Today’s post comes from Fiona Ingram, who began her career as a children’s author with a family trip to Egypt. The short story she intended to write for her two nephews (who had accompanied her) turned into a book, and subsequently into plans for a series.
Developing a children’s series is both rewarding and taxing for the author, and possibly gratefully welcomed by parents whose children suddenly discover a hero they can relate to and whose actions keep them riveted. Isn’t it wonderful when a child begs, nay, commands his or her parents to go out and buy the next in a favorite series because they ‘absolutely have to know’ what is going to happen next. There are many children’s series currently on the market and perhaps many adults are reading them as well as their children.
Developing a children’s series is not an exact science and not a guaranteed road to writing success.
- Sometimes an author will start out with an idea, and try to stretch the story over several books, but to no avail. They discover that when a story is done … it’s done! On the other hand, an author may find that the story takes off and grows into something that spills over the last two words (“The End”) and shapes itself into another and then another and then another book, before winding down to a great final climax. Yet another scenario is when the author creates a set of characters that have several adventures, each one clearly contained with a storyline. The characters have a particular history or set of circumstances to retain the familiarity for readers. Readers keep coming back for more action.
- Can a writer tell if the story has the potential for a series? The plot will evolve naturally if the characters are appealing, and if their personal growth and development hold the readers’ attention. Again, appealing characters are not worth anything if the action and conflict are not compelling. There has to be a perfect marriage between plot and characters to sustain the strength of a series.
- So why do children love an exciting series? A gifted author will be able to create characters that readers can relate to, and either love or hate. The readers get to know the characters well as the action evolves and, as each book comes out, can explore something new about their heroes.
- Characters become friends to the avid young reader, who shares in the hopes, dreams and choices the character makes. Readers are amazingly loyal to their favorite characters, even though they may often disagree with the character’s choices. A good writer can explore these further, enabling readers to begin to make their own choices, especially in a moral dilemma or emotional conflict. Parents who make the time to read with their children, or who are interested in their children’s book choices, will be able to discuss these issues further. It’s a great way of dealing with ‘sticky’ issues because the discussion is less focused on the child and more on a fictional character. It may be easier for a child to express an opinion if discussing a topic via a character’s choices.
- Sensible advice: Amy Allgeyer Cook at Inde-Debut gives 5 good reasons why a first-time author should NOT start out with a series. But wait a moment, I hear you ask, aren’t you marketing your own book as the first in a series? Yes, although I hadn’t planned on that initially. I thought I’d create lots of exciting, unrelated adventures for my heroes. But just after the halfway mark in book one, things changed and the mythology behind the story grew and grew into almost a story on its own. It was then I surrendered and said to the characters, “OK, you win, it’s a series.” Whereupon they all burst into mad cheering, especially the ones who made it into book two.
Perhaps writers shouldn’t set out to ‘create’ a series but rather let an original good story develop, allowing the characters and plot potential to determine the end result.
Editor’s Note: Would you consider writing a series, either for children or adults? Why or why not?
Read more about Fiona and her middle grade adventure novel The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by visiting FionaIngram.com or Secretofthesacredscarab.com.
That question hits really close to home for me.
My first sci-fi novel (the one currently going through a huge rewrite) had been planned as the first of, not just a trilogy, but a 9-book series (a group of three distinct trilogies that follow different members of the same family). At the time I started that novel, I had no other story ideas yet, and thought it would be my only “claim to fame.” But once the first draft was done, more story ideas took over my brain like wild vines. Now I have more “waiting in the wings” than I can (possibly) write.
I’ve been going back and forth about it, and am currently undecided about the trilogy idea (let alone a series). This quandary was emphasized by the fact that my main genre (sci-fi & fantasy) has a strong foundation in trilogies and series. As of now, I’m concentrating on simply getting that first novel out there as a stand alone. I did already start writing the sequel, up to about five chapters in, then decided to put it on hold until I see how the first one fares.
