Writing a Series Everyone Will Rave About
Elizabeth Klein spent fourteen years turning one story into nine books. If writing a single novel feels hard enough, here’s how to build a series your readers won’t want to put down…..
I see you cringing. Write a series? Who me? You must be joking!
But hey, modern binge-readers love to devour a great series. Who doesn’t love to watch a series on TV that you can’t wait for during the week? I can think of plenty I’ve seen and still love to watch.
Many readers are the same about books and love them just as much. Especially if they’ve discovered one with amazing characters they can connect with. If the plotline is also well thought out and woven through, then it’s a recipe for success and readers will love one book after another in the series.
But it’s hard enough writing one book, let alone a whole series!
I hear you and agree totally. If you’re not a quick writer and take a year or more at composing one novel, then the thought of writing a series will terrify you. But if your existing plot could sustain longer, multiple storylines, it has potential for a series.
At present, I have three series I keep alive by fleshing out new protagonists, villains and adventure arcs that arise from previous books. And the more books I write, the more characters and plotlines can be created from them. That’s the exciting part. You don’t have to think up a brand new story because the world you’ve already created has enough characters, perils and adventures to keep you going as a writer.
For instance, my Bethloria series is the longest with currently nine books, in which are a plethora of exciting new characters which keep increasing with brand new adventures that my readers enjoy. It essentially began with two brothers forced to flee after witnessing a massacre. That alone tells you there’s going to be lots of perils and drama involved, especially if it’s epic fantasy, a genre much loved by fantasy readers.
Each new book in your own series will need multiple separate threads that you can weave together to create one amazing narrative. That means you’ll require a memorable protagonist and a cast of supporting characters who are endearing and complex in their own right. Readers should want to follow their individual journeys as they might their friends.
For instance, the brothers in the Bethloria series each have a tale of their own to tell, which means separate points of view exist in all the books. The brothers are different in as many ways as possible; in the way they handle danger, pain, other characters they encounter along the way and so on, which makes for interesting reading.
The journey of characters in a series must take them through both physical and emotional changes. Do they have the potential to be developed and fleshed out enough to sustain multiple books? Tolkein allowed Pippin and Merry, Sam and Frodo as well as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to have separate story arcs, all coming neatly together by story’s end in The Lord of the Rings.
Yes, but I can’t write a blockbuster like The Lord of the Rings!
Sure, it’s a challenge just to write a single novel. Writing the nine Bethloria books took fourteen years to complete and there’s still more to come. But a series takes writing to a whole new level, one that needs commitment to complete all the books for the sake of your readers. Once you begin, you’ll discover how much you’ll want to achieve writing that series and how much you actually love your story. You’ll also realise how much you will want to find out what happens, compelling you to keep writing.
You will also discover there are basically two types of readers. Those who like one book and when they’ve finished reading it, that’s enough; the shorter the better. And there are those readers who really enjoy becoming lost in the mega serials. They enjoy the plotlines, the lengthy descriptions of settings and they especially love the characters.
Writers are the same. There are those who wouldn’t write a series in a million years. Writing one book is difficult enough and leave me alone please. There are those who enjoy world building, plotting, scheming and forgetting about reality. They dream of writing that book that leads to a long line of continuing, wonderful adventures and, of course, sales. Over the decades we’ve seen: Sherlock Holms, Miss Marple, Father Brown, LOTR, The Chronicles of Narnia, Dune, Harry Potter, The Space Odyssey series, and loads more.
Have you ever come to the end of a book and felt you wanted to read more about a favourite character or storyline?
As an author, I love creating plotlines into series. I don’t want the wonderful worlds I’ve become so familiar with and created to end with the words, the end.
I love spending time exploring my characters’ world, being inside their heads, watching them get in and out of trouble, helping them on their quests. In so many ways, my characters become good friends who make me laugh or cry. I cheer them on. So, what kind of writer will you be? Is there a series lurking inside you, just waiting for your fingers to type it onto your computer screen? If so, get started and see what happens.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Klein grew up in a small village in New South Wales, Australia. She trained as a teacher and taught for almost thirty years. She taught writing at a Community College for two years and home tutored for about five. In 2015, she and her husband left Sydney to travel in a caravan full time. Besides having written many short stories, articles, plays and poems, she’s also authored YA and junior fiction books, as well as educational books and has over 100 published works to date.
You can find out more about her books here: https://www.elizabethkleinauthor.com/
THE WELLS OF CALLYSTRA
Through sheer desperation and a perilous journey, Aeron Bregolas manages to unite his elven people with the largest dwarf kingdom in Bethloria.
But at what cost?
To save both himself and his men, he is forced to activate an ancient talisman with devastating consequences to himself. His one salvation is to travel to Mount Callystra where the waters of a mythical well alone can reverse its deadly effects.
Truths will be revealed. Allies will be forged and traitors exposed. Above all, the spark of love will ignite two hearts.
