Clever Ways to Write a Sequel to Your Story
A story is great when readers are screaming for a sequel. The authors are also as excited to write sequels as the readers do. But how can you really make sure that the sequel will get as much success as the first book got? Writing the following book is not going to be the same as writing the previous ones. More pressure is on the author’s hands since there is an urge to meet what the readers want for the narrative. However, pressure should not be the reason why you should write a sequel. It still should be your desire to write one.
If you want your book to have a storyline that will not dismay the readers’ love for the first book, you need to take a couple of measures. Following are some of the ways on how you can write a great sequel to your story:
Make Sure You Have Enough Story to Tell
You need to assess if there is enough to tell. If you think that writing a sequel will only ruin the first one, then better leave it be. The first step you need to consider is to decide why you are writing a sequel. As mentioned, you should not write something for the money. In this industry, it can be tempting to publish a lot of books in exchange for money. This only means that you are only pushing yourself too hard, which might lead you to end up with a bad outcome. In the sense of writing a follow-up novel, you need to make sure that you find other good reasons to make it happen—for instance, reader interest. If your readers are demanding a sequel, they may think that there is more to the story. As the author yourself, you should also know this.You, this an inspiration to create the next books!
Give Your Narrative a Fresh Start
It is not necessary to start your sequel with the scene of where you left off. You can try different approaches. This way, you will help it become more interesting to the readers. Your readers like the original story, but this does not mean that you need to incorporate the same plot. Give it something new. Simply that there are more secrets that you did not tell them. Do not be afraid to loosen up and kill off some characters, even your favorite ones. In short, you need to assure that you are serving them a great storyline even if you need to raise the stakes. Play with your readers’ expectations. This will help you attract them more to your story.
Give it a Smoothly Unique Structure
Helping your readers understand your story better means that you should make an effort to write a smooth sailing story. At the same time, you also need to make sure that you are delivering a unique structure. A great example would be Greg Van Arsdale’s tetralogy, The Genesis Project Series. This four-part book is something that every fan of book series should check out. It contains a seamless narrative throughout while giving it a rousing effect to the readers with a unique structure. End Game by Greg Van Arsdale is the third book of the series, which contains exhilarating parts.
Explore More of the Narrative
As mentioned, to hook your readers to the whole series, you need to give them something new. Exploring more on the narrative will help you to achieve this. You can add more characters that will make a significant impact on the story. They can be on the side of the protagonists or the opposite. They can also be in between. Yes, you can create a character that sides with no one. Most of the readers will surely choose them like their favorite characters. You can also develop minor characters if you want. You can survey who the readers want to know more about. You can craft their own adventure of the story. Through this, you include more elements of the story.
In conclusion, you should always make sure that you are writing a sequel because you want to, not because you need to. The points mentioned above are things that you should consider consolidating on your book series. Hopefully, these tips will help you craft something that your readers will love. Remember always to keep your writing spirits up and enjoy the whole process.