Writing the Fiction Series

I’m currently reading Writing the Fiction Series by Karen S. Wiesner. This accomplished author has written 136 books over 22 years. This includes 16 series, which makes it clear why she is an authority on writing series.

What follows is not a book review, but rather, insights I gained from working my way through this particular book. As always, it helps to start by defining some important terms.

Stand-alone

A stand-alone book has no ties to other books. It doesn’t have a cliff-hanger ending or a “to be continued” story line. A stand-alone book leaves the reader satisfied with the story. There was a beginning, middle and end.

Many classic children and adult novels fall in this category. I’m sure you have your own favorites, but titles like Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte’s Web, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Giving Tree, are examples of stand-alone books.

Sequels

A sequel follows an original piece of fiction. It may pick up where the original left off, or move some time beyond that. The setting or characters continue from the original piece into the sequel. For example, Scarlett (1991) by Alexandra Ripley is a sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind (1936). Lewis Carroll wrote Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (1871) as a sequel to Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland (1865).

Prequels

As the name implies, a prequel tells the story prior to the original book, but is written after the original. As an example, Karen Wiesner identifies C. S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew (1955) as a prequel to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (1950).

Trilogy

A trilogy consists of three books that work together to tell a story. The Hunger Games and The Lord of the Rings are two examples of trilogies.

Series

A series is a collection of books that share either a common character, setting or premise. Some need to be read sequentially (i.e., Harry Potter should be read in the order published), while others can be read out-of-order (i.e., The Babysitter Club, Magic Tree House series).

Key tips for writing a series are:

Maintain consistency. Facts need to be established and maintained in a series to ensure readers experience a smooth, logical flow.
Character(s) need to be distinctive and interesting to keep the reader following through multiple books.
Maintain the basic premise. If the series is a romance, don’t throw a murder mystery book into the series.
Develop a series arc. Plan in advance if the series has an end. Some series take on a life of their own and continue well beyond what the author originally intended.
Each book needs to stand on its own. A reader may not start with Book 1, so subsequent books need to be written to help that reader follow the story. No information dumps, but weave enough information into the current story to keep the reader moving forward.
Create a series blurb. A series blurb provides the big picture of what the series covers.
Create a story blurb. Each book in the series needs a story blurb. This is the advance planning to build an effective series.
Develop a system for retaining key pieces of information throughout the series. This ties directly into maintaining consistency. The system may be a spreadsheet with characters, or file folders with detailed descriptions.

Ending a Series

Ending a series can be emotionally difficult. The author has lived in the created series for a long time and reaching the end is hard. Readers too are invested in the series. The author should have a solid plan for ending a series, rather than letting the stories peter out or the author burning out on the series.

Do you have a favorite series that you can’t stop reading? You can read about my Magic Carousel series in my Work-in Progress post.