Sequels

Normally, I try to stay away from sequels. Mostly because real sequels are just cop-outs. They're generally just throwing new drama into a plot that's already been tied up with an elaborate bow. So the sequel becomes like confetti on top of the bow, which just makes it look excessive, or a second bow on top of the bow, which just makes the whole thing look stupid.

But if you're tired of metaphors, I'll stop talking about bows. The point I'm trying to make is that good sequels shouldn't really be called 'sequels' at all. They're the kind where the original story isn't entirely tied up, and you need more story to resolve the conflict. Those are the kinds of sequels I like, and there are often multiples of that kind of sequel. Those kinds of sequels make up trilogies and quartets.

Why am I talking about sequels all of a sudden? I'm working on a sequel to The End... as I use this to procrastinate from actually writing it. (Ironic, really. I started this blog to talk about writing, and it's ended up as somewhere I can procrastinate from writing by talking about it. I never think to post here when I'm not writing....) And some of the time, this sequel is being stupid and obnoxious. Actually, all of the time, so far, this sequel is being stupid and obnoxious. But if/when I finish it, it will resolve that ambiguous ending for you.

I mean, if you want the ending resolved for you at all. I wouldn't.

Hey, Muse! Choose more appropriate times!

My muse has a PENCHANT for arriving at like, the worst possible time. I mean, granted, being as stuck in fanfiction as I am right now isn't very helpful in getting my summer work done before I go back to school. But still, even if that were my only, problem, my muse particularly likes to arrive at one in the morning when I'm trying to fall asleep.


So, naturally, when I was trying to fall asleep this morning, I was struck with an awful and heart-wrenching idea that I couldn't put out of my head until later, and I promptly spent three hours writing a Teslen fanfic that had me sobbing by the time I finished it. It's also my first foray into writing anything that has to be rated M. It's violent. It made me sob and now is making me mad, as I keep going with it. It started when I took a prompt for Teslen day (the 27th) from the GW forums and ran in a direction that I can guarantee no one was expecting.

It's getting long. It's looking to be at least three parts. Its working title is "Feeding". It came from a challenge that was supposed to be to write about Nikola's bloodlust at some point that Helen helped him with it, and it drastically and darkly degraded from there.