When is it time for a new cast of characters?

[TheRedChamber]

Jet-lagged and lazy today, I've been looking over my draft folder and my ideas list, trying to work out what I want to be writing for the next little while. There's a whole bunch of ideas I'm kicking around and have a couple that might make good forum topics - I'm keeping them seperate as they are kind of different even though they start from the same place.

Over the last year, I've written nine of stories featuring Ben and Hannah, two sexually adventurous professional nerds and I've got about six drafts with them in various stages of development as well. I also have a pretty clear end-point for the stories - which are all designed to work as independent one shots. While most of the stories are just focused on their individual sex-lives as a couple, recent stories have branched them out into swinging and partner swapping and I'm currently working on their first male-female-female encounter.

Thing is, I've been kicking around with a number of variation on the theme of 'she thinks it would be hot for him to have a homosexual experience'. I'd alway invisioned this as just being a one off Ben and Hannah story with them quickly going back to the het-normative(+les) lifestyle, but actually as I've been sitting here thinking about it, it's the sort of thing that could ramp up and ramp up and probably has a final destination quite different from where the 'main storyline' ends. This series has been category-hopping like mad anyway, but it's probably also fair to say that this particular kink-focus is going to have a different readership as well.

I'm also in danger of having a couple that has done everything - I have a watersports story featuring them and the fact that Ben is a master of Shibari rope bondge crops up only in about a third of stories (and is ignored in other stories where it might feel more incongrous). I'm also somewhat confined my the start of my draft pegging story featuring them

I think I've decided to break off this concept into something seperate and also need to face the fact that I can't just write new characters Ken and Anna who are basically the same characters but doing *this*. I probably need a whole new relationship dynamic for this to work.

So, I guess my question to the board, is when have you 'retired' characters or at least given them the day off from a story that they could otherwise have been in?

 

[Voboy]

Oh hell yeah.

Any of us who do the "connected stories" thing or the "universe" thing eventually run into this issue. It's only a problem if you've focused on those one or two characters to the detriment of developing other characters; I've not read your work, but it's hard to believe that in nine stories, you've not developed any side characters fully enough that you want to explore them too?

So my solution is to maintain a large enough stable that you can easily find another ready, worthy character to put into the sweet spot. In my early days here, I tried to keep a list of every character I created; it was impossible after just a few stories. There were simply too many. My stories, whether I realize it or not, have their own momentum: I truly feel that there are "other things going on" in the backgrounds of many of them, things even I cannot glimpse fully. A clue to that sometimes arises through reader comments, which will occasionally fixate on a side character and ask me about them.

To me, it's not really about "retiring" a character. My main characters don't retire, as such; they just sit off to the side and wait. Maybe they'll get another chance to be a star, maybe not, but meanwhile? I'm letting their friends and relatives shine. So it's not subtraction; it's addition. My universe just grows and grows. It's wonderful. No qualms at all from me; that's just the way it is. Some stories work with existing characters, some don't. No biggie.

I should confess that there definitely are a few characters I've written that I've grown to dislike writing about. But even those aren't "retired;" they're just VERY unlikely ever to get off the bench again. I've got a misanthropic girl I wrote about early on; I gave her five stories, then wrote a sixth that made her troublingly bad. So I didn't publish that one, and I've never tried to use her again. I doubt I ever will.

Her sister, though, and her friends? Hell yeah. They're still viable.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Oh hell yeah.

Any of us who do the "connected stories" thing or the "universe" thing eventually run into this issue. It's only a problem if you've focused on those one or two characters to the detriment of developing other characters; I've not read your work, but it's hard to believe that in nine stories, you've not developed any side characters fully enough that you want to explore them too?

Yes, this.

My interconnected world spreads over four decades, and I've got a core of characters who range back and forth over time, combining and parting and morphing into each other. Plenty of side characters get stories of their own, mixing in and out of other stories; and more recent stories often have cameos from older story characters, dropping by.

It's never been a problem for me. My ensemble is populous enough now, that any new combination is merely a way of saying, "You know what, it's about time Ruby met Alex, see what happens." The trick is to not worry about any kind of coherent chronology, not to worry about strict time logic. I can't see myself not doing it this way.

 

[Voboy]

The trick is to not worry about any kind of coherent chronology, not to worry about strict time logic. I can't see myself not doing it this way.

Ayup. That's how you keep enjoying it.

I do maintain a document that tries to relate all my stories to each other. Readers can ask me for a copy, and I get a request about once a month. It requires a lot of cross-referencing.

