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Jun 28, 2021 · From genre to setting to character, novelist Tracy Clark has 5 tips for ensuring that your book series is the best it can be.
- Know what makes writing series different. Writing a series is different to writing a standalone book for a number of reasons: Series have multi-novel continuity (this separates a book series from a book cycle) – characters and/or settings, and/or conflicts return.
- Choose a central conflict that sustains interest in your series. From Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series to Rowling’s fantasy epic Harry Potter, intriguing series have conflicts and characters whose development span multiple books.
- Create a fictional world readers will long to return to. Readers of Rowling’s fantasy series are eager to return to her fictional world because: It is rich in imaginative detail: Rowling thinks of every detail, from how bank vaults are guarded (by dragons) to the woods used to make magical wands and their properties.
- Outline your series in advance. If you tend not to plot usually, this can work for a novel. When you write a novel series, however, an outline is especially useful, as it helps you retain a bird’s eye view.
Get the knowledge you need to make smart decisions about your series with How to Write a Series. You’ll learn: The three basic types of series; The benefits and drawbacks of writing each type of series; Tips for extending your series beyond your original plan; Ideas for creating spinoffs and expanding your literary universe
- Find your Central Idea. Every great series grew from the kernel of an idea. J.K. Rowling, for example, famously said that the idea for her wildly successful Harry Potter series formed while stuck on a delayed train between Manchester and King’s Cross, London in 1990.
- Find key plot points for each book in your series. When you’re still learning how to plot a series it’s easy to get lost in details. It’s hard to see the big picture when there isn’t one – yet.
- List ideas for your series’ end goal. Each book will ideally reach a smaller goal within your series broader arc. Yet unfinished business keeps readers coming back for more.
- Decide on the broad setting of your series. The entire arc of your series could take place in the space of 24-hours (like the TV series 24), with each book showing a different character’s overlapping experience of these 24 hours.
- Choose the type of series you want to write. One of the first things to consider if you want to write a series is what kind of series you’d like to write.
- Map your story concept. The amount of planning you need to do will largely depend on which type of series you choose to write. Serials typically require the most foresight, and authors of this kind of series usually know how the whole thing will end before they finish writing the first book.
- Plan key plot points for each book. With the big picture in mind, you’ll then need to figure out which key events take place in which books. None of your books should just be “fillers;” they need to do something to move the plot forward without losing sight of the bigger picture.
- Broaden your horizons. Simply writing “Book 2” at the end of your title won’t be enough to keep readers hooked on your series. If you recycle the same storyline, settings, and tropes over and over again throughout your series, you’re not going to make many sales.
Aug 17, 2023 · In order to write a series, you’ll have one large overarching story (the series as a whole) that is made up of several smaller story units (novels). Each unit contributes to the larger story and moves it a step closer to its conclusion.
Mar 7, 2023 · 1. Choose a genre for the series. Some genres, such as fantasy, science fiction, and mystery, are more amenable to a series than others, like romance or commercial fiction. Decide whether your concept fits into the former or the latter.
