the afterwards
I'm keen to put John Mann to bed. If you've read either of my published stories then you'll understand that sentence on more than one level. What I'm saying is that I'm impatient to finish this last John Mann story. I want it finished so I can move on to writing other stories. It's been a great experience, one big, long learning experience. And it will, for me, have been a big achievement. A trilogy of self-published stories? I'll be very proud to admit to that. But I've been thinking about what I'll do afterwards. I want to avoid resting on my laurels (whatever they are) for too long, because that period of 'afterwards' could easily stretch from weeks into months or even (whisper it) years of resting, doing nothing. Any hot irons (whatever they are) will be colder than a very long-dead thing. So I've been making plans, sketchy plans, but plans nontheless for more John Mann stories, short stories, follow-up stories, linked stories, prequels, sequels.
Someone I follow on Twitter put this idea into my head. I'll be writing more about this so she will get namechecked and given full credit. The idea of writing a short story to act as publicity for your big story. Give the short one away free as a taster to tempt readers to buy the main title. As an idea I like it, it strikes me as simple and elegant, and sensible and doable.
Whilst writing All the Days of John Mann, I deliberately left some side doors open, by which I mean I mentioned in passing past events in certain characters' lives that might be interesting and fun to expand on. Readers may have glanced through those open doors in passing and have paused a moment to picture a scene but these, off stage, events never formed part of my main narrative so it never suffers by their absence. But these events could form the basis of other stories that did happen, could happen, are happening in the John Mann universe. Ma May, Hal Scarrot, even Rosie Mullen all have back stories that I'd enjoy exploring. And of course Keen and Amir, Gunnar and John Mann all have the potential for more tales. So I'm making plans, writing lists, sketching out stories for that awkward afterwards.
Someone I follow on Twitter put this idea into my head. I'll be writing more about this so she will get namechecked and given full credit. The idea of writing a short story to act as publicity for your big story. Give the short one away free as a taster to tempt readers to buy the main title. As an idea I like it, it strikes me as simple and elegant, and sensible and doable.
Whilst writing All the Days of John Mann, I deliberately left some side doors open, by which I mean I mentioned in passing past events in certain characters' lives that might be interesting and fun to expand on. Readers may have glanced through those open doors in passing and have paused a moment to picture a scene but these, off stage, events never formed part of my main narrative so it never suffers by their absence. But these events could form the basis of other stories that did happen, could happen, are happening in the John Mann universe. Ma May, Hal Scarrot, even Rosie Mullen all have back stories that I'd enjoy exploring. And of course Keen and Amir, Gunnar and John Mann all have the potential for more tales. So I'm making plans, writing lists, sketching out stories for that awkward afterwards.
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