How to keep the sequel from being better than the first

To put it simply, i\'m a little curious as to how to write a sequel story to something without making the sequel seem better than the story that started it all. In my current case, it\'s me trying to write a sequel fanfic to a show that i like, however, i\'m worried that i might end up making the story seem better by comparison, at least to me.

Why would you want to make a story inferior to its predecessor?

I was gonna ask the same question.

But no really: Unless you want to kill any chance for sequels, it's generally not a good idea to try to make the second entry worse than the first.

Or do you mean to do something else and wording got in the way? (Don't worry; happens to the best of us.)

EDIT: Oh. Fanfic stuff. Do you mean you don't want it to be more popular than the original work?

edited 20th Jan '15 5:23:20 PM by AwSamWeston

I was going to say "make the first work god-tier to begin with", but if you're working with something that's already written that's obviously not possible :P

It seems like what you mean here is less making the sequel bad or even just worse than the original and more not overshadowing the original. Is that right?

Though honestly, worrying about a fanfic becoming more popular than an existing work seems a bit... hubric, maybe. And probably not very likely.

Well, first of all, if it's unofficial and thus a piece fan-fiction then it is not a sequel but rather a continuation fan-fiction. But that is something of no concern.

And second of all, when you write a story you try your best. With Sturgeon's Law being very ... prominent in the area that is fan-fiction, deliberately lowering the quality of what you are creating is nigh-guaranteed to give you something that will be ... well, crap.

That being said, if you really want to write something that would be guaranteed to be worse than the original thing, just try to write crap. Make it a broken story with poor grammar, a lot of typos, plot that doesn't make sense, flat characters, copious amounts of unjustified bashing, and so on, and so on. Just, you know, don't expect it to be received well by anyone who uses their brain and has anything resembling good taste. And don't expect this story to help you any with your writing skill.

But seriously, why would any derivative work being better than the original be seen as bad for the derivative story and its creator?

edited 20th Jan '15 5:38:36 PM by Kazeto

You can always tone down the quality of your story in the editing process. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, OP.

Well, if you absolutely have to keep your fanfic sequel worse than the original, then you can just make it a retread. Take "the same, but more" approach; do what boils down to a retelling with a flourish or two added along the way. It'd be a way to keep your fanfic from treading new ground, which is what a good sequel and/or fanfic can do — if not should do, but you get the idea. If nothing else, you'd be reinforcing how good the original story was. Or is.

Still, I'm going to have to mirror the sentiments of the rest of the thread. If you feel like you need to keep the sequel from being better than the first, then I'm pretty sure something's gone wrong somewhere down the line. Granted it's the readers who'll decide if the sequel or the original is better, but, well, why wouldn't you want to give it your best? Why not add in all the flourishes you can — exploring possibilities that the original couldn't, and showing off something that's both dazzling and pays respect to the inspiration? Couldn't hurt, right?

Well, I can't tell you what to do or how to act, so it's up to you to decide what's best for your story. Keep that in mind above all else.

You could always write to those responsible for Highlander II and ask them - they did an exceptional job of preventing the sequel from being better than the original.

In brief: write it like you've never read/seen the original and pull random ideas out of your arse. If it's a fantasy, bring in aliens; if it's hard SF, introduce a wizard...

Considering people usually consider the sequel less capable anyways, I'm not even sure why you're worried.