Thanks so much to the anonymous source who upped this to a paid account! I’m very grateful, not least because this means I can now post polls. This is a very good thing, because I’ve been meaning to ask you guys a question:
I’m preparing one of my anthology stories — the one about the young witch Cecily, whom you guys helped me to name — and the tone definitely wants to be more lighthearted. However, I’m also developing a proposal for a book (or books) about Cecily, but as I work on that, I realize that the longer story would be much more serious in tone, mostly because of some things that would have to happen to shake up Cecily’s world and make it complicated enough to sustain a longer plotline.
So basically, I’m trying to find out what you would think as a reader if you’d read the anthology story, enjoyed it, then later picked up a book starring this character that had a different tone to it altogether.
A good friend is coming into town this weekend, so I’m looking forward to that, although she’s going to have to watch me write part of the time. Must lay in provisions of chocolate to keep her happy and entertained.
Is the book going to have moments of humor in it, too? I think that’s the important thing. So long as it’s consistent for there to be some lightheartedness, even if the larger story is more serious, then I don’t think it would be too jarring.
What dianora2 said.
I figure as long as there’s a reason, you’re good.
Compare Connie Willis’ “The Domesday Book” and “To Say Nothing of the Dog.” Not the same main character, but the same universe, and a common supporting character. They have very, very different tones (almost-everyone-dies-horribly vs. Victorian-tea-time-shenanigans). If it can work for her, it can work for you.
I was about to offer this very same example!