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Evil has been vanquished once again. The war was won by a band of skilled mercenaries. The crew of the starship has elminated another threat to the galaxy. So, what next? You the author will have to decide where to go now, and often decide more than once. Sometimes events occur that change an author's original decision. When the first five books of the Well World series was finished, the author was asked when the sixth would come out. He felt the story was done, so he answered, "Well, if I have an idea, and someone offers me (insert insane amount of money here), there might be another one." The story ends with, "You know when someone really does offer you that much, finding an idea gets a lot easier." There are many options you can take when you've finished your story. I will present six in the following article. These are not the only options. More importantly, as many authors already know, they are not mutually exclusive. You can always choose to do another one later, when you're more ready. And now, let us begin our tour of endings. 1) Leave the story behind. This how many short story authors prefer to work. When the story is finished, there is no more to say. No more need be written. Once this is done, the author can move on to other projects. 2) Write an epilogue. Authors of long novels and novel series use this a lot. When the main plot is done, the author wants to write about the fates of various people and places. The author can show the effects of the story on the various people and places involved. A famous example of this is in The Return of the King, where the Hobbits return home, and are not happy with what happened to the Shire. (Some readers may not have read the books yet, so I'll leave the details unwritten here.) Then Frodo finishes writing his boo, and he and Bilbo end their stories together. The novels of David and Leigh Eddings often end with epilogues. 3) Write a Sequel. This is also frequently chosen. For precision's sake, let's be clear what a sequel is. If a story is set after the original with the same characters or characters connected to them somehow, it is definitely a sequel. The sequel has its own plot, however. The plot should be new, but may be related to the original story. Sequels take place after the events of another story and build on them. Harry Potter tells one story over seven books, for example. The Lord of the Rings novels tell one story, but together they may be a sequel to The Hobbit. Of course, The Hobbit might be a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. It's not always clear. Michael Moorcock wrote many sequels to his stories. Most of his Elric novels are sequels. Both Corum and Hawkmoon had three book series that had another three book series as a sequel to them. Terry Brooks wrote several sequels to his first Shanarra Trilogy. 4) Write a Prequel. Where a sequel takes place after the first story, a prequel takes place before the original events. A prequel normally has different characters from the original, but there are often some in common. While a prequel normally covers events mentioned in the original, it must have a compelling plot of its own. The Simarillion covers the complete history of Middle Earth, and is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. While it is historical and the outcome is never in doubt, it succeeds due to an exciting story and interesting 'new' characters. The history of the world of the Belgariad is told in both Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress from different points of view. The Rivan Codex, also related to The Belgariad, would not be a prequel, as it was written as a more academically sounding history of the world. It contains a story that was the seed of Belgarath the Sorcerer, and that part could be considered a prequel. First King of Shannara chronicles the events before The Sword of Shanarra. Of course, Star Wars had prequels too, but they shouldn't form your opinion. Write stories with new characters and plots in the same setting. These stories should stand on their own and not rely on the reader having read the first story. If this is not the case then you are probably writing a sequel or prequel. New stories may use minor characters from a previous story, but give them a more major role. At times an author may want to chronicle things that happened in other areas of the world. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil focuses on relatively minor players in the War of the Rings. 6) Move on to something new. Many writers like to write stories in different worlds. The Well World, the Changewinds, The Soul Rider and many more are all worlds of Jack Chalker. The Shanarra stories are complimented by stories set in the modern day and in a parallel magical universe, all written by Terry Brooks. The Eddingses wrote The Belgariad and The Malorean in one world, The Elenium and The Tamuli in another, and The Redemption of Althalus in a third, and then did others in other times and places. You don't have to stay in the same setting you become known for. You can always start writing under a pseudonym as many authors before have done. So, that's a whirlwind tour of the choices you have when you finish your story. All are good, and can be done if (and only if) they suit you the author. The only one I would personally not recommend is the unwritten -1, stop writing altogether. Don't do that, okay? It would not be fair to you or your readers.
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