Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing The Fiction Series by Karen S. Wiesner

For the next few weeks I'll be talking about writing series. The book was written by a friend and we've had lively discussions about writing series versus trilogies. I happen to like series and following the growth and development of characters over the years of their lives. I've been reading one science fiction series for years and am up to book 15 and hoping for more.

Series fascinate people and often are planned but sometimes happen because a writer finishes the story and the character, or another character in the book demands their own story. Sometimes it's the world that holds a fascination for the writer and the reader.

The benefits for the writer are interesting when they turn to writing a series. If the series becomes popular, there is an audience waiting for the next book in the series. There is also for the writer a knowing of the character and showing the character changing or developing, or not. Some series characters remain the same during the books of the series. This is often seen in mystery series where the hero or heroine remains the same. A new case is what turns the writer to write another story featuring this character.

Some series show a character beginning as a young adult and moving them through the phases of life. So the kinds of series are as varied as the writers who pen them and the reader who picks a certain series to read. The series follows that age old question "What happens next?"

So if you plan to write a series, stay tuned and see what comes next.