Brooding YA Hero Page 18
What is CDD? It’s when all the character development you’ve undergone in the first book simply … vanishes in the second. No, it’s not amnesia or mind-wiping. Those have the same end result to be sure, but they have clear plot-centered explanations. CDD is like the Author wiped everyone’s minds with absolutely no explanation.
Still don’t understand? Let’s try an example. In the first book, I learned how to trust my love interest after spending centuries as a cold, dangerous monster known as the Tooth Fairy. Through the power of love—and really good dental hygiene—my sugary-sweet heroine taught me it’s okay to trust people, and convinced me to stop stealing their teeth as they slept.
But in the second book, I’m back to being a dangerous, renegade fairy, prying molars out of people’s mouths. There’s no reason for my backslide into antagonist-mode, no plot-related events that caused my regression. The Author simply realized that when I became a reformed Tooth Fairy, there was no plot left for her to work with.
If CDD happens to you, be brave.
Other than CDD, sequels can be a lot of fun. You get even more chances to show off, to save your love interest, to save the day, to save the reader from boredom. General A+ hero stuff, really.
Sometimes, you might even become a POV character, even if you weren’t one in the first book. Or—this is even more exciting—the sequel might be written entirely from your POV. That’s a huge win! Just think of how much more brooding you’ll be able to do when your reader can hear all of your brilliant, emotional thoughts!
But as great as sequels can be, there are a few other things I must warn you about. It’s not always smooth sailing. Sometimes strange plot twists might even … write you out of the story. Terrifying, I know. But, as main characters, we can persevere. I’ll even share my tips for ensuring you remain a main character.
The Scary Part of Sequels
A Rival Love Interest Shows Up
This is so frustrating. After going through all the hard work of successfully capturing the heart of your one true love, she goes off and starts swooning in someone else’s arms. Totally unfair!
Who is this upstart? Not to make you paranoid, but it could be anyone—your older sibling, or a new person visiting your town, or your love interest’s childhood best friend/mentor/daydream reappearing as an actual character intent on wooing her.
You’ll have to up all your swoonworthy moments and your attractiveness (remember: a2 + b2) in order to triumph against this challenger.
But Broody! you cry, tears like perfect sapphires shining in your eyes. How on earth can I prove that I am the best love interest ever? What if this guy has even more adjectives than I do?
First of all, stop moping. No Broody has ever won his protagonist back by moping. I mean, a few chapters of a mope can give you lovely moments of staring up into the sky, stars glittering almost as brightly as the tears swimming in your aquamarine eyes but, eventually, you’ve got to do something to win your love interest back. Try saving the day or haunting her dreams so she remembers how wonderful you are. Those have often worked for me.
Or just show up and stare very intensely at her. Unyielding eye contact with no blinking is always sexy. And not creepy at all.
You Get Killed Off
Ouch. Yeah. This one hurts. Even if it’s in a beautifully tragic moment where you sacrifice yourself to save not only your love interest, but a kitten, a group of innocent children, and the plot, nothing changes the fact that you’re … uh … dead. It’s really hard to be a main character after you’re dead.
The best you can do is hope that your death occurred in a dream sequence and you’ll thankfully and miraculously be alive in the next chapter.
Or maybe you’ll come back as a sexy, undead hero. Think vampire, or cute zombie, or a ghost with really great hair.
If that fails, cross all your fingers that you’ll get a prequel. I’ll discuss that more on page 299.
You Find Out You’re a Jerk
So, you ended Book One on a good note, right? You saved the day, people like you, you like yourself.
But do you, really?
In truth, all of your feelings were a ruse. In this type of sequel, the reader will learn (and heck, it might be news to you, too) that every nice thing you ever did was only part of a long, elaborate trap meant to ensnare your love interest. Maybe you’re working for a bad guy even bigger and badder than the antagonist of the first book. Maybe you have a secret grudge against the main character’s family. Maybe your Author totally had no idea what to write and making you secretly evil was way easier than trying to remember that she actually had developed your personality already.
Your Sequel is Written by a Different Author
I probably shouldn’t even mention this very scary possibility, but it is my sworn duty to provide you with a guide to all things a main character might encounter, and I would be failing in my obligations to you if I did not at least attempt to explain this phenomenon.
It’s confusing to wake up in a book and realize that the words being written and the dialogue being placed in your roguishly beautiful mouth have not been crafted by the same Author as the first book.
Let’s stop biting our lips until they bleed and let out those breaths we didn’t know we were holding. We can handle this!
Just trust the new Author to also fall madly in love with you, and that she’ll craft you another beautiful story.
You Have a New Love Interest
This might seem strange. Didn’t you spend all that time working to get your chocolate-haired, blueberry-eyed, vanilla-scented pancake love interest to notice you in the last book?
Luckily, female characters are entirely inter-changeable!
This is more common in movies, which we’ll be covering a bit later, but this possibility can happen in books, too, especially if they’re in your POV.
