Yesterday was a rare lazy day for me, which to me is the best kind of Saturday. I caught Halloween: Resurrection on TV, and found it to be a pleasant waste of time. And, as it is the eighth film in the Halloween movie franchise, it got me thinking about the possibility of doing a sequel.
I used to love writing series, but my luck with them has not been all that good. Three small press magazines that printed short story follow-ups to previous works of mine ceased printing, two before the entire series could be told. Then there's Attack of the Intergalactic Soul Hunters, my first published novel and the first book in the Soul Hunters series. I'd written the second book by the time the first one was in print, and was halfway through the third one when the second book (and thus the continuing series) was rejected.
The world seems to want only stand-alones from me, and for the most part I've tried to oblige. Epoch and the upcoming Evil? were written without followups in mind (though the possibility isn't exactly ruled out), and my latest project, Apoca-Lynn, follows suit. And yet, I would love it if I could bring some characters back for a bit more fun.
I'm already more or less committed to one; my friend Monica (Burningeffigy Press) wants some more Section K stories. The plan is to release a few chapbooks featuring the main characters to attract new readers to the first book, then follow that with a full sequel. The second book would be shorter, and thus easier to publish on a small-press scale. I've got some fun ideas, and anticipate having some good fun with this. The concept of Section K is wide open for more stories, and in fact it practically begs for them.
However, Section K is a book for grownups, and the main bulk of my writing projects focus on the young adult market. I've had a few people asking me what happens after the end of Epoch, and I've actually got some ideas that might lead to an interesting second book. Should I go for that, or work on another stand-alone?
In the end, the decision to do a sequel will be determined by the story. Will it excite and entertain me enough to get me through the time it will take to write it? That, more than anything else, determines what I will write.
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- Timothy Carter
- Timothy Carter was born in Farnham, England during the week of the final lunar mission, and he turned 13 on Friday the 13th. He is a novelist, screenwriter, movie lover and Transformers fanatic.
5 comments:
Hey Tim!
I think that you should for sure right a sequel to Epoch as apposed to another stand-alone book. I'll think up some ideas for you and post again. Keep writing!!!! =]
I think you're absolutely right -- the best books are born out of a need/desire to write them.
BUT if someone's literally ASKING you to write a sequel, wanting more of your characters, that's hard to deny. Especially since when you started, it was with the understanding that no one else might ever get to read your words! I say do both (easy for me to say). Fill the commercial need with the sequels, fill the emotional need with new stuff.
Thanks for the comments, you guys! Always great to hear your thoughts. I think you've got the right idea, Bill. Sort of the best of both worlds, right? However, I really have to want to do it, to be excited about doing it, in order for the story to get written.
I am, however, starting to get excited about the ideas I'm having for Epoch 2 (and it will definitely have a better title than that!). We'll see were those ideas take me.
I think there should be a sequel to Epoch, it was one the first books that I actually stayed up late, no matter how sleepy I was, and continued to read, wondering what would happen next. And though I read it in one day, it all seeped in.
I think the next book should have something to do with the survivers of the Epoch trying to adapt to the new world
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