Write Like A Pro

Writing a Series

Most readers if not all will fall in love with a book. They become attached to the character and won't want to let go when the book ends. Some writers will set out from the start to write a series and thus will deliberately leave the ending slightly unresolved. Others, will partially resolve the plot in the final chapter and have no intention of creating a series. Then there are those who will create a series even if they initially had no intention of doing so, as their book was a success and by producing another one in the series you are likely to be guaranteed reads from those who read the first book. However, writing a series is not for everyone. 

With the first book in the series where did you leave the character at the end? Now think about whether you want to carry on from where you left off or do a time jump of a few years where the character is now happily living their life and then a new problem happens etc. 

Mystery Series:

Mystery series often consist of a single self-contained story in each novel although the novels have a recurring main character throughout. 

Fantasy & Science Fiction:

Fantasy and science fiction often have smaller stories within each novel but often tell a larger overall story. 

Top tips on writing a series:

Avoid writing about a story concept that can't stretch across multiple books. Before you embark on writing a series check there is enough to write about that can stretch across multiple books. You don't want to waffle or pad it out with too many details that you bore the reader. Make sure your concept is not flawed and don't feel pressured into writing a series. 

Don't keep a series going if you run out of ideas. This will only ruin your other books in the series and will bore the reader. Some books aren't meant to have sequels. If you are writing a series, from the start you need a rough idea of where the series is going. Think of where the natural end might fall. 

If you are writing a series over a long amount of time. For instance if it takes you ten years to finish your series think about how your characters will age. They won't necessarily age ten years but, should slightly age as the years or months pass in the book. 

Be consistent with your previous books in the series. If you said your character was a university graduate in your first book, don't suddenly say they never went to university in your next book. Basic places can't change and nor should the basic details about your character, these should stay the same across your books. The best way to do this is too take notes on your earlier books, so you can track what happened in earlier novels without having to read the whole book again. 

Don't be so consistent that there is no change to your character. Perhaps things didn't work out and they have met a new character or pursued a new interest or overcome a particular flaw. Don't reproduce a book that is exactly the same as the first one. There will be subtle shifts in your characters attitudes, behaviour, living situations and appearances. Perhaps they are angry because of something that happened in the past. 

Follow through with what you setup in the first book. Don't say your first book ended with your character falling in love and then don't even mention it in your next book. Subplots should be continued to the end. If you drop a subplot in the first book such as your main character ran away from her husband she is still married too, then the reader will expect to see this crop up throughout other books in the series. 

Some editors will prefer that you make it possible for the reader to start with any of your books. This can be done by not going into too much detail about the world your character lives in. This is often done to increase sales as some people won't read a book if they find it has others in the series before it, which they are unable to get, and thus won't want to start a book from mid-series if they can't make sense of the plot line. However, don't make your fictional world too limited as this will not draw in the readers and won't help readers to understand the plot.

Tie your series together with a memorable title. Have a name for the series and have titles for each book in the series. For instance J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.