You might be a detective, or a spy, or a superhero, or a dog walker. You know, a job that takes up a lot of your spare time and also involves risking your life a lot. That’s probably the reason you have totally forgotten about your last love interest, as well. Totally understandable.
Your Sequel Takes So Long to Come Out, Everyone Forgets Who You Are
Okay, so you won’t even notice this from inside your story, but let’s be honest. Every main character secretly breaks the fourth wall sometimes, to peer out into the reader’s real world and see how things are going. Obviously, we hope your sequel comes out at the perfect moment. Long enough after Book One that readers are eagerly awaiting it, planning to skip school/work/sleep in order to read it the moment they get the book in their hands, and soon enough, that they still remember all those random facts about your backstory.
But what if your Author has trouble writing the sequel, or it gets delayed? It’s possible that by the time readers have it in their hands, they might move you to the bottom of their To-Be-Read pile. Or, worse, they might decide they’ve “outgrown you.”
Ouch.
Not to worry! I firmly believe that if you follow all the steps in this book, you’ll lock in a main character identity so strongly, readers will never be able to forget you.
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So, there we have it. Common issues with sequels, and how to survive them. But maybe your Author really, really doesn’t want to write a sequel. Does that mean your days as a main character are over?
Uh, am I a thoughtful, considerate, and respectful boyfriend?
(The answer to both questions is no, FYI.)
Maybe your future is not a sequel. Maybe it’s a book set in the same universe. Those can be okay. Granted, there’s a risk that you’ll be reduced to a supporting character.
Well, you might. I never would be. I’m far too magnificent to ever be a supporting character.
What are these non-sequel-and-yet-connected books of which I speak? There are a few types, and I’ve made sure to detail all of them below. Because let me tell you, as a man, I greatly enjoy explaining things.
Prequels
/> These are the books that come before your story starts. They might detail your childhood, your first kiss, your every waking thought until the day you waltz into the main story.
Or, you know, any other story that occurs before the main story. But I personally think my life before the book starts is the most interesting, you know? So, perhaps we skip learning anything else about you and give me a prequel story.
Companion Novels
You know how there’s that one best friend of yours in your book who almost seems good enough to be a main character? Or that guy friend of mine who’s totally almost as swoonworthy as me?
Surprise! They get to be the star of their own novel.
Yes, unfortunately, it is possible that someone other than me gets to star in a novel. And it’s very, very annoying. But my Author promises if I don’t grumble too much, I’ll still get to have a cameo. I’ll appear in the background, smirking happily as my love interest ruffles my hair. Even better, I might appear in multiple scenes, acting as a mentor to the new main character. Then, I’ll be able to help him navigate the plot with my brilliant words of wisdom. My advice is, after all, golden, as you’ve probably realized by reading through this wonderful masterpiece of mine.
And we all know my readers will desperately flip through the whole book looking for that tiny scene of mine. That’s the only reason they’ll bother buying the book, of course.
The Next Generation
In some stories, you and your love interest get married. You know what comes next?
Babies.
No, Broody. You just … UGH. Reader, I’m sorry for his general cluelessness. We both know that’s not … Never mind. I can’t even begin to explain how wrong he is right here.
xoxo, B
That’s right. You and your love interest will have some babies. Don’t worry. They’ll be adorable. There will probably be at least one scene describing how amazing a parent you are, even if you’ve shown absolutely no interest in kids before.
But, my friend, no one actually wants to read about babies, because they have even less control over their emotions than I do, so your Author will skip a huge chunk of time, and suddenly, the babies will be teenagers.
It is a well-known fact that the only beings louder, cuter, wilder, and with less impulse control than toddlers are teenagers. Also, teenagers can speak whole sentences, drive cars, and save the world way better than toddlers can.
As for you? Are you worried that by the time your children are old enough to drive, you might be showing signs of age? Don’t worry, you’ll still be attractive. If you’re a woman, you’ll have a few small creases around the corners of your eyes. If you’re a man, you’ll have a few strands of silver fetchingly highlighting your dark hair. Otherwise, you’ll look and act just like you did as a teenager. Isn’t that great?
Even stranger, your children will look almost identical to either you or your love interest. The boy child may have the perfect blend of your gemstone eyes and your love interest’s button nose. Or, perhaps, the girl child will look like you, the father, for really boring symbolism or something.
Regardless, these children will also be main characters. This is because, once achieved, main character status is hereditary. All children of main characters inherit their parents’ power to control plot. In fact, they might even have a love interest that is the child of the unlucky love interest in your own book.
The Far Future/Reincarnation
Perhaps your Author doesn’t want to picture you as an aging adult, or perhaps she hates babies. Another way to have a spin-off novel: your Author ventures into a distant future of the world she introduced in your book. Your name and your love story will be known as a legend to a new generation of main characters.
These protagonists might even be reincarnations of the beings you were in your own story. So it’s like getting to experience your story all over again, but in different outfits.
