For the Sake of the Sequel

Last week, I indulged in a story that didn’t turn out how I expected. I dare say, I was almost disappointed, but I understand why they ended it the way that they did.

The story was Disney’s Descendants; The Rise of Red. It’s not the first Descendants movie, but it’s one where you can get away without watching the movies that came before. If you haven’t seen it yet, you may want to stop reading because this post contains spoilers.

The film is about the daughter of the Red Queen of Wonderland and the daughter of Cinderella going back in time to stop the event that made the Red Queen so heartless. Turns out, the Red Queen was pranked on the night of a high school dance and that’s what made her so evil. The prank was done by the school bully and our two time travelers manage to stop it. However, how it was stopped didn’t sit right with me.

The two time travelers discover that the school bully and her gang are going to steal a forbidden cookbook (spellbook) from the principle’s office and to stop them, they decide to steal the book first. Despite their efforts, the bullies still get their hands on the book; however, once they open it, they’re charmed until the principle can uncharm them. Our time travelers head off with the book and head back to the future.

And it worked. The Red Queen isn’t evil. She’s loving and accepting of her daughter and the camera pans out to signify the ending. That is, until you hear the narrator say that isn’t the end of the story.

I’ll admit, I backed talked the narrator, because if that was the end that was a disappointing ending. Here’s my reasonings:

  1. If the cook/spell book charmed the bullies once they opened it, they wouldn’t have been able to do the prank in the first place, because even without the intervention of the time travelers, the bullies would’ve gotten the book, opened it, then got charmed and caught.
  2. Throughout the movie, you learn that the Red Queen and Cinderella were best friends in school. I got the impression that Cinderella wasn’t so good and perfect when she was younger and I suspected she might have been the one to pull the prank because that would’ve hit harder than your typical bully. It would’ve been the worst thing to happen to the Red Queen, right? She didn’t have any friends other than Cinderella and if Cinderella caused the prank, she would’ve lost everyone she cared about, and gained a broken heart that could lead her to villainy.
  3. IT’S TIME TRAVEL! It doesn’t matter what story you read, watch, or play. If you mess with time, there IS consequences. When the heroes of the story got back to their original time, I was waiting for the next plot twist. I was waiting to see that they didn’t succeed or they made things worse, but instead, the heroes got exactly what they wanted. A quick, happy ending.

With the narrator’s endnote, they set up the sequel. They made it clear that this story is not meant to be a one and done tale. So, perhaps the quick, happy ending was meant to be a disappointment to make sure you come back when the sequel comes out. They’re leaving you curious to see how things go wrong and what Max Hatter really meant when he warned the daughter of the Red Queen that she might lose her mom if she messed with time.

There are many components that hint at a sequel. I realized that after watching the movie. In my opinion, setting up for the sake of a sequel is fine, but at least give a ending where your audience isn’t wondering “are you sure that’s it?”

Too Storybook

Next week, I’ll be at a writer’s conference. My stomach is doing flips just thinking about it. It’s exciting, but I’m currently going through what I hear every writer goes through: the feeling of fraud. I’ve got that lingering in the back of my mind telling me that when I show up, I’ll be out of place and everyone will know it. I haven’t touched my stories in a long time because of this lingering gnat. It likes to remind me of not so encouraging feedback I’ve gotten from people, but you know what? It just reminded me of one I didn’t think was so bad.

A couple years ago, I had a beta reader (someone who writes) read my story and provide feedback. One of the things they said was that I use the word “upon” too much. He felt like he was seeing it too much in the story and when I did the find word search on my manuscript, I didn’t agree with him. He said my story sounded too much like a storybook fable with that word sprinkled throughout the manuscript.

And you know what? It makes sense.

Everyone knows the famous words that begin a story: “Once upon a time…” I really like those words and that’s probably where I got to using “upon” too much. When that beta reader said that, I found I liked that about my story. I liked how it ties to “Once upon a time…” Now, I did find areas where I used “upon” several times in one paragraph and that had to be fixed, but I left the word throughout the story to keep that connection. My novel is a high fantasy, after all, and so many of the classics begin with “Once upon a time…”

So, when the little gnat tries to tell me a fraud, I try to remind it how awesome my story actually is because of it’s little gems and treasures sprinkled throughout. I’m going to try and keep that in mind when I head off to my conference. It might seem “too storybook” for that one beta reader, but others might like it.

Cat Person

Daily writing prompt
Dogs or cats?
View all responses

It’s an age old question. Do you prefer dogs or cats? I can honestly say that I love both. Each animal has traits that make them unique and special. However, if I absolutely had to pick over the other. I would pick cats.

My choice comes from having the greatest cat in the world for 18 years. She’s gone now, and I still cry sometimes when I think of her, but I considered her my best friend. She was my cuddle buddy. She was my proud little warrior. She stole my Cheez-its and shared my ice cream.

I like cats because they act like they don’t need anyone. My cat didn’t like to show that she wanted you around, especially when there were multiple people in the room. However, I remember a day my family was moving. Everything was loaded up. All that was left was loading up our dog and my cat. When I took the dog out to the car, my cat ran after me. She didn’t want to get left behind even though my mom was still in the house. Animals are smart after all. They know what an empty house means. I feel bad that my cat even thought for a second that I’d leave her behind.

So, cats act tough, but even they have their vulnerabilities. They’re also curious and adventurous and mighty hunters when they want to be. My cat enjoyed going after birds. She’d leave them in places where my brother and I would find them. Once, she somehow got a big black crow in the house and she left it in a pile of our legos.

It’s coming up on a year since I lost my cat. I can’t believe it’s already almost been a year. We lost her to her failing body. At her age, things were shutting down. We made the call and she was euthanized in my arms. I promised I’d never leave her, and I didn’t.

Thanks to my putty tat, I definitely favor cats over dogs. I can talk on about how cats can be funny and tricky and cute and so on. I could tell you how I relate to their overall behavior, but when it comes down to it, my cat turned me into a cat person. I still love dogs, but when I get another pet, it’ll be a cat.

The End

We accomplished our goal
Saved the world, in a way
Finally completed the endgame
Our task is done
So, I suppose now we move on
Such friendships were made
When there was danger we all faced
Comradery and jests
Poking fun when we didn’t think we’d last.
Yet, somehow, someway, we survived
Took victory and took it with pride
But what of it now? Now that it’s done
Our task is completed. We just had the one
There’s no reason to continue
Despite the family we’ve built
Yet, staying put ours words at guilt
The task is completed.
It’s time to move on
One goes to the city
To start a new dawn
Another heads to the country
To be there for a while
It’s their goal to make people smile
We go our separate ways
Now that we’re at the end
The best of us heads north,
Never to be see again.
Such strong our the bonds
Built from a dire task
It makes the ending harder
You wish it would last
Move on to better things
Is all you can do
And smile at the friends who mean so much to you
Make sure to take your turn
And move on with them
Someday, you might see them again
Find a brave new beginning around the bend
And be ready for each time it ends.

Denying a Dream

How do you sate a dream you’ve denied?
When that longing creeps an ache to your chest?
Do you let it run it’s course?
Shove it down to keep it at rest?

Perhaps you humor it?
Think of impossible “what ifs”
Find a movie and escape for a while”
Find a task to distract you from denial?

What do you do when you’ve denied a dream
And it won’t leave your heart?
You don’t want to chase it
In fear of mistakes
You don’t want to want it
In fear of the heartbreak

You believe you’ll cause it ruin
And you don’t want the disappointment
It’s likely that you’ll screw it up
And you’d rather face unemployment

The chance of reward is low
and at this point, you’ve had enough.
How to you tell the dream to go?
Tell your heart to be tough?

Words Run Out

I don’t know what to say
My thinker just isn’t thinking
I’ve got so many things started
But the words run out before it’s completed

There’s gotta be something to give
Some inspiration I have tucked away and hid
But I stare at the screen and sigh
I’m not really feeling that high

Take a deep breath and another
Figure out what thought treats you like a brother
But my shoulders do ache
And my arms don’t want to lift

My bed comes to mind
After the weekly grind
Just melt in the covers
Not worrying about others

But there’s got to be something
Some little inspiration
Perhaps that’s what it is?
That strength has limited duration?

Take a deep breath and another
It’s okay to finally relax
Be sure to rest
So you can be at your max

The words will flow again
The Light will shine
Take care of yourself
Give yourself time

Little Problems Piling Up

One.
Not bad, we can handle one.
Roll it off the shoulder and we’re done.
Two.
Wait. There’s more of you?
Why is there confusion in the room?
Three.
Uh, this isn’t our usual cup of tea.
Can we just go back to one?
Four.
Not enough people are coming through that door.
Don’t tell me we’re short-staffed again.
Five.
It’s a hundred and eleven degrees outside.
We’re all getting cooked alive.
Six.
What’s the most efficient way we can make the best of this?
Don’t forget we have to feed the chicks.
Seven.
Stay on the bright side. At least it’s not eleven.
But I am covered in chiggers again.
Eight.
I totally forgot the date.
I think we have to be here at this time today.
Nine.
Everything is fine.
And, yes, that was totally a lie.
Ten.
I’m exhausted.
When will this day finally end?

An Old Poem

Familiar. The breeze of a tongue.
The warning of the storm to come.
A shelter long built. In time made strong.
Keeps the feelings away and the tears long gone.
To stand a receiver of frustrated blows.
Give nothing back. Don’t let anything show.
There is no reason. Not even the truth.
It’s only taken as a worthless excuse.
Let the storm run it’s course. Don’t get in the way.
Else your shelter will surely pay.
Just be a rock. It’ll be over soon.
And life will go on like there was no monsoon.
Watch for the signs. Don’t be lazy.
It will come again and it will come hazy.
A fresh new storm. It’s warning sung.
Upon the harsh breeze of a tongue.

Don’t Ask

Don’t ask a zookeeper why they’re crying.
Most likely, they won’t be able to answer.
Pay no mind to the sobs on their lips.
Don’t acknowledge the tears on their face.

If you have to ask
Then you didn’t wonder
Why a caretaker would break down
Perhaps it’s all the stress they’re under
Or perhaps a goodbye caused their frown

To be a keeper, it takes a lot
A lot of days and a lot for naught
Lots of laughs and smiles
Friendships and rivals

We may never gain an animal’s trust
And they may never know how much we care
But the important thing is that we’re there.

So when you see our tears
Or the puff of our cheeks
It’s best to just let us weep

We’d like to tell you
We appreciate the concern
But to share the news,
We have to wait our turn

Just offer a smile and if you may,
Tell us which animal was your favorite today

At the heart of it all
The job never ends
There’s another animal just around the bend

So let us weep so we can move on
And help all our animals carry on strong

I can promise you all, that we’re certainly trying
Just don’t ask us, zookeepers, why we’re crying.

Two Little Turtles

Two Little turtles

Going for a swim

Both smaller than my hand

And green at the rim

Two Little turtles

Pecking at debris

Looking for something tasty to eat

They kick and they swim

In clear calm water

Passing by trash and someone’s lost bobber

Not a care in the world except to find their next meal

Find a warm rock to bask and heel.

Swimming among reeds and an old Gatorade bottle

Passing wrappings and foam that’ll be here a while.

Two little turtles call the lake their home

Wondering when humans will leave nature alone.