Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Continuing with Writing the Fiction Series by Karen Wiesner #MFRWauthor

More things to consider when writing a series and there are many. This book is a trove of good information gathered together by Karen Wiesner.

Promises. When writing a series a writer should keep the promises to the reader. Leaving things dangling can draw a reader to select the next book in the series but leaving too many of these threads dangling can really upset readers. Proposing a single question that is the main one can carry over but all those little questions can be solved book by book and new ones created.

Killing Characters - Unless you have a good reason, don't kill one of the main characters in a series. The reader will become upset since they have invested a lot in said character. Sherlock Holmes was killed off in that series but he miraculously returned to be in other stories. If you're going to kill off a character during the course of a series establish this character and show the potential for death during one or more of the stories. Of course in the end, killing the villain or villainess is fine and can make a grand ending to a story.

Turning the Bad Guy into a Good Guy. - This can trouble a reader, especially if they really hated the bad guy. There are ways to do this if you really want to make this change. Showing a bit of what makes him the bad guy in the story and you have already given him or her a reason to change. In The Amber Chronicles, Emme starts out as the bad one and immediately you hear why she is being sent away for she has lessons to learn about love. In the end she is redeemed but her road to growth becomes a quest for her. I have a villain from a story I would like to redeem, if I ever find time to plot the story out.

Preparing For The next Book. A series needs more than one book and two doesn't do it. Three or more books are needed and when you're nearing the end of book one, two, or more you need to plant the seeds for the next book. This can be done in many ways but needs to be done. In one series, the chance for the trilogy is set up by mentioning the two gods and one goddess of the ancient Egypt I've created. This means there will be three possible stories. Bast's Warrior, Horu's Chosen and Toth's Priest. Some of the characters who will be in the other books are either present in some way in the other books. The preparation for the next book should be somehow made clear in the current one.