On Scale
So, those of you who’ve been coming here for a while know that sometimes I like to reflect on my work and just generally air my thoughts and the like. Usually, nobody responds to these posts, but that’s ok, just knowing that there’s a few people out there who understand is all I need.
As I hinted in my last post, I really really want to write a sequel to Proteus. Proteus was the first thing I ever wrote, and it left a few things unresolved. I could easily explore more of the shadowy villains, as well as some of the shadowy history of a few of the protagonists. There’s world, and details, and the like, behind all of that.
The problem is that I can’t figure out a good way to make all of that into a story that works. Proteus had a great story, and with the way it was structured, any sequel would need to build on that. But every time I build on it, the story ends up being too large to pace properly with erotic bits and the like.
In short, Proteus is about as big a plot as can be fit into an erotic story, and any bigger and it wouldn’t work. I can’t, however, just turn the sequel into a normal story that isn’t erotica, because then it would actually be lacking, and the plot would just be weird. So that’s sort of the conundrum I run into.
Other stories where I’m thinking of making a sequel, it comes easy. If the first story is about getting a girl, the second story can be about getting another, or having more fun with the first, or something like that. The vast majority of my stories don’t even really have villains or opponents, and are more just about getting the girl. There’s no need for them to grow in scope, and when they do, they grow into something that is still very manageable.
So after a lot of reflection, I’ve decided that I’m not going to focus on a sequel to Proteus, at least not now. I may write another story that has a similar plot complexity, but It will probably also be self-contained. I need to remind myself that not every book needs a sequel, and not every plot thread will ever be resolved. As I look through the first part of my original sequel, I find elements that just do not work, at all. It was a terrible third of a book.
My final concern is one of pragmatics. I want to try and some day, maybe in a year or two, support myself through writing. Writing has a very strong publish-or-die atmosphere, and I can’t spend days, or weeks, struggling with something that just isn’t happening. While trying to make a sequel to Proteus, I had at least three of my other stories jump into my mind as being great and easy to continue, as well as two or three new ideas.
Maybe someday, but not today.
In order to not create disappointment, I think I’ll refrain from saying what I’m releasing next until it’s a bit more firmed up. I didn’t really announce Uniform Daze until it was about 50% drafted, so I might use that as a metric. Regardless, the story I’m writing now is coming easily, and ideas are flowing.
