How 2 Sequel: 4 Questions Every Writer Should Ask Before Writing the Next Book

The Toy Story vibe is totally intentional. Read on to find out why.

Congratulations! You did it! You finished your first story!

What was it like? Did you have a hero save the day from an arch nemesis, or did you have people survive a horrific ordeal? Was it something lovely and romantic, maybe with a dragon falling in love with a princess, but her parents don't approve? Was it a novel, a screenplay, a play, a radio show, or even a movie? Did you write it as a TV series that you're off to pitch?

There are lots of ways to tell a story, regardless of medium. You can go completely off the normal rails, like Momento, or stay in the lanes like Toy Story. Creativity is your superpower, and you used it to create the best novel, film, play, or TV show you could. That's an achievement. Way to go!

And after all is said and done, there's only one question: What next?

If you're anything like me – odds are you are if you're reading this – this is the nagging question that plagues you. I know it does me. Even after years of writing story after story, book after book, and screenplay after screenplay, there's always the nagging itch behind the ear, whispering, "So, what's next?"

Sequel.

But how do you write a good sequel? Are there different ways to do it? Does everything have to connect, or can things be the same, just a different episode? Is there a method to the madness? There is a method. Grab your tea, coffee, milkshake, or liquor (looking at you, Hemingway), and let's go over it.

By the way, if you’d like to talk through your sequel idea one-on-one, I offer a free 60-minute consultation. Details are in the Services tab.

Everything has a plan.

When it comes to sequels, it helps to plan things out. There are different types of sequels and different sequel lengths, and the structure throughout the franchise will determine how long the franchise can last or if it will falter.

That being said, there are FOUR QUESTIONS that will aid you in deciding how you want to proceed.

#1) Is the villain (or foil) in the first story open to be the same throughout the sequels/series, or is there a rogue's gallery?

While "rogue's gallery" is more of a term that you hear when talking about superheroes or the Pinkerton Detective Agency, the term can be used across genres. For example, Bridgerton features a number of "rogues", as such. They're more antagonists and foils, but Marina and Cressida Cowper, who rival the romance and cause societal chaos, make the Bridgerton so addictive through their ever-present scheming.

Cressida Cowper, as portrayed by Jessica Madsen, in Bridgerton. (Netflix).

There are benefits to keeping the same villain and benefits to changing them up. It all depends on the theme and the central conflict of the overall story, but we'll get into that. A key point to remember is that the better the villain, the better the hero looks when they overcome it. The story may be about the hero, but the villain makes the story memorable. Your real question is, "How well do you want your story to be remembered?"

#2) Which plot structure are you using?

As you undoubtedly realized during your adventure of writing your novel, the plot structure is the skeleton of the narrative. It gives the beauty of the story room to grow, flow, and become its own. Since humanity has been telling stories and writing them down, a basic structure has been retold and refined with different beats (key moments), yet it remains the same underlying structure – the Hero's Journey.

As you can tell from the graphic, there are at least six different structures, but if you search, you'll undoubtedly find more than that. Dan Harmon's Story Circle is one of the latest, but there's also Stanley Williams's Story Diamond, and Blake Snyder's Save the Cat structure revolutionized screenwriting, as did Syd Field's structure. We cannot forget the "But/Therefore" rule by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who use this to structure every episode of South Park since its inception.

Each one is based on the others, ironically. Syd Field and Blake Snyder quote Joseph Campbell, who in turn quotes Aristotle and Homer, and even cites religious stories. Stanley Williams compiled everything together and shaped it into a diamond. For simplicity and the sake of moving forward, I've broken it down to this:

Ironically, each structure breaks down to a basic one with bigger beats to mark the Acts, as the graphic shows the classic Four-Act Structure.

Personally, I use Save the Cat, and I've adapted it (only slightly) based on the story I'm working on. The stories I've written are structured in the Save the Cat structure. In the sequels to Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro, I use the same structure to construct the story that connects every sequel story to advance to a much larger plot.

