Thursday, February 4, 2016

The Unique Hell of Writing a Series

I was under the weather yesterday so my post is a bit late for Insecure Writers Support Group, but here it is!



Series. Have you written one? If so I imagine you'll totally feel me on this. There are so many things that are great about writing a series. You know the characters. Hopefully you like some of them, since you created them. Or at least hate them in that good way that our best villains and anti-hero(ines) make us hate them. Worldbuilding should be pretty set. Plot should somewhat be easier - even if you have a different story each book, there should be overall characters arcs and relationships that carry on and deepen with every book. It's sort of like a favorite pair of shoes that you can slip into, well worn and comfortable.

But then you start comparing the books to each other, like picking a favorite child. Shit, book two is way shorter than book one. Is everyone going to notice it's shorter and be annoyed? Book two doesn't have quite the carefree humor of book one. Well, everything got more serious on a very personal level. But I don't want it to be too different. Then my readers will be disappointed. What if book three is the same? What if I get sick of the whole thing and kill off all my characters like George Martin?

I've said before that each first draft process is a little bit to a LOT different than the ones before, but within a series, it gets even more crazypants. It still won't keep me from writing them - I love series. But it's a learning process, that's for sure. 

What about you? Have you written a series, and did you like it more or less than a stand alone?

TTFN, writer friends!

15 comments:

  1. I wrote a stand alone novella and then decided to make it a series and realized I was an idiot. Bringing consistency between book 1 and 2, let alone 3 and a rich world and common sense timeline stumped me. I should have made my world bible before even writing book 1 because now I can't go back and fix stuff I set in motion. I feel your pain. :/

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    1. Yes, world bibles are awesome! I did one, as well as a full plot outline for the trilogy my agent has, and it's SO much easier. My other series I didn't do that out of the gate and it's more difficult.

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  2. I once was writing a series but decided writing short stories was where I was meant to be. Short stories that have back stories, previous blog postings.
    Somehow that works for me.

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    1. It's funny, shorts have their unique challenges too, since you have to get a lot into such a little word count! It's harder to build deep characters arcs and subplots and such.

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  3. I like both. Dragon was unique as I took on a whole new world and characters. My Cassa series was comfortable with the recurring characters. But each book had its own feel. Some fans weren't crazy about it but most liked the shift in direction.
    As long as you like the story, that's what matters.

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    1. Good point! I probably try to make too many people happy...

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  4. Hi Alexia
    I worry about book three since it will take pace in a different country and the villain will be different too. Other than that, I think I'm good.
    Love reading your work.
    Nancy

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  5. Hi, Alexia, two of my books are each the start of a series, and I'm writing a third that is the start of another series. I've roughly outlined the book twos in each case, but haven't begun to write them. Reading your post makes me aware i may have a challenge to face in each case. Good luck with your own series.

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    1. Yes, it's not as easy as I thought it would be going in. But, no true regrets, because I love both of my series so much! Just a learning curve.

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  6. I'm with you on writing series... Lots of pros and a few cons:) For me, it's making sure that the sequels have enough information in case a reader picks up a book out of order and I want them to still know what's going on without getting confused... but how to do that without rehashing the same info over and over again is always fun:)

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    1. Yes, that is a great point. It's hard to find that balance!

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  7. I prefer reading series, and I do think I prefer writing them too. I like knowing my characters inside and out and not having to think too much on the world building since it's already built. It can be difficult to balance how much to reveal from previous books and how the storyline is different but still fits with the whole series arc and such, though. Yet the pros outweigh the cons, but writing a series is definitely a big learning curve.

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  8. Ha! This post cracked me up. I prefer reading standalones--and writing them. But I did actually write 2 books of a series at one point...and kinda want to go back to it. It's almost like writing an insanely LONG single book. lol I'm sure it's tons harder than writing a standalone.

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  9. I just finished a series, and yes, it is a nightmare...and yet strangely liberating. Or at least it will be when the third book is published. I totally get why some authors go for the one and done approach now.

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