I’ve almost finished my latest WIP so it shouldn’t be too long before I can get it published and then turn my attention back to my original series and start work on book four of ‘The Circle’ series. My current WIP is a departure from the world of dragons and magic so it became a little bit of a palette cleanser for my brain, though it’ll be good fun to get back into it again.
Over the weekend I attended a signing event where I was asked, with a conspiratorial wink, if there were going to be any more books beyond the five I’ve originally planned and my original answer of ‘No’ made me consider the idea a little more.
If the mood really grabbed me, I suspect that I could probably write a prequal series which explores how the original adventures of the organisations and groups involved unfolded. I could add, then, an origin story book for certain characters who have alluded to events from their past or who we don’t know enough about, and I suspect that if a had to, I could add in a sequel set of books, but if (SPOILERS) owns (SPOILERS) with three (SPOILERS) then (SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS).
You get the picture though.
There are still piles of books that I could drag out of the back of my brain if the call was there but it leads me to consider if further expansion would be worth while.
I’ve mentioned in different posts on here over the years that I’m a big fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek and seeing how these franchises have continued to grow over the years has clearly shown that huge universes filled with different characters have enormous scope to keep on telling swathes of different tales. Adventures which happen ‘off the page’ can be brought to life and open any number of doors to possible storytelling.
The Clone Wars were mentioned in the first Star Wars film but much later on, were opened up to be explored because there’s lots that would have taken place there for characters both new and old. Star Trek has dealt with new time periods and ships but also by exploring characters individual exploits as they’ve aged. They’ve gripped tightly to the Federation and how those rules within bring about positives and negatives as the human race marches into the future.
But just because those franchises have done it, doesn’t mean that every other one can. Critical mass appears at different points for different stories.
The criticism has been levelled at both Star Wars and Star Trek but also Marvel, Harry Potter and others, that possibly they’re reaching a point where they can’t squeeze any more life out of their topics, regardless of how hard they twist. It’s understandable that if a particular ‘brand’ or collection of stories is very well received that making more and more of it can only be a positive thing. Fans call out for more of the thing they like so get more and more out there. The problem comes when you push too hard and flood the market.
You keep diving through the ranks to tell more and more tales for characters or time periods that fewer and fewer people recognise until it feels more like you’re shoe horning a brand into an existing story and hoping no-one notices.
Later Hellraiser films suffered from this as Pinhead and the whole lore was kind of tacked onto a film and it could then benefit from the strength of the name Hellraiser despite it not really being a Hellraiser story.
More than anything, whatever choices are being made in the creation of a piece of work, it has to be built on the strong foundations of a good story. If I was to try and bang out a huge number of extra materials around the central tale I’d have to make sure that I was giving the story the treatment it needs and not end up writing as if I were photocopying a photocopy over and over again and letting the quality drop.
Every character in every story explores and experiences things in their own way so there can always be something to say, but knowing that there are still stories there and making them worth reading can become two very different things. As long as what is being created is still of the level, great stuff, but keeping going just for the sake of it can’t be good.
I think I’ll stick to my five books for ‘The Circle’ series and get out on a high as the series comes to the expected conclusion I’ve planned and just leave it there rather than risk sullying it with extras people don’t really want.
Or will I?????
Stay safe all.
Owen Elgie 