Finished the first part – now stuck with too many ideas for a continuation. Which would you want to read?

[SpiritKing]

Hey everyone,
I’m a new writer,
So I just finished the first part of my dark speculative novel Blood of the First House (incestuous dynasty, genetic engineering, revenge, apocalypse the whole deal). I’m pretty happy with how it came out. But now I’m stuck in that “what now?” phase.

The story ended with Aster waking up in a strange new world, bodiless, free from revenge, carrying her mom’s data crystal. Earth is basically a mess after the mutant outbreak.

I have way too many ideas for where to go next, and I honestly don’t know which one to commit to. Here are the options floating in my head:

Here are the directions I’m considering:

1. Aster in the new world – exploring her new existence, the world with two moons, and whether she can still affect what happened on Earth.
2. The Ashfords’ rise – diving deeper into the earlier generations (Aleksandr, Katerina, Dmitri, Natasha, Viktor) to show how the family’s ideology and power grew.
3. Survivors on Earth – following pockets of survivors after the collapse, perhaps someone receiving Helena’s transmission or finding the data crystal.
4. The pendant’s origin – a deep dive into the ancient artifact’s history before the Ashfords

Which direction would you be most interested in reading?
I’m excited to keep writing in this world, but I’m also nervous about messing up the original story or making it feel unfinished.
So I’d love to hear your thoughts:

• Which of these would you actually want to read?
• If you were in my shoes, what would you write next?

Thanks for any advice. Appreciate you all.

 

[YukieSama]

Congrats on finishing the first part! I haven't read your book but to me it seems you can do them all in a linear succession. The first one seems the most logical and interesting because Aster is now bodiless and it can tie into the other three.

Most interesting personally would be the Ashford's rise because the main hook I got from your book was about the family. Just my two cents.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Wouldn't this have been better as a poll to your readers?

As for if I were in your shoes, I'd DM one of my readers who was active in the comments and see what they would think would be more interesting. Or, I'd continue with step 1 as YukieSama suggested, since that is your character.

 

[SpiritKing]

Wouldn't this have been better as a poll to your readers?

As for if I were in your shoes, I'd DM one of my readers who was active in the comments and see what they would think would be more interesting. Or, I'd continue with step 1 as YukieSama suggested, since that is your character.

the story hasn’t gotten any comments yet, I don’t really have readers to poll
thanks for the advice, both of you! Really helpful.

@YukieSama I agree, sticking with Aster’s story feels like the most natural move. The more I think about it, the more I see the novel I just finished as a backstory

Congrats on finishing the first part! I haven't read your book but to me it seems you can do them all in a linear succession. The first one seems the most logical and interesting because Aster is now bodiless and it can tie into the other three.

Most interesting personally would be the Ashford's rise because the main hook I got from your book was about the family. Just my two cents.

a setup for something bigger. So continuing with Aster in the new world would actually be moving into the main story, not just a sequel. Plus, I think it would be a good way to wrap up the backstory and give it a proper place in the larger narrative.

Thanks again for helping me think it through!