All questions are anonymous. If you know who is asking the question and wish to leave a comment, please respect their rights to remain anonymous.
Q: SD, Is it
possible for the villain to have a happy ending?
A: You are the captain of your own ship. You are the
conductor of your own orchestra. You are the author with a pin and pad (or a
laptop and extra batteries). All things are possible through your vision of the
world you construct. There is such a thing as poetic justice and it’s
beautiful. Could you imagine where the bad guy gets the girl and she changes
everything? Your villain might be a female antagonist and some innocent shy
rich guy falls in love with her. His parents are against it and to frighten
that she may have them killed. Their innocent son will do anything to be with
this woman and begins to act out of character and becomes more than she can
handle. You know the be careful what you ask for them. His family's wealth
grows to unheard of heights. His parents are happy the female villain had
turned their weak son into a man. Her parents can’t believe she found the
perfect man for her who is actually rich and not some bum like all her other
boyfriends, and she’s getting married! Needless to say, she lives out her dream
of having a wonderful time viciously taking over a small country and he the
business world. She is very happy and ready to strangle her new husband with
her bare hands if he had gotten her pregnant, which he had. She is now having a
wonderful time watching the new grandparents ready to go to blows over the
first and the new princess of their children’s country who is now receiving
marriage proposals from around the world. I hope this helps. SD
Q: SD, Can you have
a sequel, but change lead characters.
A: All possibilities
are open to you, but I think what you are describing is what is called a
Spin-Off and not a continuation of the original story. From what your full
question had described, one of your lessor characters had captured a following.
Congratulation and you have my condolences. I’m happy there is a reason for
people to like your work and you are fortunate to have a character to spark
their interest. This is where my condolences come into play. You now have to
make a decision. Do you give your readers what they want to overdose on and
take away the rest of your work or continue writing in a way that made that
character special in the first place. You can actually satisfy both in a way by
adding more scenes with this popular character or even give them a more
supporting role in key places in your story. And, here comes the disclaimer.
For me, I would rather sell more books of a complete series, then one or two
books that may change the overall story. Now don’t get me wrong. Your readers
are important and if they want this character to have their story told, then do
so, but with a spin-off. This way you can have the best of both worlds and
gather more readers. As some say, give the crowd what they want or think they
want as long as you give them what they need. I hope this helps. SD
Q: SD, I’ve written
to a few authors I like and surprisingly one had written back. I was wondering
if it’s really them or someone they hired like my friend had suggested?
A: Does it really matter? Depending on how famous a writer
has become is in the hands of the audience and that alone cause a demand on
their time. There are other factors that have greater precedence like their
actual lives, (i.e. family and friends) as well as their self-promotion
schedules of their current or future work. Of course, this includes book
signings and interviews through conventional and social media. Let not also
forget other surprise opportunities that arise from time to time. To wrap
things up in a nice pretty shiny bow just for you. As far as your friend is
concerned. He isn’t the one who sent the correspondence. He isn’t the one who
was answered. And, most authors (myself included), are excited like a child the
morning of a special holiday to receive correspondence no matter if it’s good
or bad for people who had taken time out of their busy lives to read our work
and write to us with their thoughts. Yes, criticism is also welcome as well as
words of praise or admiration. My point once again is, does it really matter?
The authors you had written to are happy that you had and making sure you know
you are appreciated. Period. I hope this helps. SD Tracy Harper
SD Tracy Harper Contact Form
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