Writing a part two

Hi.

Have any of you been requested in the comments to write a part two? How do you go about that? Is there some sort of structure needed that I need to know of before I start writing?

I could use some help on this please?

Thanks!

chimicawriting said:

Hi.

Have any of you been requested in the comments to write a part two? How do you go about that? Is there some sort of structure needed that I need to know of before I start writing?

I could use some help on this please?

Thanks!

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Oh, constantly. Twice today already. It drives me up the wall. A short story isn't a "run them into the ground until death" epoch novel.

At the best, such comments engage my Muse and sometimes I write what is essentially a prequel or sequel or use the characters or setting again. At the worst I grit my teeth and walk away. In between, if you like, you can take it as a compliment that indicates they enjoyed the story so much that they didn't want it to end. That doesn't me that you have to make an epoch out of a short story, though.

First, if you don't have a good idea for a follow-up, don't do it just because it's been requested. You'll damage your original story with a poor follow-up when you could have left a good ending right where it was. And if you're not excited about continuing the story, there's a good chance it won't be as good as the original.

As to adding it to the series, all you need to do is add the chapter designation to the end of the original title when you submit.

My Title
My Title Ch. 02

The series code will automatically group them once the second chapter is approved. No need to go back and add the chapter designation to the first chapter, or do anything else.

Thank you both for your much needed advice. I'm still debating about actually writing a second part. It's been awhile since I'm written longer erotica in parts ... I'll have to brainstorm a bit.

Thank you again -- this is very helpful.

I did that once...do a part two at the request of a couple of readers. Guess what? They didn't like what I wrote. Surprise! I don't know what they were expecting. It was a follow up to the first one. Oh well. I laughed and laughed at the comments left by those who wanted the second part.

chimicawriting said:

Hi.

Have any of you been requested in the comments to write a part two? How do you go about that? Is there some sort of structure needed that I need to know of before I start writing?

I could use some help on this please?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

IF you're getting requests for sequels when you haven't deliberately left an opening for one, you've failed at writing a satisfactory closing to your story.

The corollary to that is if you haven't deliberately left an opening, don't write a sequel.

Of course, unless every story ends, "And then a comet crashed into the planet and killed everyone!" you're going to get the occasional request for "more." That doesn't mean you have to grant the request, it just means that some people are never satisfied.

Weird Harold said:

IF you're getting requests for sequels when you haven't deliberately left an opening for one, you've failed at writing a satisfactory closing to your story.

The corollary to that is if you haven't deliberately left an opening, don't write a sequel.

Of course, unless every story ends, "And then a comet crashed into the planet and killed everyone!" you're going to get the occasional request for "more." That doesn't mean you have to grant the request, it just means that some people are never satisfied.

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Your first and third paragraphs look contradictory to me. The story hasn't failed just because some readers ask for a sequel to a story that already has a wrapped-up ending. Readers aren't infallible. Chances are good they don't know what the hell they're talking about and are giving a standard, knee-jerk comment.

The question is: Do you want to write a Part Two? Or do you simply want to satisfy some perceived reader demand?

Personally, I tend to write short stories. Short stories usually have a beginning, a middle, and an end - sometimes an ambiguous or open-ended end. Very occasionally I'll write a sequel, using the same characters. But, regardless of what some readers seem to think, short stories don't generally have chapters. So when somebody says: 'I can't wait for the next chapter ...' I just think: Well, you're going to have to. For a very long time.

sr71plt said:

Your first and third paragraphs look contradictory to me. The story hasn't failed just because some readers ask for a sequel to a story that already has a wrapped-up ending. Readers aren't infallible. Chances are good they don't know what the hell they're talking about and are giving a standard, knee-jerk comment.

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I guess I didn't make the distinction clear:

There are stories that create an almost universal demand to know "how the story ends" and there are random demands for a sequel even when "the world ends and everybody dies."

The former is a result of not bringing a story to a successful conclusion. The latter is just random noise.

I sometimes receive requests for sequels. I sometimes relent. They sometimes work. One demanded the spinoff of a parallel series. I'm especially amused when a one-pager I spewed in a half-hour provokes demands for sequels. And of course some commenters lay out complete plots for the sequel they want.

I am now more likely to leave a major cusp at the end and let readers figure out their own endings, ala Just Plain Bob. Or to write pieces as standalone episodes that *could* survive with other episodes in that universe. Some episodes deserve no follow-ups. So be it.

The thing that gets me is when you kill off the protag and still someone thinks there should be a sequel with the dead guy leading the charge.

