I guess I'm one of the few in the camp of "I've grown to like the characters".
Yes, certainly, all the characters I write are Lois and Clark and of course I'm going to like them, but let's face it, some universes are just more fun to hang out in than others.
I don't think I've ever set out to write a series from the beginning of a story, though once I'd made the decision to continue "When Friends Become Lovers" with "When Lovers Become More" (which came about 3/4 of the way into the first story), the realization that I wanted to add a third and final story ("When More Becomes Everything", for anyone keeping track
) came pretty quickly. So that final story (which is hopefully on my to-do list for this year) is the only sequel where I knew about it before I'd started to write it.
But do I think either WFBL or WLBM *needed* to be continued because it wasn't finished? No, absolutely not. I've kept writing in that universe simply because I really enjoy it -- I like the way this L&C interact, and I love imaging how they (an L&C who became an established couple in early S2) would handle the later S2 episodes together. I just like spending time with them.
"Momentum" was a little different because I had considered the story done when I'd finished it, but reader comments (and one great suggestion) helped convince me that a revelation in this universe could be fun, and "Momentum 2: The Revelation" was born. The fact that I was able to later explore an issue in the nfic version that I'd been wanting to explore for some time was just icing on the cake. And the same goes for an nfic M3, which I also hope to write this year -- I don't consider there to be any signficant loose ends in the nfic version of M2, but the universe is really fun to work in and if I can use it as a platform for a fun nfic romp, then all the better.
So bottom line -- I rarely set out to write a sequel, but sometimes I end up enjoying a universe so much, I decide I'd like to spend a little more time hanging out in it.
Kathy