Writing a sequel is HARD. I didn’t realize just how hard until I tried. You need similarity and at the same time, something unique. I found myself reiterating bits of what happened in the first book, and explaining character relationships because, what if someone wants to read this one but didn’t read the first? And I ultimately didn’t want to go that route. I’ve seen it done in other sequels, and it’s very off-putting to the reader for two reasons:
1. If they did read the first book, the summary is boring. You want to get right into what happens next.
2. If they didn’t read the first book, and you start with a summary or flashback of what happened before, the reader feels like they’re missing out, and you start off with a disconnected reader/author relationship.
I had a bad experience with this just yesterday. Joe Haldeman is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi authors. I read his novel Marsbound last year, and the sequel, Starbound, just came out last month. I picked it up at the library the other day and started reading it yesterday… and returned it after only reading about 15 or so pages. The whole beginning was a summary of the book I’d already read. If I can’t understand what happens in this book without a detailed account of the events in the first, then no thanks. And that decision hurt because I really like that author. I think he could have done better. Skip the recap, and I’m okay. I feel each story should be able to stand on its own. Completely. If the reader is intrigued enough by book two without having to read previous events, then I feel they’ll be more inclined to seek out book one and read it as well… then snag up book three the moment it’s released.
I want to be able to pick up any book off a shelf and read it for what it is, whether it’s part of a series or not.
However, if that first novel that I mentioned above gets an offer for continuation, I’m certainly not going to decline it. And I wonder how many of these series books we see (especially in YA fiction) are the result of a contract that the author couldn’t refuse, not something that was originally intended for that story.
.-= Read Lydia Sharp´s last article ..How Much Do You Love Your Story? =-.
Lydia,
I don’t write/read science fiction or fantasy, so I can’t really comment on the whole trilogy thing, but from what you say, it sounds like they would be utter murder to write. Glad I don’t have to think about that!
Hi Lydia, it sounds as if you have a wealth of wonderful ideas bubbling in your head. If you are worried about the dreaded prologue (as I am regarding my next nearly-finished book in the series) you might want to read the post on prologues (When To Skip The Prologue) by an excellent writer K.M. Weiland. Her posts are really worth reading.
http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/2007/12/skip-prologue.html
She also has a post When Not To Skip the Prologue. I found both very useful.
Great discussion. I think series are more popular now than ever. As readers we get vested in these characters and want more.
.-= Read Southpaw´s last article ..First I was afraid, I was petrified… =-.
Southpaw,
Have you read “A Series of Unfortunate Events”? Brilliant!
Guess I should have made it clear that I don’t write YA, and I think there are excellent points made in this article about why a children’s series is a good idea. I grew up reading series books… Encyclopedia Brown, Sweet Valley High, and the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books (do those count?), to name a few.
As a writer/reader of adult fiction, though, I’m undecided. Mainly because there aren’t many out there that have impressed me. But I seem to have the same issue with film sequels and series, so it could very well just be me. 🙂
@Fiona,
Thanks for the link. Prologues can be a tricky beast. As a reader, I don’t mind them at all. As a writer, they are a thorn in my side. I cut the one I had for my first novel, and added one to my second novel. It’s all about what works for the individual story.
.-= Read Lydia Sharp´s last article ..How Much Do You Love Your Story? =-.
Sweet Valley High was the best! I cringe now when I see those cheesy covers. And The Babysitter’s Club? Loved those too 🙂
Lot will depend on your initial design and where it leads you. I started my first Sorcerer novel because I thought I could do a better job than what I was seeing on my favorite fiction site (this is an adult site).
I knew where I wanted to end up, but within a week, I knew the scope was much too broad to do it in 400 pages.
If you tweak your initial concept high enough and create your characters deeply enough, you might be “forced” to do a series.
By creating your story world properly, you could have many of the same characters working in a new novel in the same universe; they don’t have to be a series.
Or, you could have new characters in the same story world.
I wouldn’t advise using the same characters in a different story world. What do you folks think about that?
.-= Read Bruce H. Johnson´s last article ..Tech Writer to Fiction Writer 10: Truth Revealed =-.
Great article, Fiona and thanks for linking mine as well. I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve said. Series books are wonderful (my favorite read, in fact) but not everything can be a series. And not everything should. For me, the bottom line is: Write the story that’s in your heart. If it can’t be contained in one volume you might have a series on your hands.
.-= Read Amy Allgeyer Cook´s last article ..WEDNESDAY WORRIES =-.