
A lot of my stories get a sequel, and a lot of those turn into a trilogy, or are supposed to do so. Those who still have a story to tell after three entries, can become larger pieces of work, though this seldom happens in my world of writing. One thing I find, is that the bloody second part, the first sequel, is often the place where everything goes wrong. Let me tell you about some of my sequels, and intended sequels, and how they turned out compared to the first (and perhaps third) entry.
Sanguine 2:
Back in 2007 I wrote a story called
Sanguine. It's about how the wife of the devil and a friend of the devil goes to earth to wreak havoc in order to have a good time. I felt that the story is alright, presenting several interesting gore-scenes, and an all-over okey idea for a action/horror story. The ending basically said that the devil himself would like to come with the two others the next time they were going to earth. This is where the idea of a sequel enters. I started writing this sequel, trying to come up with more gore-filled scenarios where the devil would mess around with humans. However, the devil turned out to be to powerful a being for me to really write about in this way, as the story just turned into a series of scenes where the devil brutally murdered people in less and less inventive ways. Of course, the sequal was scrapped, and is still hidden away somewhere.
Chemical Wedding, Part 2:This is the second part of a finished trilogy. However, the second part is really just leading to the third, and little actually happens to further the plot, which is the greatest problem of nr.2's in a trilogy. This isn't as good or as well written as part 1 and 3, and it doesn't make as much sense.
The Unholy Trinity, Part 2: The Antichrist:This is also the second part of a finished trilogy, but is also mostly a filler. And besides, the ending is awful, really =p
The New Mask 2:
I once wrote a horror/slasher/comedy/spoof thing that I called
The New Mask. It wasn't very good, and so when I started writing a second part, it was (of course) really awful, and I didn't have to write more than a couple hundred words to realize that I would never finish or post a second part to the story.
Departed - Part Two:
This is the second part of an unfinished series. The third part hasn't been finished, and I don't know if it will be. Really, the first part of this gave closure, and I think people would like the story better if they only read the first part. This second part isn't crappy though, just confusing I think, and it sets the scene for a larger story that might never get written. This one luckily has an ending that can sort of give closure to the whole thing, and therefor doesn't seem like another filler to a third part, and I'm glad.
Buccaneer Sky - Part 2: We Sail The Jolly Roger:
This second part in another unfinished series really didn't feel the same way as the first part, and is definately filler, without really leading to something serious, or anything at all that the reader can expect from the third part. A third part was started, but hasn't been finished yet. I really liked this series, and enjoyed writing it, and I still like the first part a lot, but this second part hasn't got anything to bring to the table, and isn't particularly good. It's a shame, cause I think the series could have turned out alright... Oh well.
Kain, Hunted:This is the follow up to Kain, Nightunter. It has a few ideas incorporated that I've been working on, and that I wrote about earlier. However, this one also feels incredibly like a filler, as it definately serves the purpose of leading up to the third part. In the third part, I plan to try introducing an overarching villain, as I wrote about in an earlier post here. I don't think this story is bad, but it certainly left out some of what I think made the first part good. Focusing more on action, this part has neglected a lot of detail, like the description of characters that destinguished the first part. This one has a lot of gore, but little of it is fleshed out, and this one also lacks the sexual content and foul language of the first one, resebling some of my early work more than the first part of the series. With the third part, I want to get back to the feel of the first one, and make a good sequel, trying to ignore the crude style of the poor first sequel.
(I'm not the only one doing this. Dracula 2: Ascension. Pirates of the Caribbean 2. The Matrix 2
and 3. AVP2. The new Indiana Jones movie. Ghost Busters 2. Saw 2. Movies are a great example of poor sequels, and I guess the same often rings true for written works)