Should You Write Sequels?
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So far we’ve talked about writing a novel and writing your first novel — but what if you’ve passed that and want to take the next step? This is, of course, besides the whole process of publishing and marketing that comes with a single book.
I’m talking about writing your sequels.
I mean, should you even write a sequel? Should you turn your one novel into a trilogy? Or a full series?
If you’re still on your first book, it’s usually smarter to just leave it at that. A single novel on its own works great, too. And besides, an even greater amount of planning is needed for a series.
But as with everything, there are pros and cons to writing sequels. Here they are, along with a few tips on writing a series, sequel, or trilogy if you decide to in the future.
THE PRO’S:
-If someone buys the first book of a series or trilogy, you know that they’ll buy the rest.
-You can allow more time for world building and getting to know your main characters.
-At least for a series (4 or more books), you can have fun creating new situations for your characters for as long as you’d like to.
THE CON’S:
-If your story isn’t ‘big’ enough to stretch comfortably over sequels, the plot might end up thinning out.
-You absolutely must have the ultimate end planned out, and each book planned out in detail.
-If you don’t make your characters memorable and loveable for the readers, any sequels will fall flat on their faces.
TIPS:
There are a few important things you’ll have to remember if you ever decide to tackle a series, sequel or trilogy.
First off, the differences.
You may already know this, but it’s important to make these things perfectly clear.
A sequel is the second part to a single novel, sometimes unplanned. Something completely new happens in a sequel, but with the same characters. It’s meant to stop there, but it’s not common that a writer wouldn’t go on to make that sequel the beginning of a series, or the middle part of a trilogy. Remember not to be like Pixar, though, with their movies — making sequels simply for the sake of making sequels. Make sure that there’s character development and plot just as exciting as in the first novel.
A series goes anywhere from 4 to 50, no less. In order to pull this off, there must be one unifying, underlying plot throughout the series, though something new happens every novel. Take the Harry Potter series as example. There is an end planned out by J.K Rowling — Harry becoming a wizard — and we see a steady ascent to that goal through the series. New characters and situations may be introduced, but readers keep reading because they want the main character to succeed in the end.
A trilogy, as you may have guessed from the prefix, is a series of three parts. These seem to be the most popular, and there’s a good reason. Trilogies are the quickest, easiest way to draw your readers in longer….and uh, make more money. Similar to a series, there must be one big, unifying plot to a trilogy. The plot in a trilogy is often more complex, though, with more twists, suspense and even cliffhangers at the end of the first two books. Usually, the first book serves as an introduction to the loveable characters and dramatic conflict. It ends just as things get a whole lot worse, and then the second book would be a sort of climax. The trilogy would wrap up in the third book, with both the plot and character arc coming to a close. Study the Hunger Games trilogy for a great example on how to do things right.
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Thanks for reading!
This post may have been a bit short but I hope it helped you, anyways.
I have a few great future posts in mind for you guys, but let me know down in the comments if there are any post you’d like to see specifically!
~Kawiria :)
This post originally came from my website, TheTeenageWriter. Check it out for weekly blog updates on writing and being a writer!
Here’s this post’s link: https://kawiriacreed.wixsite.com/theteenagewriter/single-post/2018/02/18/Should-You-Write-Sequels
