don't have to do a bunch of research and meet a bunch of new people to have fun at this party.

Besides the obvious 'grow a work ethic,' does anyone have any advice on how to avoid the cheesy sequel-monster?

KiwiChick · Nov 6, 2006

Hi LeeFlower,

No advice for you, but I thought I'd share my woes instead.

My urge is the urge to prequel-ise. This is, I'm sitting on the first draft of my first book, and starting writing another set in the same world about 1500 years earlier, based loosely on events alluded to in the first book. After this one, I have ideas for a few more in pre-first-novel-time. As for procrastinating, I'm supposed to be studying right now.

KiwiChick

aadams73 · Nov 6, 2006

Besides the "think up something new" I don't have a lot to offer. What I do is keep a file with one-line story ideas, and when I'm done with one book I pick through the list and see if something captures my imagination.

Jenny · Nov 6, 2006

It's better than chewing your nails until your betas get back to you. To avoid the sequel, try writing something other than a novel. I write short stories as a break from a troublesome novel or just to clear my mind. It might work for you, too.

Oops, forgot the most important point - congrats on finishing the novel!

BardSkye · Nov 6, 2006

Change your name and make it into a series.

stormie · Nov 6, 2006

Oh yeah, it's happened to me. And just when I'm about 20,000 words into the sequel, it hits me. This stinks. I chalk it up to "practice writing." And I save it 'cause I never know when I might be able to use a scene or two, or develop that new character.

ChaosTitan · Nov 6, 2006

LeeFlower said:
Besides the obvious 'grow a work ethic,' does anyone have any advice on how to avoid the cheesy sequel-monster?

When battling the urge to write a sequel, ask yourself this question: Am I writing The Godfather Part II, or am I writing Weekend At Bernie's 2?

Guess which one is worth pursuing? :tongue

TheIT · Nov 6, 2006

I'm working on novels set in a fantasy universe, so I intentionally came up with characters who could be thrown into different adventures in that world. Most of my writing has been about the same core set of characters.

My current WIP, the one I'm temporarily putting on hold for NaNo, is a little different. It's a prequel to the others and involves one of my usual suspects plus an MC who will most likely end up as a bit player in the later adventures.

johnzakour · Nov 6, 2006

Sorry to be so naive, but what's wrong with writing sequels? If you've got characters that readers enjoy, what's wrong with continuing their stories in other books?

I love selling my books as trilogies. It means I have a pretty good idea what I’ll be writing over the next couple of years.

Carmy · Nov 6, 2006

Resisted the urge but finally gave in to 'character nagging'.

I've read around that some agents (and probably publishers, too) like it when a writer has sequels. If the first novel sells well, the second probably will, too.

Good luck!

Dave.C.Robinson · Nov 6, 2006

johnzakour said:
Sorry to be so naive, but what's wrong with writing sequels? If you've got characters that readers enjoy, what's wrong with continuing their stories in other books?

I love selling my books as trilogies. It means I have a pretty good idea what I’ll be writing over the next couple of years.

Nothing's wrong with writing sequels; IF you have a contract for them. If you don't it's best to write standalones so that you can try to sell each on its own merits. Otherwise you may end up with a situation where you have one pretty poor first novel, two average novels, and then a fourth really good one that you can't sell because the story depends on the other three and the first one's not saleable.

It's hanging a chain from the weakest link.

My first novel's fantasy. It's a standalone with the potential for sequels but the story is complete in itself. The second one (sitting on the laptop waiting for me to write and submit some shorts before I revise it) is science fiction. The first novel is sitting at a publisher awaiting further consideration. It got past the slush and now it's in the queue for the senior staff to look at. Meanwhile, I'm getting the second ready to send out elsewhere.

I need that additional string to my bow.

My next one is going to be another unrelated fantasy. I'm not writing any sequels 'til I can get something published.

It just works better for getting in the door.

Note: This is on average, and your mileage may vary.

LeeFlower · Nov 6, 2006

John, I've got nothing against sequels in general. It's just that this isn't so much me starting another project that has potential as it is me avoiding real work. It's like staying in bed when the room is cold: the blankets are comfy, but the longer I stay under them, the later I'll be to class. Eventually, I have to get over myself and get out of bed.

And a very good point from Dave, which was part of the reason I didn't want to go there. My current real project is in a different genre (SF instead of fantasy). I thought it would be a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, I'm not ready to get out of bed yet.

Dave.C.Robinson · Nov 6, 2006

Carmy said:
Resisted the urge but finally gave in to 'character nagging'.

I've read around that some agents (and probably publishers, too) like it when a writer has sequels. If the first novel sells well, the second probably will, too.

Good luck!

Sequels can help with agents as they show that the author is in for the long haul. Agents don't make money on selling just one book for someone. They want their authors to have a career.

However, an unrelated second book is often just as good for an agent. It shows the writer is going to keep producing, but doesn't tie the future novel to the success of the first.

johnzakour · Nov 6, 2006

Okay, cool, sequels can be fun and I'd really hate to give the $$$ back.

TheIT · Nov 6, 2006

If you're not ready to move away from these characters but you're still writing, then I wouldn't worry about it. Keep playing with these characters, but aim them out of your comfort zone. Take them someplace new. Have them meet some new people. Perhaps one of them will have a story you'd like to tell.

