Episode 312 was May 31, 2025 and included Rex interviewing teen writer Lexi. Unfortunately, he didn’t prepare any show notes. When the podcast is ready, the link will be found here.

On June 6, 2025, Kasie and Rex were reunited to respond to Karate Kid: Legends and other sequels which seem to be Hollywood’s go to these days. Here are the show notes:

Theme for the day

Sequels

Agenda

• Quick catch-up
• Sequels
• What makes a good sequel
• How to plan a series or sequel

Segment 1

We saw Karate Kid: Legends on Thursday and it was exactly what you want from a Karate Kid movie. Plenty of cheese, silliness, and teenage suchness. Also some good kung fu and karate and a good (relatively) plot that included callbacks to previous films that weren’t too heavy handed or obscure.

So it got me thinking, what’s so magical about sequels? When you don’t want the book to end, when you’re not ready to leave the world, or you just love these characters that much, you want a sequel. The Karate Kid franchise notwithstanding, sequels aren’t necessarily series. And some sequels aren’t even sequential. So today’s episode is about what makes a good sequel and how you, as a writer, decide if your story needs one.

Some key terminology (think you Google AI link and link and link):

• Sequel – A film that follows the events of the original, continuing the story
• Prequel – A film set before the original, exploring events that happened earlier
• Remake: A film that re-tells the story of an existing film
• Reimagining: A remake with at least one major central difference from the original
• Reboot:  A remake or reimagining of the first film in a series, often with a fresh take on the story or characters
• Soft Reboot/Legacy Sequel: A sequel that introduces a new storyline while referencing the original series, often allowing new audiences to join in
• Recalibration/Alternate Sequel:  A sequel that ignores or contradicts previous sequels in the series
• Spin-off: A film that shares a world with the original but follows a new story and characters
• Paraquel/Sidequel: A film that follows the events of the original but at the same time, rather than directly after
• Spiritual Sequel: A film inspired by the original but with no direct connection to the original story
• Resetquel: A film that follows the events of the original but at the same time, rather than directly after

Segment 2

What makes a sequel work? (link)

• Expand on the original
• Introduce new elements
• Maintaining continuity and consistency
• Playing with expectations

This link has the 10 Commandments for sequel writing here are a few:

• The original should warrant a sequel – are there sequels no one asked for?
• Do NOT remake the original – listening, Karate Kid?
• Audiences want something new but the same – balancing that?
• Do not dismiss what the characters accomplished in the first movie
• Remember that the original characters are the franchise

And some key questions to ask about a sequel:

1. What did they accomplish in the original or predecessor?
2. What did they learn from that accomplishment?
3. What conflict(s) can we throw at them to challenge the skills or knowledge that they had learned?
4. How will they deal with that challenge and conflict?

Segment 3

What makes a sequel a disaster?

• Repeating the plot
• Raising stakes without purpose
• Ignoring consequences of the original
• Lack of new characters or ideas
• Focusing on bigger rather than better
• Forgetting what made the original great

So, films aside, if you’re thinking of writing your book sequel, what should you be sure to include? Is it about resolving unresolved things from the first book?

Sometimes sequels are just the same book, finished. Meaning the two together could have been one single novel. Maybe a little long, but one novel nonetheless.

This article, The Problem with Sequels, puts it this way: Sometimes the sequel is rushed and it doesn’t have time to evolve, revise, and really be a strong attempt. I love that Maverick broke that mold.

Segment 4

Back in episode 297, we took on this sequel topic specifically in the decision to write a series. In it, we included this “how to” segment:

Some other tips for getting ready for the sequel (from this link):

• Re-read the original story. Especially if it’s been a while.
• Increase the stakes. 
• Introduce something new.
• Keeping doing what worked about the first.