 

[StillStunned]

I have a few series that I've marked as finished: "Flesh for Fantasy", "My Little Sister Sal" and "Loving Lily". Basically they just reached the point where I didn't feel inspired to write more stories about those characters. I might go back and write more at some point, but for now, if not retired, they're at least on sabbatical.

 

[AlinaX]

For my first few years writing here, my fictional self (Ali) was often the main character, but for years now she has only popped up in the 750s. In part it's because the later stories demanded quite a bit of research into witchcraft, and in part because I don't really know what to do with her fictional wife.

On the other hand, she's happily married and her daughter's growing up fast, so I think she's quite content for the moment.

 

[Mastered_again]

At some point, I'll probably retire George and Linda from my Proclivities series. 15 episodes so far and I've outlined several more. That could be their demise, but I'm also intrigued about writing about them when their older (marriage, kids, a mortgage) and how they navigate those complexities while keeping their kinky natures active (a lactation tale is in there somewhere along with a house hunting adventure - will the realtor get involved? And what about their acquaintances? Do they have adventures worth pursuing?). So many possibilities!
Not sure if they'll retire or if I'll run out of gas.
Trouble is, I'm very fond of them and putting them out on the ice flow is heartbreaking.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I tried the shared universe idea when I first started writing and botched it up pretty thoroughly. So I've come to the conclusion that miniseries stories are the way to go for me. A lot of my work will be 2 or 3 chapter stories and then that's it. New ideas, new characters.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Any of us who do the "connected stories" thing or the "universe" thing eventually run into this issue. It's only a problem if you've focused on those one or two characters to the detriment of developing other characters; I've not read your work, but it's hard to believe that in nine stories, you've not developed any side characters fully enough that you want to explore them too?

So my solution is to maintain a large enough stable that you can easily find another ready, worthy character to put into the sweet spot. In my early days here, I tried to keep a list of every character I created; it was impossible after just a few stories. There were simply too many. My stories, whether I realize it or not, have their own momentum: I truly feel that there are "other things going on" in the backgrounds of many of them, things even I cannot glimpse fully. A clue to that sometimes arises through reader comments, which will occasionally fixate on a side character and ask me about them.

I haven't done shared universe stuff. Most of my stories are one shots, with this new series being the exception as a string of not really connected stories which happen to feature the same couple. I decided that the shared roster made sense for a lesbian series set around London where I could introduce new characters and couples who meet, possibly fuck and possibly just provide moral support. I've only got as far as writing two of those at the moment and both feature the same couple (+1 other couple who may well story hop). My other stories tend to jump from category to category so much that there's not a lot of point sharing the same characters for the most part - plus I also like the idea that whatever is happening in a story is the most erotic thing to ever happen to that character - if Norber the Nerd picks up a cheerleader this week, and then gets Cougared the next week, the reader might question his continued status as a lovable loser.

I think the issue here is that I'm very concept driven in the early stages of a story. For example, I've had the idea of "Straight guy is loses a bet and is dared to spend an hour in a gay sauna" and, having written so many stories with Ben and Hannah playing tricks on each other, I almost immediately see how that story can work for them. It's work as a one off with those characters, but if I want to flesh the concept out it might need to be someone different.

 

[Voboy]

I think the issue here is that I'm very concept driven in the early stages of a story. For example, I've had the idea of "Straight guy is loses a bet and is dared to spend an hour in a gay sauna" and, having written so many stories with Ben and Hannah playing tricks on each other, I almost immediately see how that story can work for them. It's work as a one off with those characters, but if I want to flesh the concept out it might need to be someone different.

Oh, I think I see. You suspect the new concept might spawn a whole new series? And you think you'll want new characters in that?

Do what TV shows do: write a "bridge." Let Ben and Hannah play their prank, with Ben spending his hour in the gay sauna... but add another person he meets, doing something similarly cheeky (but not identical) at the same sauna. Then, as the story ends, let Ben walk one direction and instead follow the new person off to whatever new adventures might await.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Oh, I think I see. You suspect the new concept might spawn a whole new series? And you think you'll want new characters in that?

Possibly. Part of the issue is that these characters have a fixed destiny - I've written stories where they're university students and stories where they're married with children. I've built in a window of a few crazy years where they have an open relationship and I could slip in a few gay/bi stories into that space along with all the swinging stories. The dare story works with these characters - but could also work with others. I also have a pegging story for the characters that doesn't have a gay focus. I am thinking there's probably a nice escalation series involved with this concept - watching porn together, making him eat his own cum, pegging, leading to glory holes where the giver may or may not be a woman and so on to actual gay experiences. Writing this would kind of mean putting everything else my characters would be doing on hold for X months while I write either a series of stories or one long story that goes all the way through this to some kind of ending.

