I was fascinated to hear Terry say that the only reason he has written so many Shannara novels was because of the fans asking him to write so many Shannara novels. And that is a great point, when do you let a good thing go?
It depends on the author and the circumstance. I think having fans is a responsibility and an honor (though one I didn't personally enjoy). An author or creator who listens to their fans and gives them what they want is certainly praiseworthy - though I'd warn against stagnation, lest you wither as an artist.
My irrational fear was being a one hit wonder. The idea that you can do something people like, but they only like that one thing and nothing else you make is ever good enough - that used to keep me up at night. It's like, am I as good as people tell me that I am, or was I just lucky? I ultimately came to the conclusion that, when it came to writing, I kind of was a one hit wonder and that maybe I didn't have as much to offer my craft as I originally believed. Lucky for me, I'm good at a lot of things and interested just about everything, so I didn't feel damned to keep returning to the same well for all eternity. I would've become an empty shell of a man to constantly face my own inadequacies, day after day.
I actually considered doing something people facing somewhat recently, only to come to the realization that I would be hardcore cancelled after about 15 minutes and I've already been banned from many of the biggest forums and social media outlets (once, for saying Black Panther was a terrible movie, and once for defending HP Lovecraft - I'm such a radical), so I didn't really have an avenue to promote my work to others who might like it. It's like, I'm already pre-cancelled, so what would be the point?
That's my problem with the woke crowd. It isn't just what they destroy. It's also what they prevent from existing in the first place.
My favorite "trolling" response is that the real reason we keep talking about it as a novelty is that deep down we know, women aren't really that strong
I'm actually kind of getting sick of strong women. Not that there is anything wrong with them, but I just find it dramatically more interesting for them to be deeply flawed, or weak in some way. I want their strength to come from their weakness.
Like, Ripley is more interesting in Aliens for her PTSD and using Newt as a surrogate for her own lost daughter compared to Vasquez who just points a big gun at stuff and scowls. Ripley wouldn't be considered a strong woman today because she is traumatized, bigoted against androids, and needs to be rescued. She's strong because she overcomes these things.
But these days, it's the Captain Marvel version of strong woman where they were perfect and invincible the entire time, but it was men who were keeping them from reaching their fullest potential (which justifies them bullying everyone around them). Yawn.