> > That's what happening to me right now. I have a story (well, a series of novelette thingies) that's a big Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers parody thing...
>
> You shouldn't feel you have to write a sequel just for the sake of writing a sequel. If you have another story to tell with the same characters, by all means do so. Just don't fall into the morass of mediocrity, writing about a character long past the Time of Great Stories.

I think the Redwall Series has past that Time, Brian Jaquese(sp?) should have stopped with Martin the Warrior.

> (Example -- after seventy years of Superman comic books, are today's Superman writers wasting creative energy, telling yet another story of Superman punching a Costumed Evildoer, when the writer could be creating something new in the field of sequential art? Open for discussion.)

Well, if the same guys had been working on Supes all this time I'd agree, but Superman, like Batman, Spider-Man, and most other comic characters get passed from one writer to the next. The guys writing Superman now grew up reading him, and have stories they have wanted to tell using him. When then feel like they are running dry they will pass it on (or DC Comics will fire them). For instance, the Spider-Man books have floundered in recent years, but just last year Paul Jenkins took over one of the Spider-Book, and in April JMS (Babalon 5 guy) will take over the other. Howard Mackie (the guy they are replaceing) admits his work has been sub-standared, so he is glad to see new guys take the Web-Spinner of his hands. Jenkins work has been awsome so far (he pulled the Hulk out of a nose dive too) and when JMS come in I expect Spider-Man will finally shake off the last of the negative energy the Clone Saga from the mid 90's stuck on him.

Hopefully Mackie (who's Spider-work I used to enjoy) will move on to another character or create something new.



> Having said that, your idea of a Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers parody seems to lend itself to writing a series of short stories. However, you need to write what you want to write.
>
> Viewed in extremities, there's two types of successful artists -- the ones who create for an audience solely to become popular or wealthy and the ones who create what they want to create. You should decide what you want to do: Make a lot of money doing something that you feel is holding you back from your true potential, or make not that much money but working at something you enjoy.

What about people who want to create to entertain. I'm in a Writing Workshop, and we are doing Flash Fiction (750 words or less) and a lot of the stuff we are reading as example, while as a writer I can identify as well writen and finely crafted, don't interest me. The stories just strike me as being writen for writers, I want to write for readers.


> Regardless, take a chunk of time at the same time every day and set that aside for writing. Twenty minutes, a half hour, whatever -- just get into the habit of writing. Even if you don't have anything to say that day. The stories will come.
>
> -Faux "should listen to his own advice" Pas

Speed'should listen to your adivse too'ball