Now that we’ve talked about babies, let’s discuss what to name the tiny bundles of main character joy, as well as what their role in a story will be. Here’s a quick way to learn your future, and I guarantee it’s 141 percent less frustrating than getting a half-complete prophecy.
Not that I would know anything about that …
Choose your favorite color.
1. Red
2. Green
3. Silver
4. I like them all equally!
5. Pink
6. Blue
7. Black
If you chose 1, your child’s first name will be Gerald (but he’ll go by “Danger”).
If you chose 2, your child’s first name will be Maximillian (but he’ll go by Max).
If you chose 3, your child’s first name will be Arvenia.
If you chose 4, your child’s first name will be Tulip.
If you chose 5, your child’s first name will be Melinda Rosa Nicola.
If you chose 6, your child’s first name will be Bob.
If you chose 7, your child’s first name will be Jet.
Choose your favorite way to defeat an antagonist.
A. With a weapon, duh!
B. Sarcasm with a dash of snark
C. True love
D. I prefer to wait for their own evil plan to stop them
E. Uh, does “become one” count?
If you chose A, your child will be a strong warrior, destined to train the next chosen one.
If you chose B, your child be a delicate flower of a princess/prince and will probably be kidnapped within a week after their first birthday.
If you chose C, your child will grow up to be the greatest villain your land has ever known.
If you chose D, your child will be the bookish type (a scholar if you’re in a fantasy world, a valedictorian otherwise) and their story will be all about them learning to have fun.
If you chose E, your child will be … the most magnificent of all. Your child will become a mini-Broody, following exactly in my footsteps.
We’ve covered all the various types of book-related spin-offs that await you in your future, but perhaps you’re wondering if your destiny might hold something a bit less … literary. Maybe you’re getting a little tired of chasing after adjectives. And paper cuts. Ugh!
Don’t worry. There are many more options available to you. Your future is as limitless as the number of shades of gemstone hues my eyes could be.
Movie Deals!
So, your book has done well, and Hollywood has come calling. They’ve heard just what an incredible main character you are. You preen and pose for them, and bam! You’ve got a movie deal.
I used to think a movie deal was as good as it gets. A chance to shine, to have my beautiful face shown to the entire world on a massive screen. What more could I want?
Uh, to have the directors actually read my beautiful book. That would be a fantastic start.
Here’s the thing about movies. There is no guarantee they’ll even come close to following your book’s story. They may totally ignore plot lines, change dialogue, and they will absolutely cut out at least one crucial character. A movie can be so different from the book, you barely even feel like yourself. Sometimes, they’ll never even make a movie of your sequel, and then movie-you will always be left wondering what happens next.
But sometimes, the movie does truly capture your magnificence, and that’s really what you should hope for.
Plus, movies come with all sorts of cool bonus opportunities like theme songs! And merchandise! As long as you don’t mind having one actor/actress become known as you, your face will be plastered everywhere.
QUICK TIP: always attempt to have your trilogy of books turned into four movies for maximum main character moment mastery.
TV Show
TVs are like movie screens, except smaller. In case you didn’t know.
Here’s the weird thing about TV shows. They can end suddenly or go on longer than that time you had to watch your love interest dance with someone else at prom. And just like in a
movie, you might as well say goodbye to the idea that your book holds all the truth you’ll ever need in your story. Since TV shows can stretch out for season after season, they’ll have to invent new things, so just cross your fingers and hope they’re good inventions.
TV shows also have a lot of their own devices and techniques. For example, there’s something called a “musical episode” where, for whatever reason, every character in the show will sing. And if you thought my voice was a thunderously lovely thing to listen to before, just wait until you hear me belt out a romantic show tune.
Also, every teenage character will be played by twenty-something actors, but that’s okay. No one will notice.
These are, of course, just two options, but truly, your possibilities as a main character may be limitless. Living the main character lifestyle means your story can transcend all types of entertainment and art. Way back in the day, my ancestor, Broodington Hottietrousers, frequently worked with the great Author, Billy Shakespeare. The Author gave Broodington awesome roles like being a prince of Denmark or an overly dramatic young man in love. Do you think Broodington realized his stories would inspire ballets, paintings, and musicals with gang members who snap their fingers in menacing unison? Absolutely not!
I mean, I know you’ll never be anywhere close to as magnificent as I am, but let me tell you about the myriad of media in which I’ve appeared.
Hi Reader:
Broody, as always, is being an over-simplifying dork. If you find yourself the main character of one of these stories, relish it! Perhaps someday you’ll be the one giving advice to other characters in this form of media.
xoxo, B
Comic Books
These are illustrated stories. They’re very cool, even if they’re rather confusing because they include tons of alternate timelines, identity switching, and universes that explode. Sometimes. Other times they can be dark and gritty or slice of life or … Yeah, I guess they’re just like books … made of comic strips. Wow.
Just try not to worry too much, and enjoy when cool call-out bubbles like BAM! appear when you punch someone.