I have recently finished my first book here on SOL. I have book 2 to write, and I am 4 chapters in. But I was wondering, do everyone prefer to keep working on the same story, or do people want to step back, and possibly start on another story? Having every intention of going back to the original quickly.
I don't have a preference. Sometimes a sequel is ready to write as soon as I'm done, sometimes it needs to simmer more on a back burner first, sometimes I want to spend more time with these characters, sometimes I feel like I've been trapped with them at a party that's lasted for months and rilly rilly need a break.
depends on how I feel at the time, and what's happening in real life.
What he said.
There's times when I'm in the middle of writing a book that I want to take a break from it. The creative juices don't always flow continuously or on a posted schedule.
I've never been happy with a sequel I wrote. For me, when the story is finished, it's finished. I don't even like epilogues.
However, I have written a series, like the James Bond or Jack Reacher series. Each of my Lincoln Steele novels has the same main character and even some have the same minor characters (the police captain in the 1st novel has a small part in the 2nd, and the secret government agent in the 1st novel has a tiny part in the 3rd novel). But each novel is standalone and can be read out of order. I can't write one right after another, though. I've written 3, but haven't written 2 in a row. I started writing #4, but not after I wrote 2 unrelated novels and a short story. And, to be honest, I'm having trouble getting into it.
I will sometimes write a shorter story in the middle of writing a series. Depends if the mood takes me.