Using the same structure, whatever you've chosen, as the structure for the sequels gives familiarity to our audience. It allows for consistency, and if you want, it provides carefully placed easter eggs that will pay off later in the series.

#3) How many stories do you want to do?

Don't get me wrong, a standalone story is awesome by itself. The main character grew as a person, gained new experience, and accomplished their goal. But again, what would be next for the character?

There are different models for how things could work based on how many stories you want to do. Do you want to only do a trilogy? Maybe you just want to do two stories and call it a day? How about doing an enneaology? That's nine stories for the record. The Skywalker Saga from Star Wars is an enneaology with one plot holding the rest of the story intact throughout the saga.

You wrote the first part (Again, great job!), and now it's time to find the ending. How far do you want to go? Like the graphic above, set your structure out and think out the longest, possible, furthest solution available. As my mom would say, "Take it to the nth degree."

Once you reach the furthest most logical solution that would return your character to a new status quo, you've reached your ending. Mark it out. Plan it. Outline it in your structure in broad strokes.

#4) Which model do you want to use?

There are two options for framing your sequel and any further iterations: The "Episodic Model" and the "Sequential Model." Each model has its ups and downs, and neither one is better than the other. It all depends on you, dear creator.

"Episodic Model"

Comic book arcs are great examples of the "Episodic Model."

Still set in the universe you've created, the "Episodic Model" can go as long as you want it to, with time jumps, and anything else you want to do. Want to try a different format? Great, do it, and it can be an "episode." This model treats sequels as different issues on different days. It uses what happened at the end of your last story and continues it with another problem for your main character to solve.

Let's not confuse this with the episodes we see in streaming and broadcast television, or even in some comic books. For those who use the episodes as either beats or markers along the story, as we march towards an end goal.

The Toy Story films are a great adaptation of this model. While the world changes around them and it's kept within continuity, there's not one complete story told throughout the many films in the franchise. Each film is a separate entity, set within the universe, utilizing the stakes of the world and events from the previous film as canon.

The key to a good episodic model is that the learned experience of the characters never goes away. Defeating a huge monster in the finale of the last story is great, but just like us, the characters are going to see little issues with the run-of-the-mill bad guys now.

Take Batman, for example. After losing his parents, Bruce is set on revenge against Joe Chill, the murderer of his parents. Then, when he becomes Batman for the first time, he searches for Joe Chill and proceeds to get justice. Depending on which version of Batman you're digesting, someone either kills him or he is incarcerated. But when Batman faces the Joker, small-time thugs like Joe Chill are easy work.

In each episode, the tension and difficulty must increase if it is an adventure. If not, then your story is limited to comedy, where places like The Simpsons and Peanuts are better examples. In those, at the end of every story, the status quo is restored, and life continues.

"Sequential Model"

This model is your trilogy. It's your duology. It's the octology. It's the story where everything is connected, easter eggs are abundant, and the story has a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Much like question three, if you decided on doing three books, and you wanted them all connected, then you've got yourself a trilogy. Each story has a connected structure that tells an overall story, which also employs the same structure. This is the model when you plotted out the "nth degree" of your character and connected the story together over however many books it takes you to get there.

Plan is set

Regardless of which model you choose, you've got the plan. You now have a rough idea of what you want to do, how you want to do it, and how long it will take. Depending on the model you've chosen, you're set up for an episodic franchise that just keeps going or for a set number of stories to tell one larger story over the course of many books, TV Seasons, films, etc.

This plan you have now is the skeleton of your franchise. Don't get ahead of yourself just yet. There's still a bit to go before you're making enough money to put a down payment on that million-dollar home.

Let me know in the comments which franchise is your favorite, and which franchise you're going to use as your model for your sequels. I'd love to hear all about them!

As always, if you desire private coaching on your individual story, please reach out to me through the Services tab. I'd be glad to give you a FREE CONSULTATION to find out if we can work well together.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey