Okay, Gang. I have the flu, and feel like a truck ran me over several times. I swore I would not get it. I was determined! But it has made its way into the immune system of all three kids in the past month, and it’s now taken me out. So, I thought what could I do for the blog today that is pre-fabbed? I wriote this up for the So. Cal Conference two weeks ago and based my workshop on it. This is more for the writers who visit here, but it might be fun for readers to look at too. I’d also love to hear what the other Chicks have to say about writing the series.
Hope you enjoy!
Michele (going back to bed and watching LOST DVD to catch up with sons on it)
Writing the Series
By
Michele Scott
What makes a series work? I have a few thoughts on it. I write two mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, which I never thought I’d write a series. It sort of fell into my lap. I wrote one book and my agent suggested that it be a series—(the wine lover’s). At first it seemed kind of scary but once you get started, the fear vanishes and you sit your butt down and write the series. Hopefully, these tips will take some of the fear (if you have any) away and help you get started on your series.
1.Love your characters and think their story through. That means—what is their story? Who are they? What do they believe in? What is their history? Their faith? Their marital status? How they got to where they are be it at a positive place in their life or a negative/and usually if it is a positive when you start your book, things change quickly because the goal for your protagonist is to make a journey and grow from that journey.
2.The sub-plot or plots make a series continuous. It’s that element of what is going to happen in the protagonists’ life as well as in some of your secondary characters which can become almost as important to your readers as your protagonist. Get your reader vested into the characters’ lives and you will have them hooked. You will still need to write a main plot line, and with mystery that is going to be the murder mystery and the puzzle that goes along with that. But a series continues because the reader wants to know about these people they love and yearn more to know about. Think of your favorite TV shows, or a movie that you didn’t want to end, or that did end and you wished there was more to it. So, ask yourself—who are these people and what will make them someone that others will want to invest a few hours with. Furthermore what will make me want to invest months and years with? Interview your characters. You don’t have to know how this will all turn out, but if you do that is wonderful. I don’t always know how a series will end. That is why I know the past and everything I possibly can about the characters. A publisher may decide to end the series, or they may decide after five books that they want three more, and the writer needs to be prepared for that. That’s a good thing. But the writer also needs to be prepped that the series may not continue and therefore end the book with a satisfactory ending, but be able to open up those different storylines in case the series comes back or even may go to another house.
3.With series fiction, you must write each book to please both the first time reader and the following fan. A reader picking up your third or sixth book must be able to follow the book from start to finish without becoming totally lost in all of the sub-plot and characterization that you’ve built. At the same time you have the job of not boring your following in fans by constantly filling in back story that you’ve repeated in every book. It’s about pacing, consistency and the balance of what fills the new reader in and yet doesn’t leave the old reader thinking, “No duh. You’ve told us that a million times.” That also brings the reader out of the story because their focus goes direct to the author who has repeated herself, and does not maintain the here and now of the current story.
a.Chronology within a series. You can go with one of two routes here. Your stories can take place basically within a short time span—say month to month, and I think this may work better outside of mystery. If you’re doing young adult that shorter time span can work, or if you’re doing a chick lit or women’s fiction I think it fits better. But that is my opinion. With a mystery series. Your reader really has to suspend their belief system, especially if you are writing an amateur sleuth. Because let’s face it, it’s kind of rare that any one finds a dead body in their life, much less eight in two years.
b.So, then the other option is to go year by year, or even jump a few years between stories. That depends on deadlines in some ways. I have tight deadlines, so I tend to move my books in six month type increments, or I look at the pub schedule and think okay, Wine # 3 was out in March, and wine # 4 will be out this coming July, and wine # 5 will be out next Feb, so I kind of look at Nikki’s life that way, and age her as the series moves forward. Whichever you choose stay consistent. Don’t make your character 35 in one book and 50 in another. Also keep your storyline consistent. If your hero gets migraine headaches in book one, then in book five he should still get them.
The niche mystery:
1.Mystery series publishers seem to love hobbies/passions. So, if you have a hobby or an expertise in something, especially something that a lot of other people are interested in, then this may be an avenue you want to explore. For me it was wine and horses. I know something about both. So, I’ve used the niches and been able to promote not only specifically to mystery readers but also take a look at a second tier audience like wine and food lovers or equestrians. All the niche really is, is your setting. It’s your backdrop. It’s the winery or the ranch, and I include information in each of these areas. The key with is not to overwhelm and bore the reader who knows nothing about your niche, as well as not insult the reader who is an expert. In some ways this setting becomes a character in itself because you have to make it interesting. Don’t overdo though with description. Again, give enough to make a reader who has never experienced that setting, “the experience.” However, the reader who has been there, the goal is they think, “Yeah, I know that place or have had that experience.” This equates to a connection, which equals an emotional response. That is exactly what you want (as long as it’s a positive one—meaning they don’t throw the book down). Balance, balance, balance. It is hard to find and the only way I know to get it, is by finding it yourself. It will click in your gut when you know have you achieved a balance between narrative, description, dialogue, action, etc.
2.My experience with publishing a series is that a series is sold in threes and then two and then two more and on and on, as long as it is selling through. I want to caution you here. Let’s take the best possible scenario: You sell your book and the publisher wants three because either they want a series or you have pitched it as such. So, they buy three from you. Be sure if this happens that you give yourself a reasonable amount of time to meet your deadlines, because here is the process: (they like no more than 9 months in between books). You also have to promote each book as it comes out. You can easily burn out because many times the rewards at first can feel few and far between. I don’t want to put a damper on this, but facts are facts. And the bottom line is even if this happens to you, if you are really passionate about writing, you’ll get over it and just write. So, discuss with your agent what kind of timeline you can do three books in. I don’t know if you can say that you need a year between books if this is your first time. They want to release you faster than that, but I think it’s reasonable to ask for nine months from your end. And, go over your contracts carefully. Ask your agent when you don’t understand something. Don’t get lulled into this idea that, “You’re going to be published and therefore hit the NYT list and sell a million books.” That would be wonderful, but unlikely, which means you have to be realistic, especially when doing genre fiction. The most important thing you can do for yourself as a writer is not get caught up in trends, but if you are writing a series you want to write, then write it. If you’re writing it because you think it will sell based on what other series are now selling, don’t do it. Trends change and by the time you catch up, it will have changed. Look at chick lit two years ago and look at it now. It was hot, hot a couple of years ago, and now it seems to be a hard sale. I caution you then to not think that because say paranormals are hot right now that you write that because you think it’s hot. It may be, but you have to write it because you really want to. Otherwise it shows up in the writing and no one (especially readers) are fooled.
What is the goal then? Your job is to write the best possible book you can write one book at a time. It’s that simple. Write a book you want to write, because there is no guarantee it’s going to sell. Your mindset has to be that you are writing this because you truly enjoy writing the characters and their stories. If you do that, then I’d say your actual chances of publishing are higher. Enjoy the process. That’s why you do it in the first place!
If you have any questions about writing the series, feel free to e-mail me off my site at michele@michelescott.com.
www.michelescott.com
Here are some books on writing that I tend to come back to time again:
Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver
How to Write A Damn Good Mystery by James Frey
How to Grow A Novel by Sol Stein
Stein On Writing—Sol Stein