Do what TV shows do: write a "bridge." Let Ben and Hannah play their prank, with Ben spending his hour in the gay sauna... but add another person he meets, doing something similarly cheeky (but not identical) at the same sauna. Then, as the story ends, let Ben walk one direction and instead follow the new person off to whatever new adventures might await.

The dare especially works with these characters although doesn't naturally lead to him having gay sex at the end. I might save it for them, or not. I don't think I need to link one character to the other as regular reader of the current stories isn't going to necessarily want to follow them on a bi adventure.

 

[12oclocktales]

I had several favorite characters filtering across a number of chapters in a prolonged series, only to end the series. To my surprise, a handful of those characters only went on vacation, and have now reappeared in a new series I’m working on. Not in any major way, but more like a guest appearance. I found having them around again a good impetus for my writing.

 

[Cali_Love]

Connected stories are a massive turnoff. Won’t read them or even test the water. It’s all about closure.

 

[Voboy]

Connected stories are a massive turnoff. Won’t read them or even test the water. It’s all about closure.

The two are FAR from mutually-exclusive.

You can write closed stories within an interconnected universe; I do it all the time. My stories are all standalones, unless they're explicitly labeled as part of a series.

 

[ronde]

I don't generally write stories in a series, but I do write "sequels" - different stories involving one or more of the same characters. What I've found is that the time to stop writing about the same characters is when you have to change the basic personality you gave them in order to "force" them into something new. The story will read the same way to a reader who has been following the same story, and a likely comment will be, "He'd never do something like that."

 

[ElectricBlue]

Ayup. That's how you keep enjoying it.

I do maintain a document that tries to relate all my stories to each other. Readers can ask me for a copy, and I get a request about once a month. It requires a lot of cross-referencing.

I've thought of writing one of those, as a gloss to all the interconnectivity. But I think it means more to me than it does to readers, knowing how they're all joined together.

But for most readers, a cameo is a side character, nothing more - like Alfred Hitchcock's cameos in his movies, or Martin Scorsese in Taxi Driver.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I don't generally write stories in a series, but I do write "sequels" - different stories involving one or more of the same characters. What I've found is that the time to stop writing about the same characters is when you have to change the basic personality you gave them in order to "force" them into something new. The story will read the same way to a reader who has been following the same story, and a likely comment will be, "He'd never do something like that."

There are some characters one goes back to many times. Yet they may have started out in a one-off, stand-alone story. Other characters only get one appearance, no matter how much some readers want a sequel.

Closure, as mentioned above? It's up to the writer's discretion and judgement.

 

[intim8]

Connected stories are a massive turnoff. Won’t read them or even test the water. It’s all about closure.

You can have both. The only time any character's closure is his last is when he's dead. Unless you're writing fantasy/horror, then not even that. Even people in real life often have multiple stories worth telling, multiple lessons learned or obstacles overcome. Worlds or universes have innumerable stories that can be told and definitively closed.

 

[intim8]

it means more to me than it does to readers, knowing how they're all joined together.

I've been toying with ideas for expanding my Aces series into a universe (like I have that much spare time...), and there is one character in particular I want to introduce. I started roughly writing his story as a complete standalone 20 years before the virus hits. Probably will end it with that, or even sooner, then incorporate him in with the other characters in a new series. But if all I ever get done is his back story, it will standalone story or series to everyone but me, and be pretty good.

 

[AchtungNight]

Yeah, I’ve played out most of my recurring characters by now also. I like Doug, Lisa, and the rest, but there’s only so far their erotic adventures can go. I’m not sure what I’ll write in the future.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've rarely meant my characters to recur, but some come up with new ideas, others barge into stories I didn't plan for them to be in.

I've written a fair few of my characters doing things over 25 or 30 years, so there's room for a fair few erotic anecdotes. As long as their core personalities work with the stories and it doesn't contradict other stories too much, it's fine.

A lot of my stories in the last couple years have been inspired by wondering "what would happen if X met Y?" Or for an established couple, "how did they meet?" There's usually some sort of story there.

 

[THBGato]

I have a clear plan (now... not when I started) for a story that brings together and ties off four other series. It will effectively retire all my characters. And me.

 

[Writer61]

Over the years I have had a couple of separate characters+story arcs in my head, some were wholly/partially written down but sadly lost (for tedious reasons involving obscure file formats and passwords).

Stories with two of my main characters are now published here. I have more stories in draft for both of them + others with another lead.

Although I am trying to be disciplined about finishing stories I find it helpful when I get stuck to switch to another.

I don't plan to retire any of the leads per se but I can see only two more stories involving one of them as the main protagonist. But 'never say never'. If I think of more stories where she would fit I will use her.