Wednesday's Writer's Tip - A Bit More On Series - #MFRWauthor

You have your series planned and the first story written. Now comes the time to market these stories that may take several years to write. What are some things you need to consider? There are a number of places they can be published. You can hope one of the big publishers picks the series up, you can go to a small publisher or you can publish the series yourself. But making the series appealing to readers is something that's very important. Writing the Fiction Series by Karen Wiesner has some hints about this and I'll show you what some of them mean.

When you're writing a series something in the titles of each story contained in the world you've created makes sense. There are many series out there. The series can have an over all title. I've used this several times in my own series. Affinities is one and then each of the titles of the particular stories falls under this major titles. An even better way is for each of the stories to have a particular word in the title of each book. I'm working on a series and though it does have a title for the whole series, each of the so far three stories and the fourth I'm working on has Dreams in the title. So here two markers are there to bring the stories to the attention of readers.

A second method is to make use of a series blurb. This is great for promoting the entire series and is something both general and specific to a series. The best way I can explain what I found about using such a thing is to have a series blurb that is very general and yet somehow leads the reader into the series. Such as Four teens are forced to leave their home and parents to seek teachers to show them how to use their affinities for Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Following this comes the blurb for the story. A reader finding that first line will think aha this is another story in that series.

There are two more suggestions that I'll address next time.

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.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - More on Series -Tips - Writing the Fiction Series #MFRWauthor

There are many tips in the book Writing The Fiction Series by Karen Wiesner. If you're contemplating writing a series, here are a few tips.

Set Your Own Ground Rules for the series. A very important thing to do. The series are yours and though there may be other series or stories that use some of the same elements, the series is yours. There may be many vampires in stories but your vampires may have traits and be able to do things other vampires may not. Your shape shifters may be different also. So set your rules and abide to them.

Think Big - If you envision a lengthy series make sure there's room for the short story or the novella or for a change in characters. The world you create can be large enough to show off many stories.

Twists - Both characters and stories can have twists that will carry the stories further. Without these twists, the stories could become clone stories and the reader will lose interest in reading more and more.

Up the Ante - As each story in the series continues. Give the Hero, heroine, villain a bigger reason to want to win. This will add to the tension. In my YA series, the first book shows the characters trying to fine a safe place where they can learn. When they are forced to flee again they have more concerns for the second book means they must find a way to rescue friends from evil. Moving to the third story they must find the necessary items so they can defeat the evil ones. The fourth book is the do or die story. They will either win or lose and the villains bring out the big guns.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Series and Consistency #MFRWauthor

When I was reading Writing The Fiction Series by Karen Wiesner she mentioned consistency when writing series. My first thought was what exactly did this mean and wasn't this the same as continuity? Suddenly I realized though they seemed the same there was a slight difference. I've read a lot of series and have suddenly stopped reading one or more series and I wasn't sure why. These series had many of the qualities needed to establish them as a series.

I remember one that was a romance series and suddenly the author wrote a story that was a lot different from the other stories. There was no romance. There were elements contained in the story that fit the series but the lack of the romance made me stop reading that series. The series had lost that consistence. Yes, there were similarities. They still took place in the world the writer had established. There were familiar places, even a character or two were the same as in the other books but there was a missing element. There were no characters seeking a happy ending.

I'm reading another series that has I believe 13 books and probably more to come. These books are consistent. Though the characters grow and change most of them are present in each of the stories. The world is the same most of the time. When the world changes there are reasons for the change that make sense in the consistency of the story. The changes in the world are held together by the characters who remain the same as in the other story are ones who have been in the other books. The pattern of the stories remain the same.

I'm not talking about the kind of pattern where something that happens on page 50 of one story are the same in every book. This isn't the consistency That I'm looking for. There are series written where the same action occurs in Chapter 3 or Chapter 7 in every book in the story. This pattern becomes one the reader sees as a habit and though it seems consistent it becomes boring. So when you're writing your series, you need to remember the small details that make for consistency.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Story and Series #MFRWauthor

Whether a series is planned or just happens, there's such a thing as a road map to follow. Having done a series where the map was present from the first word in the first story to having the series suddenly become a series either by reader request, author decision or editor suggestion. I've done them all.

While reading Writing The Fiction Series by Karen Wiesner I realized series somehow do have some kind of map. While this map may suddenly appear often times there are events in the story that have been placed there almost by magic and they call for another story and perhaps another and another.

Another thing to consider with series is the story a complete stand alone and yet part of the series or does each story end with some kind of cliff hanger that compels the reader to want the next book. That is a good question. Each story has a kind of map or what some writers call a story arc taking the story from beginning through the middle to the end. A series must have the same kind of map but the map may not have been discovered by the writer until the second or third book in the series.

My own Affinities series before I came upon each story plan had an over all series plan stumbled on in an odd way. While working as a nurse, I did little to no writing and every night had trouble falling asleep. I started to tell myself a story and the next day I would write out my bedtime story. Somewhere after nearly a hundred pages, I had the series map. Then I had to go back and break this into stories. I'd been aiming for a trilogy but ended up with four books.

The Katherine Miller cozy mysteries were a different sort of thing. I had fans and readers asking for another story. So each story is a completely stand along yet there are references through continuing characters to the previous stories. The stories also build a romance between Katherine and an old friend. He was barely mentioned in the first two stories but suddenly in book three there was a romance but this was seeded in the first two stories and triggered by my need to have the heroine leave the comfort zone of the Hudson River town where she lived.

The third kind of series for me came about when an editor wondered why the ending of the first story was kind of open ended. I really had no idea until the reason hit me. This was a trilogy in the making. Kind of jumped at me. The series map never managed to come, For me though some of the characters are present in the second book and all are present in the third book for me each was building on the story presented before.

So there are many ways of planning a series but at some point in the development as well as a story map, the writer needs a series map. Early or lately developed this is a must.

Saturday - Witing the Fiction Series by Karen Wiesner

I usually don't write reviews of books so I'm taking a stab here.

Writing the Fiction Series by Karen Wiesner is a book not to be read in one swallow but to be read in small bites. The information is interesting and if you've ever contemplated writing a series or are even involved in writing one or even more than one this book will give you a lot of insight into how the process works.

Readers enjoy series but there are so many kinds of series and series are written in a variety of genres and for many audiences from children to adults. Writing the Fiction Series gives many hints about constructing the series. A number of series are examined and each type is analyzed. In fact this book is so chock full of information that it will take weeks to read and to enjoy.

The chapter on Series Organization gives a wealth of material to study and is helpful when planning a series. Advice about blurbing the series, and the individual stories, on creating a bible for the series, for creating the ARC plan and creating checklists for the series. These are shown step by step.

This book published by Writer's Digest is worth the study and should help any writer who is working on a series or dreaming of writing one. I know I'll be referencing it frequently as I work on any series I'm contemplating.