Evil has been vanquished once again. The band of mercenaries battled the impossibly large force and somehow emerged victorious. The starship captain successfully completed another difficult mission thanks to her intellect and the competence of her crew. So, what comes next? As an author you will often be forced to decide and frequently re decide where you want to go from here. Sometimes things change and the author has a change of heart. As an example, when Jack Chalker finished book five of the Well World series, he was soon asked when book six was going to appear. He felt the story was done, so he answered, "Well, if I have an idea, and someone offers me (insert insane amount of money here), there might be another one." The story ends with, "You know when someone really does offer you that much, finding an idea gets a lot easier.”
There are many options you can take when you’ve finished your story. Six options follow. Don't think these six are the only choices. More importantly, as many authors already know, they are not mutually exclusive. You can always choose to do another one later, when you're more ready. And now, let us begin our tour of endings.
1) Don't write any more in that setting. This how many short story authors prefer to work. When the story is finished, there is no more to say. The story is complete and nothing else needs to be added. After, the author can do other things.
2) Write an epilogue. In a series or a particularly long novel, this is quite common. Once the action is over, the author wants to let the reader know what happened next. The author can show the effects of the story on the various people and places involved. In The Return of the King the Hobbits return home and see what has happened in the Shire. (The details of the events are spoilers that I will not go into.) Then Frodo finishes writing his boo, and he and Bilbo end their stories together. Epilogues are also popular with David and Leigh Eddings.
3) Write a Sequel. This is also frequently chosen. So, let's define exactly what a sequel is. A sequel follows the original, and normally uses the same characters, or characters that are somehow connected to the originals. Sequels have different plots from their originals. The plot may be related to the previous story, but should be able to stand on its own. Sequels are new stories that build on the stories that come before them. Harry Potter, while spread over seven books, tells a single story. The Lord of the Rings novels tell one story, but together they may be a sequel to The Hobbit. On the other hand The Hobbit might be a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. It can get confusing. Michael Moorcock seemed to favor sequels despite his many worlds of adventure. Most of the Elric novels are sequels to earlier ones. Both Corum and Hawkmoon had three book series that had another three book series as a sequel to them. Terry Brooks wrote several sequels to his first Shanarra Trilogy.
4) Write a Prequel. Where a sequel takes place after the first story, a prequel takes place before the original events. A prequel normally has different characters from the original, but there are often some in common. The prequel generally explains the events that lead up to the actual story, however if they are to be successful they must be written in such a way that, while the final result (the initial story) is known, the events of the prequel are still gripping and tense. The Simarillion is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, as it covers the history of Middle Earth from creation to the time of the War of the Ring. While it is history known to those who read the first book, it still has an orginal story and collection of interesting characters. The Belgariad has two prequels, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. The Rivan Codex would not be a prequel because it was an academically written history of the world of The Belgariad. It contains a story that was the seed of Belgarath the Sorcerer, and that part could be considered a prequel. First King of Shanarra is a prequel to The Sword of Shanarra. And of course we are all aware of the prequels to Star Wars, but don't let them discourage you.
Write stories with new characters and plots in the same setting. While they may use characters and settings from other stories, the reader should be able to understand the current story without having read the earlier ones. If this is not the case then you are probably writing a sequel or prequel. New stories may use minor characters from a previous story, but give them a more major role. This can be a wonderful option for expanding and elaborating on places and people only touched on in the previous story, or for writing a story set in a different country or even continent of the previous world setting. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil focuses on relatively minor players in the War of the Rings.
6) Try something different. A single world is too limiting for many authors. The Well World, the Changewinds, The Soul Rider and many more are all worlds of Jack Chalker. The Shanarra stories are complimented by stories set in the modern day and in a parallel magical universe, all written by Terry Brooks. The Belgariad and The Malorean take place in on world, The Elenium and The Tamuli in another, and The Redemption of Althalus is in a third. You can always branch out even if you are famous of a particular setting. Many authors write under pseudonyms to keep their genres clear.
So, that's a whirlwind tour of the choices you have when you finish your story. Any of these can be done if the author wishes. The only one I would personally not recommend is the unwritten -1, stop writing altogether. That is a bad idea? You would not be doing yourself or your readers any favors this way.
