History SoYouWantTo / BeALongRunner

'''CharacterDevelopment vs. StaticCharacter''': There's almost a fear among creators that if you somehow change any aspect of a character's personality (which does often lend itself to CharacterizationMarchesOn), that it's essentially writing the character's death sentence. CharacterDevelopment, however, is always a good thing to consider for a Long Runner, because on the same token, if such characters remain exactly the same over a long period of time, eventually, one would grow bored of that character's schtick. CharacterDevelopment not only allows new areas to explore within that character's world, but at the same time, it reflects RealLife as well, as people learn and grow from the experiences they have in life, therefore, to see characters do the same, offers fans to see the characters learn and grow from their experiences. Many {{Short Runner}}s have characters that are exactly the same from the first to last episode; Long Runners, on the other hand, are able to explore more about their characters through CharacterDevelopment that spans throughout the run of the work.

'''[[DeathOfTheAuthor Unfortunate Occurances]]''': If you start a work when you're in your childhood and make it until you're a centenarian, that's fine, but many long runners have outlived their original creators, and thus if your franchise is to go on, you must have a contingency plan in the event of your death. Even if you are still speculating about the future plot of your work, at least have some ideas down so that your successors will be able to fill in the details by themselves, thus allowing them to learn and experiment without being completely in the dark about what to do. Children are always nice successors, but if your children don't care (or if you have none), setting up a system where other people can comfortably fill in your place if you pass away (or you know, go on vacation).

# Characters in animated works are not allowed to grow up. For example, animated families remain in their ideal states while the writers of the live action show now have to deal with the fact that the actor who played the cute little girl four seasons ago is now an angst-ridden tween.

* Literature: Literature is a very accessible medium to an aspiring creator. It's just words on paper, and is arguably the simplest form of entertainment, both to create and to absorb. Budget problems and the like are not of concern, and sales are only of extreme importance if you live off your work. ExecutiveMeddling is very possible, but is not as prevalent as in other mediums. In addition, since books can vary wildly in length, you can cheat your way to longevity by splitting up what could have been a 1,000+ page DoorStopper into three 300-ish books released every other year, turning a one-time work into a four-year-long saga. Bring in TrilogyCreep and take your time writing each new installment so you can spend decades on less books than one can count on their hands.
* Video Games: Video Games are an extremely diverse medium, ranging from simple Apps programmed in a day to massive projects with multinational corporations and dozens of millions of dollars behind them. Video games are an extremely profitable medium, making money from direct selling of the game, advertisements in-game (this is common in mobile games), microtransactions, and DLC; a profitable game ensures sequels (and thus longevity) and not having to worry about the bottom line is always a good thing for the creators of a long runner. However, video games are also dangerous as a medium. Constantly changing consoles, software, game engines, and audience tastes may render a game obsolete before it is even finished, an expensive flop can shut you down, and video games as a medium also face the most criticism and scrutiny from MoralGuardians.
* Webcomics: Webcomics are quite easily long runners. Their simple nature (drawings and some text here and there) ensures that even a single person can make one, which means that there are probably not a lot of budget concerns, contract disputes, or executive meddling going on. Though fans are certainly appreciated, theoretically a webcomic can go on even if the creator is the only person who knows about it, since the dedication of the creative force, not ratings and money, are what drive many webcomics. In addition, since there are only a handful of panels to work with each update, [[WebcomicTime it can take a month to publish a single conversation, and it may take a year in real time to cover what supposedly happened in a single day.]] Webcomics get a lot of real time out of a little story, even without ScheduleSlip and ArcFatigue.
* Movies: Movies get off relatively easy when it comes to audience patience. A good sized movie is roughly 90-120 minutes long, and one movie a year is a fast pace for movie-based franchises. For comparison, one year of a TV show will require 220 minutes of content, given an average season length of 22 episodes at a modest 10 minutes in a half hour slot.
* Television: Television is a brutal place for a budding new franchise. Ratings are king, and it is not uncommon for particularly unsatisfying shows to get cancelled before their first season has even ended. However, if a show becomes firmly entrenched in the network or pop culture and gains a steady viewership, it will stay on ''forever''. If the executives and audience are on your side, you can push on through NetworkDecay and SeasonalRot for decades before cancellation.

'''Unfortunate Occurances''': If you start a work when you're in your childhood and make it until you're a centenarian, that's fine, but many long runners have outlived their original creators, and thus if your franchise is to go on, you must have a contingency plan in the event of your death. Even if you are still speculating about the future plot of your work, at least have some ideas down so that your successors will be able to fill in the details by themselves, thus allowing them to learn and experiment without being completely in the dark about what to do. Children are always nice successors, but if your children don't care (or if you have none), setting up a system where other people can comfortably fill in your place if you pass away (or you know, go on vacation).