Movement is good. Think of it like momentum. Right now you're coasting until you find the next hill. It's restarting after you come to a complete stop which is so difficult. Keep going.

jpserra · Nov 7, 2006

LeeFlower said:
So I finished my first full-length novel a month or so ago. It's out getting some tough love from my betas. In order to keep my grimy writer-paws off of it until they finish, I started working on a completely unrelated project. I drafted out a few scenes, worked on the outline, did a bit of research... and then hit a plot snaffoo and started spending an inordinate amount of time lurking AW.

Today, I gave myself a good talking to about how AW is only a good resource for writers if said writers are actually writing. Closed Firefox. Opened word processor. Started writing.

You might think that would be the end of it-- back to work and all that-- but oh no. Apparantly, I've got the Procrastabug but good. Instead of working on the new project, I find myself six pages into a stupid, cheesy sequel to novel the first.

Has anyone else had the irresistable urge to sequelize? I wouldn't be that worried if I had a good thing going here, but I don't. There's no more story to tell here; just a way for me to convince myself that I'm working while I avoid my real projects. It's just that this world and these characters are comfortable. This storyline doesn't have any potential, but it does have a whole lot of momentum. I don't have to do a bunch of research and meet a bunch of new people to have fun at this party.

Besides the obvious 'grow a work ethic,' does anyone have any advice on how to avoid the cheesy sequel-monster?

It's not an urge. I am telling the story of a broken man, and his story takes longer than one novel.

John Serra
RE: Peter Beard

Jamesaritchie · Nov 7, 2006

Sequel

jpserra said:
It's not an urge. I am telling the story of a broken man, and his story takes longer than one novel.

John Serra
RE: Peter Beard

Only if you want it to.

PeeDee · Nov 7, 2006

With very few exceptions, I guess I can't see a story that necessarily must extend beyond a trilogy of novels, which is perhaps odd since I came at writing from a serial background.

I've never had the urge to write a sequel, certainly not right after finishing the book. Mostly, I have so many projects I want to work on, I just pick the one that I have an opening scene for and I start working on that.

It sounds like the writerly equivalent of post-partum depression. After awhile, you and the characters from that novel are pretty comfortable together, and it's a hard thing to let them go. What I find I'll do (sometimes; rarely) is I'll write a twenty-page short story or so about these characters. Either a few years later, or just a one-off story that I can slip into the novel, if need be. Mostly, it's me saying good night and good luck.

Shadow_Ferret · Nov 7, 2006

LeeFlower said:
Has anyone else had the irresistable urge to sequelize?

...

Besides the obvious 'grow a work ethic,' does anyone have any advice on how to avoid the cheesy sequel-monster?

Actually, I wrote my current WIP with the intention of making it a serial, with plenty of sequels. Quess I don't know why you don't like sequels. I personally love them if I loved the original characters enough to see them again.

The way to avoid a cheesy sequel-monster is to not use as much Velveeta next time.

LeeFlower · Nov 7, 2006

As I said upthread, Shadow, I've got nothing against sequels. The problem is I'm out of story, and too attached to my characters and their world to let them go so that I can go find one.

PeeDee, that might end up being what I'm doing here, which would be nice, because it would mean I can get this out of my system and get back to work soon. My betas around here are all suggesting that I just make it un-stupid and keep writing it, but for the reasons Dave listed upthread, I think it would be much smarter for me to work on something else.

PeeDee · Nov 7, 2006

LeeFlower said:
PeeDee, that might end up being what I'm doing here, which would be nice, because it would mean I can get this out of my system and get back to work soon. My betas around here are all suggesting that I just make it un-stupid and keep writing it, but for the reasons Dave listed upthread, I think it would be much smarter for me to work on something else.

Keep writing it, let it go where it will. I doubt it'll get to novel length (not dispariging your writing abilities, just sayin'). If nothing else, you'll say good-bye and move on.

or, like John Updike, you'll watch your characters start to reappear with different names throughout all your works.

RTH · Nov 7, 2006

Ah, the curse of the sequel: rarely as good as the first, and the ones that are better are about as elusive as dark matter...

I agree with PeeDee though -- just keep writing 'till you get the bug out. Who knows? When you look back you may have elements you like.

Writing Jedi · Nov 7, 2006

I was doing the same thing for a while. I started work on my sequel right after the first was done, but I never felt 100% enthusiastic with it. However, writing sustained me until all of a sudden one day - BAM - an idea for a new and completely different novel just came to me and would not let go. I am now working on that novel. One day, when the time is right, I might go back to that sequel but my heart just wasn't in it this time. No harm in the writing I did though - it's all practice, right?

engmajor2005 · Nov 7, 2006

I finished (finished meaning "couldn't find anything else that needed fixing with") my first novel last month. There is a potential for a whole series going beyond a trilogy, because it's a big story. But my hesitation is that, there's so much that could happen, it's intimidating. What direction do I take the sequel? I'd rather start from scratch and see what the public wants, when the public has it.

Prawn · Nov 8, 2006

I am on my second revision of a novel, and I am also working a sequel. Since my time is divided, I didn't think I could start a competely new project with new characters. Writing the sequel is fun and relaxing. Revising (I spent five weeks on the first revision) just seemed too much like work. All work and no play makes Jack chop things up with axes.

I just think that when I send out my query letters, if I have a chunk of a sequel done, I could say I have 50,000 words on a ms involving the same character. That might be a selling point. If they like the first one. Makes me look more productive, I guess.

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