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30-Day Fanfic Writing Meme, Day 21 (+ 17b)
21. Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
For me, it's more like, when do I not write a sequel? I have an ongoing series in each of my three major fandoms (even though I haven't written much for Snupin and Petshop lately, I still have ideas about where those series are going in the future). I've written several one-shots as well, but even with those, I often think, "Well, someday I'd like to do a sequel and see what happens next..."
I think I end up with so many sequels because I'm always wondering "what if" and "what will they do next?" For example, Snupin Meme was supposed to be a one-off, a ficlet written for a prompt challenge. But I started wondering what would happen if/when Lupin brought home the stray dog mentioned in the story, and that led to the follow-up Fleabane.
For my Snupin Always series, I had always intended that it should cover Years 3-7 at Hogwarts (since I started the series during the Prisoner of Azkaban timeline). And actually, I wrapped up the final confrontation with Voldemort early, at the end of Year 6 because...well, that's just the way the plot bunny wanted to go. But I kept writing in that series because I'm the type who wonders what happens after "they lived happily ever after." I wanted to know how Snape and Lupin and the other characters would adjust to life in peacetime, and also because I felt like "happily ever after" was a bit too simple. I wanted to see the postwar struggles that we ultimately didn't see in canon--people unhappy with the Ministry's new reforms (such as equal rights for werewolves in my fanon), and even some of the good guys holding lingering suspicions and prejudices against former Death Eaters like Snape or just the Slytherins in general. And because I gave my Snape and Lupin a family to raise, some of the focus has begun to shift to the next generation, such as with Fathers' Day, which is about Theo and Dylan's humorously disastrous attempt to plan a Father's Day outing for Snape and Lupin.
Something similar happened with my Petshop fics. I finally got D and Leon reunited and happily settled down and raising a child together in Daiki. With their story more or less complete, I still enjoy writing about them, but now feel free to give the spotlight to some of the supporting characters, like Honlon in The Guardian or the young Count in Decisions.
With my Haru Comeback series, there's still plenty of ground to cover: Onozuka's newly committed relationship with Kikuchi, and his as yet unresolved estrangement from his family, as well as my plans for that Mochimune/Miyasaka plot bunny. There's even room to explore canon further, with Iwaki taking on the role of the president of the Interpro talent agency.
I guess basically I love the characters so much that I want to keep writing about them, and that plus an overactive imagination in which I can't stop thinking about what happens next, keeps resulting in more sequels.
***
I belatedly realized that while I answered the first half of question #17 ("Titles - Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic?"), I never answered the second half: "Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?"
Generally, I don't title the separate chapters of a fic. The only exception is for my Snupin fic The Revenant. When I was writing the fic, I really wanted to call the second chapter "The Waiting Room," which meant that I had to give titles to all the other chapters as well. (The title refers to James being trapped in a kind of limbo after his death, which takes the form of a doctor's waiting room.) The other chapter titles are mostly more descriptive than clever, but I am pleased with the title I came up with for Chapter 1: "James Meets the Not-So-Grim Reaper"--the Reaper being perky goth-girl Death from Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. ^_^
Previous days:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
(You can find the full meme listed at the end of Day 5).
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