Sequels: are they any good?

[Kim Smith]

Many people feel like seeing the sequel to a movie is a bad thing, because it is said that the second movie is never as good as the first.

What about serial books? Do you ever enjoy the second in a series as much as the first?

If you write sequels, how hard is it to remake your first book?

[D K Gaston]

Readers tend to want to read about the same character(s) once they find a story they really like. I only have a problem with a series when the author continues to write the same stories all over again. Like real life, the characters should mature, fall in love, out of love, and learn from their experiences. For example, John Sandford's Kidd series had a key character in several books die. In Walter Mosley's Easy series, you follow Easy through decades of his life through good and bad times.

[Tim Quinton]

It all depends on the characters that you put in your story. In my series, The Sea Huntress, the sequels are more of a continuation from where the last book ended. For example, the second book Elizabeth's Revenge takes place 6 months after the end of the first book. The third book, Pirate's Blood, takes place 6 years after the second. So there is a progression in what has happen, what is happening and what will happen. Another series that I'm hoping to kick off, won't have such time intervals. The basic characters will be used through the series, but they will be in different adventures, using their special talents in each book.

[Anita Davison]

This is a question which must worry a lot of writers. Am I pushing it to extend the life of a book? I cheated a little because when I wrote my first book, my critique groups all told me in a very loud voice that it was far too long. If I was to stand any chance of publication, I should dump a large part of the storyline or divide it in two. I did the latter, with the first book leaving some questions at the end which get answered in the second book. The sequel is out at the end of this year and I do hope that whoever reads Duking Days Rebellion, will be compelled to read Duking Days Revolution as well.

[Daniel Arenson]

I like sequels so long as they're not just "middle parts", that is, lots of set up for the NEXT book, without much happening. Some books suffer badly from "middle part" syndrome. :)

Daniel
"...an author to watch." --Booklist
Firefly Island, a fantasy novel
www.DanielArenson.com

[Chaitanya-Shakti dasi]

How do you guys feel about sequels that are in fact prequels? Or that have the same setting but not the same characters?

For example, some fantasy genre authors do this. Terry Brooks' Shannare series has gone on forever and ever (I read the first book about 8 years ago), because he has built his world up so much. But he introduces new characters, and/or has totally new main characters in each books. Sometimes, characters are children or relatives of the main characters from the previous book.

I am doing this with my fantasy series. Currently for a writing class I am writing a prequel to another fantasy-genre work of mine.

So, I'm just curious. What do you all think of sequels that are directly (characters same, etc) continuous? (Sorry for the bad wording, it's early in the morning here).

[Susan Whitfield]

Kim, I follow several writers who seem to have mastered the series. Patterson's Cross series comes to mind first. I'm a new fan of D.H. Dublin, who has started a series with Madison Cross, one tough lady. (I consider him the new master of forensics). After reading his first one, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the other two, scarfing them up as soon as they were available.
I, too, write series. Fans of my Logan Hunter Mystery series are always asking when the next one will be released. FUN!!! So far, I've found it easy to follow the same protag. Logan constantly gets herself into enough mayhem to be interesting, at least, to some readers. I change locations, minor characters, and, of course, plots in each one. I don't think anyone wants to read a "remake". Each book in the series must stand on its on merits. There are a few writers I've lost interest in, however, because they've grown tiresome--too 'cookie cutter'. I do have other plans in the works that will not be part of a series though. I think as writers we need to try different genres to challenge ourselves and keep the writing fresh.

[susie hawes]

In genre writing, they're gold.

[joylene butler]

What a great question.

I'm finishing the sequel to Broken But Not Dead, titled Omatiwak: Woman Who Cries and frankly, I had an impossible time not giving away the first book. Actually, I'm almost sure I've ruined the story if my reader (yrs from now) picks up Omatiwak first. I've given it a lot of thought, ruminated well into the night, and I had to let go of the worry. Hopefully, Broken has enough merit that readers will still want to read it even though its plot is given away in Omatiwak. Otherwise, I was driving myself nuts. I think we're so concerned with establishing hooks and tricks to entice our readers that we forget they're intelligent beings and read for the love of it. My husband loves his TV, but he still reads 60 to 80 books a year, most of them in the winter. He even reads ones he read 10 - 15 years ago. "It doesn't matter," he says, "if they're a good story."

As for movies, I truly thought the Borne series were better and better each time. And Batman, there's no contest between what's produced now and what we saw years ago. The quality is much better, the theme is more focused, and the acting is riveting.

How'd I miss this discussion? Silly me.

[Ernest Johnson]

I've written a sequel to my book Destiny Of The Divas. It's called Destiny Of The Divas II - Angel Of Mercy.

As Much as I love the first of the two books, and I love that book, I love the sequel even better. New twists and an ending that will blow readers away.

If you wrote a sequel, why would you want to remake your first book? If you mean to rewrite it, don't think that way. A sequel should be a continuation of the original. Having written the original, no matter what genre, you should be able to make the sequel even better, adding new twists from the first endeavor.