You’re a fiction writer, so you know how to make use of the millions of thoughts running about in your brain. Publishing your first work doesn’t quell the insatiable need to keep writing. You can always find one story among your many ideas for a book series. Learning to create a book series takes a lot of time and effort, and it demands a lot of study into complex characters. Whether you have a detailed strategy for the entire series or you’re making it up as you go along, the most important thing is that you have a firm grasp on the series’ overall framework. Writers of book series, here’s a cheat sheet for you.
Pick an appropriate plot device.
Your first consideration should be whether or not your plot can be expanded into more than one book. Avoid stretching a story that cannot be stretched. Finding the correct genre and ideas that work well together is crucial when writing a series. Fantasy, adventure, and mythology, for instance, tend to fare better as ongoing series. These types of series have historically accounted for the vast majority of bestsellers. On the other side, romance isn’t very effective. Modern romance novelists tend to keep their works succinct because readers may lose interest in the genre if it goes on for too long.
If you want your book series to stand out from the pack, it’s important to perform some background reading on similar works in the field. This will provide you a jumping-off point for developing the story into a longer form suitable for a series.
Make a choice on the story’s outline.
The first step, regardless of whether your plan is to write three books in a series or twenty, is to figure out the story’s overall arc and outline it. This allows you to choose the themes and areas of study that will be developed throughout the series.
Writing a book series for the first time? Stick to a maximum of three books. There’s a magic number — three — that’s just right for any situation. If you outline a three-novel arc, you’ll have a better idea of how to write the book. Keep in mind that mastering the art of book formatting is the surest method to reduce plot complications and increase the likelihood of your book being part of a successful series.
Conceive the end in advance
It can be good to plot out how a specific book in a series will wrap up ahead of time. If you know when you want the story to end, you can plan it out more effectively.
Your characters are your elixir
Characters are the bread and butter of a great story; they propel the plot ahead and keep the audience interested. Especially if you intend to write a book series, your characters must be powerful, distinct, emotionally resonant, and well-defined. To accomplish this, you must give your characters flesh and blood; give them a purpose to be in your story.
One of the reasons why people enjoy reading is the ability to relate to the characters. If you create your characters as distinct as possible, you have a good chance of captivating your audience. Also, learn how to maintain character continuity between novels. Even if you intend to make a good character negative or a negative character positive, do so without jarring the reader. The writing should feel natural and not pushed to the reader.
Create loose ends
Yes, when we say “create loose ends,” we mean it literally. Curiosity is one of the reasons a reader chooses to read the sequel to your novel. To arouse this curiosity, you must establish plausible loose ends. Effective techniques include flashbacks, prophecies, and open endings. However, just like anything else, do not overdo it.
Additionally, do not leave all loose ends until the very end. Try to tie up loose ends as soon as feasible, whether in the second or penultimate book in a series. Try your hand at writing a novel of the horror genre, which is noted for its nerve-wracking plots and surprising turns.
One of the simplest ways to comprehend the concept of producing a book series is to read a few already popular series. A book series also has a high likelihood of being adapted into a film, giving you another motivation to learn how to adapt your book into a screenplay. Here is our selection of the top book series.
This is not to say that you must know how each scene will conclude in advance. As a first step, break your novel into chapters, draught each chapter individually, and consider how it will contribute to the whole. In time, it will click for you how to wrap up the series. Once you have finished your rough copy, you can begin polishing it into a polished document. Readers enjoy suspense because it piques their interest, but it shouldn’t feel pushed into the narrative.
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins has authored a series of adventure novels titled The Hunger Games. The main characters of the trilogy are Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Each year in Panem, children from the districts are chosen to compete in The Hunger Games, a tournament of death. The narrative recounts how the protagonists survive the death race and rebel against the Capitol.
All of the books were bestsellers, with 65 million copies sold in the United States alone. In addition, it has been sold in 56 countries, translated into 51 languages, and adapted into a motion picture.
List of books in the series:
- The Hunger Games (2008)
- Catching Fire (2009)
- Mockingjay (2010)
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of epic fantasy novels written by J.R.R. It began as a sequel to his previous work Hobbit, but evolved into its own series. It is one of the most popular and critically-acclaimed book series ever published. The tale is centered on the major antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who fashioned the one ring that can control the other rings of power.
The book contains pop culture references and continues to inspire other works of art, literature, and other literary works. Over 150 million copies have been sold, and it has been reprinted numerous times and translated into 38 languages.
Books in the series:
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
These book series have obviously been written over a long time span. Any talented author can produce a successful book series if they put their minds to it, stick with it, care about the subject, and use their imagination. After finishing the first novel in a series, you should contact a reputable self-publishing agency about promoting and publicizing the book and the subsequent novels. Which do you, as a writer, prefer: penning standalone novels or continuing a series? I also want to know what book series had you completely engrossed as a reader.
