The Sequel/Prequel Conundrum

Ah, sequels and prequels. People love them, people hate them, people sometimes don't even know they exist. They can be great and they can be terrible. As a writer, you may have considered writing one of these to go with your novel, but is that the right choice? Let's take a closer look at prequels and sequels and see how you can use them and whether you should.

What is a Prequel?

A prequel is a story (or sometimes series of stories) that take place before the main narrative of the story. Sometimes it deals with the same characters or conflict, and other times it's more disconnected. Some examples include Star Wars episodes 1-3, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and The Kill Order.

And what is a Sequel?

A sequel can either be a book that continues the narrative from your original book, or follow-up book that may be less connected. Most sequels are considered part of a series these days, like duologies or trilogies. Some examples are Star Wars episodes 7-9, Pacific Rim: Uprising, and The Wish Granter.

How to Use Them

The Prequel

Stories that take place before the main story of your novel have several problems. For one thing, they can often be extraneous, like a super extended prologue. It might be cool to show how your world was created or how this regime rose to power, but if we already know the basics from your novel, then we already know what's going to happen.

If they include characters from your novel, then that takes away any stakes because we know that said character has to survive for the "real" story. And if it uses characters that aren't included in the main novel, then most of the time they get killed off. People know that, so it's even harder for them to care about characters they know are going to die.

That's not to say that you can't tell a powerful story using a prequel. Sometimes they can work well. Look at Rogue One, the tale of how the rebels got a hold of the plans for the Death Star that start the events of A New Hope. Even though we know that it's likely all these characters will die and what the ending will be, it captures our attention with well crafted protagonists and a high stakes plot, not only for the characters, but for the galaxy.

Compare that with The Kill Order, the prequel to the Maze Runner series. It's about how the world became the way it was in the later books and I felt like it was a money grab riding on the success of the series. I don't care about watching the world go downhill (which was super graphic), and the story focuses around child Teresa (my least favorite character), so there was nothing new and nothing to enjoy.

The best way to use a prequel is to tell a story people care about. Learning how the rebels got the Death Star plans and why it has such a glaring flaw is interesting. Watching the world burn down like they've already told us is not. You also need characters people will care about, whether it's new or old ones.

The Sequel

The sequel story is a much more wildly accepted type of story. Most people love the characters or world so much from the first book that they're more than willing for it to continue into another book. (I'm just as much a sucker for it as you are.)

However, that doesn't mean that writing a sequel doesn't come with it's own set of issues. Sometimes the story doesn't need a sequel. Sometimes the first story is so good that trying for a second one fails. Things might happen in your sequel that will leave people hated the story and wishing they'd never read it.

Consider for a good example, the Giver quartet. While the sequels are less well know, there are three follow-up books (which is good because that book has a kind of cliff hanger ending). The books continue the story of the world she's built, while showing different characters and different parts of the world. It's fascinating to read and you get to see glimpses of your favorite characters from the first book.

On the other hand, you have a multitude of bad sequels to chose from in the movie industries. We could discuss all Disney's awful direct to video sequels in the 90s. Or the plethora of sequels to popular movies that have come out in recent years. But I probably don't have to go over them with you, because you're listing in your head all the things you didn't like about that sequel you watched recently.

Sequels can range from super successful to completely failures. They're best when it's a logical continuation of story whether with the same characters or not. It shouldn't be a way to make extra money or ruin the story everyone loved.

Should I write a Prequel?

Consider these questions when you start to think about writing a prequel to your story-

1. Is it necessary?
2. Is the story I would tell interesting?
3. How would it work with the story I've already told?
4. Would people care about this story, or would they never know it existed?

Prequels can be done well, and if you think you have a good idea for one, then by all means, write it. But you also need to consider all four factors above before writing. You also need to decide if you'll use the same characters or different ones and if anyone is even interesting in reading it.

Should I write a Sequel?

Here are a few questions to consider if you want to write a sequel-

1. Is this a natural continuation of the story?
2. Will it be a direct sequel or more of a stand-alone in the same world?
3. Is it needed?
4. How will my characters continue to grow and change?

Please, don't write a sequel just because it's the thing everyone's doing. Take time to consider if it's important to make this into a series, or if it's fine on it's own. And please don't completely change everything in the sequel. Follow up books can be great, fun things to read, but they can also be horrible.

At the end of the day, it's all up to you to decide if your story needs to be added to. I don't want to discourage anyone from trying their hand at either, because both can be great. And even if they don't work out, at least you learned. But keep in mind that adding either to your story is not a guarantee of success (just look at Star Wars). Happy writing, my friends!

What are your thoughts on prequels and sequels? Have you ever written either? Tell me in the comments.

Suggested Posts:

5 Things Not to Do in Your Sequel

How to Write a Trilogy: Book Two