Epilogues and Stories

First, I’m not where to put this… I needed to ask some objective observers a question, and hoping for your input. I know here to put as far as which board, but really I’m not a member of many communities, and even less that would be totally honest. The other one I’m a member is a close group of five members, and I know what their opinion would be. :slight_smile:

Okay, for all those of you who read/write fanfiction…how many enjoy epilogues? I had written a story a while back, and it has been complete for over a year. In mind I always knew how it ended…even though I never really said.

The only reason I didn’t write the epilogue originally was it didn’t fit in the given timeframe of the story…but took place six years later. Even after a year, I get a lot of questions about the ending… Some I never wanted to answer, and even when I wrote the epilogue, those specific ones were never addressed.

I wouldn’t write a sequel to it, as it really is a stand alone. I had been going through the story lately editing, and part of me is contemplating posted the ‘last chapter.’ The new part would be nine pages long… I’m just not sure if I should let it stand, or post it. Again, it ties up only some things, and even brings in a few new questions… Just after a year…is it too late to go back?

Ashbear, the wonderful thing about fanfiction writing, is that it’s NEVER too late to go back. I think an Epilouge would be a good idea really… it gives closure to a sotry and a nice way to “lower the curtain”, so to speak. Even if it is six years later.

And if you ever feel like doing a sequel, Epilogues kick it off rather nicely.

I think epilogues are a very good idea (even though I hate to spell the word :P)…

As Star said, it’s a good way to finaly close a story without closing it, since you can use it to write a sequel…

And it also shows that the story is finished, so if people want more, they’ll have to bug you for a sequel :stuck_out_tongue:

Epilogues usually answer any questions that were left unanswered at the end of a fic, so it depends on whether you want to leave people guessing or give them closure.

If, on the other hand, you leave it up in the air and not include one, it gives the reader the ability to imagine for themselves what happens afterwards, just like the games do.

It’s your choice really. If it’s a stand-alone without a sequel, just make sure nobody gets the wrong idea and starts bugging you for a sequel. A good last line can do that.

By the way, would this epilogue be for Crimson Lies by any chance? :3

It all depends on two things:

  1. Do you feel the story NEEDS an epilogue? Or do you think it stands well on its own?

  2. Do YOU want to write such an epilogue? Let’s remember, folks, the MAIN reason to write a fic is to please OURSELVES. This isn’t PRO stuff. You don’t “owe” it to the audience, so don’t do it just to please your fans.

That said, I agree that sometimes an epilogue is better than a sequel, if you just want to make a point or reveal one character’s fate, etc. No need for a whole story… unless one comes up with a REALLY good idea.

Originally posted by Wilfredo Martinez
You don’t “owe” it to the audience,

Tell some of the audience that. :stuck_out_tongue:

I love epilogues, personally. They let me know that the character’s that I’ve grown to love over the course of a story are doing okay (this applies to real books as well). I really thought I should have written one for DD, just to stop the torrent of e-mails asking what happened to Bahamut, Eden et al.:thud:

No story really NEEDS an epilogue; it’s just something to wrap up the little ends that haven’t been completely secured. Without having read the actual story, it is hard to give a more definate answer, but from the situation you described it seems that one would fit.

If you’ve already written the epilogue and you had it planned from the beginning, then I’m guessing it would fit in well with the rest of the story. I don’t like epilogues that are just written for the sake of it, but by the sound of it, this isn’t the case with yours.
I personally think that epilogues are a good idea in general, especially if you’re not going to write a sequel. It would tie up a lot of the loose plot ends and give a little insight into the future, which is always good. I don’t think it matters that it’s been a year since you finished the story. The long wait shouldn’t really matter between a final chapter and an epilogue, because there may be years in between the timeline of the story and the timeline of the epilogue. Basically, it’s up to you, but I wouldn’t choose not to post it just because you haven’t gone back to that story for a while.

By the way, would this epilogue be for Crimson Lies by any chance? :3

Yeah it is. :slight_smile: I never really thought of one for Castles in the Sky, as that would just to add a ‘happy chapter’ at the end. But Crimson Lies had a lot of connections that weren’t made… some were because at the time, I felt pressure to finish it.

When Nicole (Wayward Tempest) and I outlined our current story, we planned for an Epilogue which took away any question.

For Crimson…it is written, all though not ‘beta’ read.

And Pierson…I have a computer again! Yeah! I’ll be around. :moogle:

Yay! To both statements.:cool:

I’m with Pierson :slight_smile:
And if you think that it feels right to write an epilogue, by all means! :cool:

!! I just noticed !!

CACTUAR PLUSHIE! :open_mouth:

Why can’t they sell cute Square merchandise over here? ;_;:too bad;

That’s my daughter…and her Cactuar (who according to Ashley is a female Cactuar) Then she has a small one too, which is the baby, of course. Wayward Tempest bought her the big one for Christmas last year, and I have tried hard to get it away from her… Grrr

Yes, I would steal my daughter’s Cactuar! :slight_smile: I know all your illusions of me being a good mom just were tossed out the window, right?

But…it’s…Cactuar…plushie…Brain…exploding…can’t… think…straight…weasels? O_o:thud:

There’s something rather ironic about a cactuar being a soft, cuddly plushie.

There’s something rather ironic about a cactuar being a soft, cuddly plushie.

–Great now you have given me something else to ponder… Stares at my stuffed Tonberry So, I’m thinking a stuffed little guy with a knife isn’t the greatest idea either? At least I didn’t give her my Siren action figure to play with…because the fleshtones on her are just that scary.

And to keep this back on subject… tries to be good poster I’m pretty sure I’m going to go ahead with the epilogue. Only because I have gotten outside opinions that it doesn’t answer the questions that I wanted left open, and it doesnt sound too political. Which was a concern of mine… plus I’m pretty sure nobody is sane in it, which is the norm in anything I tend to write. :slight_smile:

Originally posted by Ashbear
–Great now you have given me something else to ponder… Stares at my stuffed Tonberry So, I’m thinking a stuffed little guy with a knife isn’t the greatest idea either?.

GIVE IT TO ME! :D:D:D

Also going back on topic though, please, write the epilogue. Insane people are good.:mwahaha:

Yeah, an epilogue to Crimson Lies. That just made my day.

And I agree with Pierson, insane people are good. Sanity has no place in the real world.

Oh, I do enjoy the occasional epilogue, as witnessed by my inability to leave On Earth alone. Instead I tacked a very strange piece on the end that sort of shows what I was thinking all along, in that Final Fantasy VIII was just a small part of a very large whole. Or maybe I’m just reading too deep into my own writing. Delusions of granduer. Anyway, sure, do an epilogue. Everyone else is doing it, and as we all know that’s the best reason to do anything.