'''Low vs. High Quality''': Obviously, a work judged to be of higher quality has a better chance of earning fans, money, and longevity than a work that sucks.

* Literature: Literature is a very accessible medium to an aspiring creator. It's just words on paper, and is arguably the simplest form of entertainment, both to create and to absorb. Budget problems and the like are not of concern, and sales are only of extreme importance if you live off your work. ExecutiveMeddling is very possible, but is not as prevalent as in other mediums. In addition, since books can vary wildly in length, you can cheat your way to longevity by splitting up what could have been a 1,000+ page DoorStopper into three 300-ish books released every other year, turning a one time work into a 4 year long saga. Bring in TrilogyCreep and take your time writing each new installment so you can spend decades on less books than one can count on their hands.

# A large cast can more easily have characters be KilledOffForReal, DemotedToExtra, or PutOnABus, or bring new ones on as needed, because in a small cast it would be more difficult to change the cast without disrupting the chemistry established among the cast members or without angering fans who have gotten attached to one particular character (wheras in a work with a large cast, fans are more likely to have secondary favorites to fall back on if their favorite goes away).

'''{{Franchise}} Spanning Multiple Medium vs. Single Medium''': A work is more likely to continue if it becomes a franchise and branches out from its original medium. This makes it more likely for the creators to have more fans and money, and it makes disaster less likely to sink the franchise entirely; if the fourth sequel of TheMovie flops, the comic books and TV show will generally remain unaffected.

#. Animated works rely on voice actors, which can be more readily replaced than flesh and blood actors (since you only need the replacement to replicate a voice, rather than an entire physical appearance).
#. Characters in animated works are not allowed to grow up. For example, animated families remain in their ideal states while the writers of the live action show now have to deal with the fact that the actor who played the cute little girl four seasons ago is now an angst-ridden tween.
#. In addition, animated works can be cheaper to make, as you don't have to make sets or move actors around to different locations.

'''CharacterDevelopment vs. StaticCharacter''': There's almost a fear among creators that if you somehow change any aspect of a character's personality (which does often lend itself to CharacterizationMarchesOn), that it's essentially writing the character's death sentence. CharacterDevelopment, however, is always a good thing to consider for a Long Runner, because on the same token, if such characters remain exactly the same over a long period of time, eventually, one would grow bored of that character's schtick. CharacterDevelopment not only allows new areas to explore within that character's world, but at the same time, it reflects RealLife as well, as people learn and grow from the experiences they have in life, therefore, to see characters do the same, offers fans to see the characters learn and grow from their experiences. Many {{Short Runner}}s have characters that are exactly the same from the first to last episode; {{Long Runner}}s, on the other hand, are able to explore more about their characters through CharacterDevelopment that spans throughout the run of the work.

'''CharacterDevelopment vs. StaticCharacter''': There's almost a fear among creators that if you somehow change any aspect of a character's personality (which does often lend itself to CharacterizationMarchesOn), that it's essentially writing the character's death sentence. CharacterDevelopment, however, is always a good thing to consider for a LongRunner, because on the same token, if such characters remain exactly the same over a long period of time, eventually, one would grow bored of that character's schtick. CharacterDevelopment not only allows new areas to explore within that character's world, but at the same time, it reflects RealLife as well, as people learn and grow from the experiences they have in life, therefore, to see characters do the same, offers fans to see the characters learn and grow from their experiences. Many {{Short Runner}}s have characters that are exactly the same from the first to last episode; {{Long Runner}}s, on the other hand, are able to explore more about their characters through CharacterDevelopment that spans throughout the run of the work.

The criticism of the HateDumb and MoralGuardians will hurt your work if it goes unaddressed. Even if there is no one creating the work, a few very lucky or talented fans may ascend to the status of RunningTheAsylum. If your work is banned or cancelled, a fan campaign can bring it back. If your work experiences a dip in quality, loyal fans won't leave you. In short, there's a reason why they call it a fan'''base'''; it is the foundation upon which a work or franchise rests on. Regardless of anything else, if your work cannot secure a loyal and supportive fanbase that is sizable enough to justify the work's continued existence, then it will never be a long runner.

'''Low vs. High Quality''': [[CaptainObvious Obviously, a work judged to be of higher quality has a better chance of earning fans, money, and longevity than a work that sucks.]]

'''Large Cast vs. Small Cast: Although large casts may be expensive, that fact really only applies to mediums involving actors or actresses (books don't have to pay for 4 actors and 100 extras every installment). Yet regardless of the medium, a large cast is better for two very big reasons: