The End . . . ?

There's an interesting discussion going on over at Blogging in Black (http://www.blogginginblack.com/) about readers' pet peeves. More than one person complained about storylines that leave the reader hanging because the author intends to do a sequel.

Anyone familiar with my blog knows that I'm not a big fan of continuing stories, either as a reader or as a writer. I personally like the satisfaction of knowing that the story is over when I read the last page. But there is no denying that these are very big with readers, just as our grandmothers and great-grandmothers listened to soap operas on the radio sixty and seventy years ago. The reason sequels have become so popular in recent years is that readers clamor for more about the characters. It has almost become expected.

I am working on a sequel to my mainstream debut, The People Next Door, simply because of overwhelming reader requests. People have also asked for a sequel to last year's Nothing But Trouble. I consider it a compliment that I have not received requests for a continuation of If These Walls Could Talk. I tried very hard to make it a complete story, making it easy for readers to imagine what happens to some characters while having to guess about what happens to others.

Just because I was convinced to write a sequel due to popular demand doesn't mean I'll just slap a story together. It won't be written until I feel I have a good story that will entertain readers.

I do believe that series can be done well, without ticking off readers, if the writer ties up the loose ends and begins the sequel with a new set of problems or moves secondary characters into the spotlight with a brief glimpse of the previous main characters (which is done very frequently in romance with great success.) If a writer does choose to end with unanswered questions, is it really fair to ask their readers to wait six or eight months, or even more, to find out what happens?

What's your feeling on sequels? Do you like them? Do you feel the characters should experience personal growth, or do you enjoy reading about the same behavior through three or four books? Would you stick with a continuing story indefinitely, or do you feel it should end after two or three books? Five? Ten?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.