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Writer's pictureM.P. Kidd

Sequel 2: The Return Part IV

You may have heard the saying: the sequel is never as good as the original. Maybe you’ve said it. It’s a common wisdom and a false one. As someone who just recently wrote a sequel, I’m kind of betting on it.


Case in point: ‘Star Wars.’ ‘Empire Strikes Back’ is way better than ‘A New Hope.’ We meet Yoda and learn more about the Force. There’s the epic duel at the end, the jaw-dropping reveal. And the bad guy wins. (If that was a spoiler, there’s no hope for you. New or otherwise).


There are plenty of examples of sequels upstaging the originals. ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ is the best of the seven books, no contest. One of my favorite books is Orson Scott Card’s ‘Enders Game.’ And between you and me, I actually liked the Shadow series that came out after. (Technically not a sequel in a chronological sense, but Card goes back to the well nonetheless).


Still, there’s a reason that sequels get a bad rap. Plenty in fact. When I set out to write the sequel to ‘They’re Not Here to Save Us,’ I thought hard about these sequel pitfalls and how to avoid them. 


Here are some pitfalls. Keep in mind, these aren’t hard and fast no-nos. Many sequels check a lot of these boxes and are still great. But still …


The story comes second to cashing in on the first.

All sequels cash in on the work done by the original. Usually, you can’t have the second without the first. Either the first establishes a story or world that the second can move in, or it establishes the audience. But sourcing the idea for a sequel because there’s an audience can be a pitfall.


It’s a carbon copy of the first.

One of my all-time favorite movies is ‘Dumb and Dumber.’ I am never more than a few hours away from quoting it. It has a special place in my heart. For that reason, I refuse to watch the sequel or prequel. There’s just no way it’s as good. Go ahead, fight me on this. But short of a Clockwork Orange-like experience, you can’t make me watch them.

The sequel lost sight of the first.

The opposite of the carbon copy is when the sequel abandons what made the original special. There’s nothing like that feeling of betrayal.


Again, these aren’t always pitfalls. Audiences can forgive a lot when the story is good.


I wrote ‘They’re Not Here to Save Us’ as the beginning of something big. At the end of the first, readers have a million questions that need answering. I think the sequel scratches that itch - a little. It was not easy to write. It took twice as long to draft than the first. But I needed to write it. It moves the story in Arla forward. It raises more questions and pushes new boundaries. And no character is safe.


Can’t wait to share.


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