Zeb_Carter said:

The thing that gets me is when you kill off the protag and still someone thinks there should be a sequel with the dead guy leading the charge.

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Reminds me of an old translation factoid. The soda slogan COME ALIVE! YOU'RE IN THE PEPSI GENERATION was supposedly translated into Malay(?) as PEPSI BRINGS YOUR ANCESTORS BACK FROM THE DEAD. So just drench your protag in cola, hey?

Hi.

So.. I normally plan my short stories around the "idea" of a novel. When I write a novel it's built around a group of short stories. Each story of course has a beginning middle and an end... that's a must have for every story.

This story has an opening for a part two because the first story was about a public 69 and the second would be about them fucking ( I can say that word right? )

When I wrote that short story... I had planned a whole novella for it; outlined it already too... lol.. But these days I think it's unworthy--- readers seem to disagree.

I have a fear I'll dedicate hours to making two more parts and then it will suck! LOL..

I just don't know.. I'll have to medicate on it for a bit.

Thank you all for your advice, input and opinions.

chimicawriting said:

Hi.

Have any of you been requested in the comments to write a part two? How do you go about that? Is there some sort of structure needed that I need to know of before I start writing?

I could use some help on this please?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

First of all, take it as a compliment. A reader has engaged with your writing and wants more.

Usually the engagement is with one or more of your characters, the context for your story, or both.

If you have set up an engaging context (particularly, but not exclusively, the sort of 'world building' that is done in sci-fi/fantasy), that can be a ripe field for further exploitation, even with different characters. I read stories like this where the writer even uses a different protagonist in each chapter to tell different stories within the same context. These are somewhat 'parallel chapters'.

Engaging characters are more common, but leave less room for development. Usually the route here is that a character is exploring new possibilities or being awakened to them, and successive chapters bring new experiences. These, in opposition to 'parallel chapters', form a series.

Sometimes authors write a single story that is a little longer than most, and chunk it up into chapters to make it more palatable. I don't think this is a great way to treat a single non-episodic story, but I've read some good stories on Lit that do this.

The first question to ask yourself is whether you want to write a sequel: whether you want to put in the time and energy, and whether you will enjoy it. If not, don't do it.

The second question is whether your original story can bear the weight of a sequel. Many stories are 'that was the best sex in my life' reminiscences, which defines any sequel as anticlimactic.

If you still want to write it, you don't have to write a sequel in the obvious format of 'what the protagonist did next' (although your fan might expect you to write that). If the backstory is interesting and could bear more exploration, then a prequel might be in order (you can still label it 'chapter 2', but perhaps add a note saying that it's a prequel to your first outing). Changing point of view can be an interesting approach. To do this you could adopt an objective third-person character from the original as the first-person protagonist of the next. Telling the same story from another's point of view is probably too difficult a task to make interesting, so this has to be more like a spin-off. Where the context is strong (a beautiful fantasy world, an opulent BDSM club or a porn-star academy), you could write mostly new characters exploring the context.

chimicawriting said:

Hi.

So.. I normally plan my short stories around the "idea" of a novel. When I write a novel it's built around a group of short stories. Each story of course has a beginning middle and an end... that's a must have for every story.

This story has an opening for a part two because the first story was about a public 69 and the second would be about them fucking ( I can say that word right? )

When I wrote that short story... I had planned a whole novella for it; outlined it already too... lol.. But these days I think it's unworthy--- readers seem to disagree.

I have a fear I'll dedicate hours to making two more parts and then it will suck! LOL..

I just don't know.. I'll have to medicate on it for a bit.

Thank you all for your advice, input and opinions.

Click to expand...

Fuck, yeah! Of course you can say 'fuck'.

I hope there's more to the story than this brief summary. The difficult question would be how to take the sex in the second chapter to a whole different level from the exhibitionist 69 in the first. If it comes down to 'this time they fucked', that might not be interesting enough to sustain the story.

I've got notebooks full of good ideas, but they don't always stand up when it comes to writing them. Sometimes you have to smother them, and move on.

Medicating on one's stories is something of a bitter pill!

I kept my post pretty basic just to avoid giving away too much information. I understand how to take a second chapter to the next level ; that won't be an issue.

It's just the question of if I should do it at all. It's a half want and a half based on do I have the time.

We'll see..

chimicawriting said:

It's just the question of if I should do it at all. It's a half want and a half based on do I have the time.

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If the story *really* wants to be told it will force its way out of you despite your excuses and efforts otherwise. We mostly write because we must, because the voices in our heads say, "Tell the tale." Don not resist the voices.