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breakinglight11So I'm trying to figure out whether to add onto the current fic I'm working on once the narrative shifts to a new genre, or end it and continue by creating a sequel story at that point instead.
So as a fun side project for the past year, I've been working on an idea for an adventure for Steve Rogers to go on after his retirement back to the 1940's to be with Peggy, and started writing a fic for it. As I was thinking of what I'd want to do, it occurred to me that I'd want it to happen after he was fairly established in his new life, and I'd want to make clear just what the state of things were when the adventure kicked into gear. But as I began writing about his life, I thought of more and more things I wanted to include. I made sure to be laying groundwork in the form of theme and foreshadowing in these parts, but before I knew it, I'd exceeded twenty thousand words of this "set up" part. Way more than I ever expected! All before ever reaching the actual plot-focused adventure I'd initially started writing the fic to depict.
Now, I don't mind. I'm enjoying the exercise in letting it be a true slow build. My usual writing tends to be very structured and quick-moving, so it's a nice change. My reader response has been really positive too, which is nice. But it's meant that for twenty thousand-plus words, the genre of the story has been a slow-moving, slice of life character piece. When I finally get to that "adventure" part, it's going to mean a fairly significant shift in genre.
My concern is that people who are enjoying the quiet, lower-stakes meandering will find that shift incongruous, maybe even unwelcome. With the "set up" portion being so long, I'm afraid it won't feel like a "set up" for the later part at all, and it will seem to readers like a radical departure from what the story and tone have been up to this point. I know that a big part of success with readership is properly setting expectations, and I may be fighting the ones I've managed to set.
So... what's the proper course of action? Do I continue the fic as planned, at least inasmuch as I wanted to eventually send Steve on this more structured and plot-heavy adventure? Or should I conclude THAT fic, and start a sequel fic to take on that story? What would you, as a reader, prefer?
And there's also the practicalities of it. I have a fair number of story subscribers, and it might cut into the number of hits I get if I'm not building on the following of the currently existing fic. One of the reasons I'm writing it is how easy it is to get a readership, so I don't want to compromise that.
And, perhaps a smaller issue, the title of the current story is meant to refer to the events of the "adventure" portion. It kind of doesn't make as much sense if I leave that title for the "set up" section without it. But would it be confusing to suddenly change that story's title, and move it forward to the sequel?
So, what are people's thoughts? What would you do as a writer? What would you prefer and find most sensible as a reader? Opinions welcome.
So as a fun side project for the past year, I've been working on an idea for an adventure for Steve Rogers to go on after his retirement back to the 1940's to be with Peggy, and started writing a fic for it. As I was thinking of what I'd want to do, it occurred to me that I'd want it to happen after he was fairly established in his new life, and I'd want to make clear just what the state of things were when the adventure kicked into gear. But as I began writing about his life, I thought of more and more things I wanted to include. I made sure to be laying groundwork in the form of theme and foreshadowing in these parts, but before I knew it, I'd exceeded twenty thousand words of this "set up" part. Way more than I ever expected! All before ever reaching the actual plot-focused adventure I'd initially started writing the fic to depict.
Now, I don't mind. I'm enjoying the exercise in letting it be a true slow build. My usual writing tends to be very structured and quick-moving, so it's a nice change. My reader response has been really positive too, which is nice. But it's meant that for twenty thousand-plus words, the genre of the story has been a slow-moving, slice of life character piece. When I finally get to that "adventure" part, it's going to mean a fairly significant shift in genre.
My concern is that people who are enjoying the quiet, lower-stakes meandering will find that shift incongruous, maybe even unwelcome. With the "set up" portion being so long, I'm afraid it won't feel like a "set up" for the later part at all, and it will seem to readers like a radical departure from what the story and tone have been up to this point. I know that a big part of success with readership is properly setting expectations, and I may be fighting the ones I've managed to set.
So... what's the proper course of action? Do I continue the fic as planned, at least inasmuch as I wanted to eventually send Steve on this more structured and plot-heavy adventure? Or should I conclude THAT fic, and start a sequel fic to take on that story? What would you, as a reader, prefer?
And there's also the practicalities of it. I have a fair number of story subscribers, and it might cut into the number of hits I get if I'm not building on the following of the currently existing fic. One of the reasons I'm writing it is how easy it is to get a readership, so I don't want to compromise that.
And, perhaps a smaller issue, the title of the current story is meant to refer to the events of the "adventure" portion. It kind of doesn't make as much sense if I leave that title for the "set up" section without it. But would it be confusing to suddenly change that story's title, and move it forward to the sequel?
So, what are people's thoughts? What would you do as a writer? What would you prefer and find most sensible as a reader? Opinions welcome.
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Date: 2021-04-21 04:35 pm (UTC)Mixed feelings. On the one hand, my gut reaction is that it would be appropriate to start a new story. OTOH, if this is conceptually a novel, switching gears at 20k words isn't all that weird: it's not unusual for the first quarter to be setup, and then things really get rolling.
So that's a consideration: how does the stuff so far relate to the big picture of where you're trying to go? Does it make sense, structurally from the perspective of where you think it's likely to come out, to do a gearshift here? Will the overall result feel satisfying to a reader, or would two distinct pieces each feel more cohesive?
no subject
Date: 2021-04-22 05:42 pm (UTC)You bring up a good point about novel conventions. I do kind of think of it that way, and novels do often have longer setups with similar shifts. That's a useful perspective.
The one thing that gives me pause is that it is a fan fic, and fan audiences tend to come for more specific experiences, and tend to drop off if they don't get them. It might take a bite out of readership, which I don't want.