On June 17, 2023, Kasie and Rex welcomed back Catherine Peace for a continued conversation around series writing. Here are the show notes:

Theme for the day

Writing a Full Series Part 2 with Special Guest Catherine Peace

Agenda

• Key elements of a successful series
• Should you plan and write a series?
• How to write a series outline

Link to the podcast.

Segment 1

We had Catherine Peace with us last week to talk about writing a series and we both alluded to the popularity of series in three specific genres: 1) romance, 2) fantasy, and 3) mystery. The characteristics of each of different but the purpose of the series is pretty much the same:

• Give readers more of the world and people you’ve created
• Create a backlist for purchases when the late-series books catch fire
• Grow and/or maintain the intricate design of the world you’ve invented
• Give the reader a familiar experience again and again.

Romance series tend to focus on people connected in specific ways: siblings (Bridgerton), teammates (Meghan Quinn’s Vancouver Agitators hockey team books), coworkers (Nicole Snow’s Bossy Seattle Suits books), rock bands (JT Geisingger’s Bad Habit series), mafia (Penelope Sky’s Buttons books) or other organized crime (JA Huss’s Mister series).

Fantasy novels frequently have a Big Bad that is too big to be defeated in a single book (Amanda Bouchet’s A Promise of Fire series or Brian Stavely’s The Emperor’s Blades series).

Mystery novels benefit from a specific sleuth that readers like to see solve the mystery, catch the criminal, or prosecute the bad guy (Walter Mosely’s Easy Rollins for example).

What’s the thing that keeps you reading a series?

What makes you stay with an author? What makes you buy their backlist?

Segment 2/3

As we were leaving last week, I challenged Rex and Catherine to outline a new series. Let’s check in on what those outlines look like.

How do you know what goes in which books?

How do you know how many books there will be? (JK Rowling cheated with the number of years Harry would be at Hogwarts)

How do you know what the key idea will be? Where does the key idea come from?

How do you choose the setting?

How do you determine what your characters will be like?

Two kinds of series (according to this link):

1. One major conflict that takes multiple books to resolve (Lord of the Rings)
2. A series of conflicts that each resolve in a single book but connect because of characters or place. (can be read out of order)

Begin the series with a place/set of characters you’ve already created. Consider what makes these characters or this place compelling.

For the sake of continuity, pay close attention to the following (direct usage from this link):

• The names and descriptions of minor characters
• Characters’ motivations
• Key events (such as birthdays, anniversaries and other pivotal moments)
• Character language and phrasing (how they express themselves)
• Character habits
• Ideals they hold about themselves, their world and their future

Segment 4

We’ll get another how-to in here this week, too. This one is in eight steps (link):

1. Find your Central Idea
2. Brainstorm key plot points for each book
3. List ideas for each book’s end goal and the series
4. Decide on the broad setting of your series
5. Study successful series’ plot structure for insights
6. Brainstorm characters who will carry your series
7. Outline your series’ main events and themes
8. Start and strengthen arcs between books later