What makes a story series-worthy? And how do you plan a series… do you start
out intending to write one, or does one book evolve into more? What are the
craft elements involved?
These are questions I frequently hear from my editing clients
and students, and while there are a lot of variables that can affect the
answer, there are some general guidelines to keep in mind.
What makes a story series-worthy is a unique and compelling
character or concept that lends itself to multiple story ideas. In other words, something with a hook - and
the potential for generating subsequent stories; something that leaves readers
wanting more.
A series is generally built around one or more unifying
elements, such as:
Character – Each
story features the same character(s) in different circumstances. This type of
series may be sequential, meaning each book is part of a larger story arc in
which the characters grow and evolve (e.g. Ramona
and Beezus), or it may be stand-alone, in that each book makes minimal reference
to past events and the characters seldom, if ever, change or age (e.g. the Magic Treehouse series).
Theme – e.g. the Dear America series, built around the
theme of American History, with each book focusing on a unique set of
characters from a specific time period.
Concept - Such as
scariness (Goosebumps), or science (Magic School Bus).
Setting – Such as
the Wayside School series.
Some series are open-ended, and can continue as long as
there is demand for more, others are designed to have a finite number of books,
as in a trilogy. (This is usually the case with a series that has a unifying
story arc.)
In today’s market, publishers generally want to see if a
character or concept will fly before they commit to more of the same. But it is
still possible to pitch a series, especially in chapter book format, which
continues to be the most popular market for series books. To be on the safe side, when conceiving a
series, it’s best to draft no more than 1-3 complete manuscripts before
attempting to pitch them. Then brainstorm a handful of other ideas/titles and
write a paragraph or two on each, as well as a series proposal or
prospectus.
In my
experience, the craft elements of a successful series are as follows:
1) A great concept – this is your hook,
the character or idea that keeps your readers coming back for more.
2) Consistency - Series readers pay
careful attention to details, so it’s important to be consistent with facts,
events, characteristics and voice. Most
series writers find it helps to keep a series bible, or some sort of
organization system that tracks settings, character traits, events, and any
unanswered questions raised from one book to the next.
3) Some fun surprises – The trick is to
aim for a balance between satisfyingly inevitable and pleasantly
surprising. While still being very
consistent, weave in a few surprises now and then that make the reader say,
“Wow! I never would have guessed that – but it makes perfect sense!”
4) Flexibility - Avoid potentially
limiting character traits, settings or other choices that may restrict where
you can go with your characters or story ideas. Try to keep as many options
open for as long you can.
5) Autonomy - Even if your series is
sequential, it's helpful to make each book as self-sufficient as you can in
case someone reads that book first. Write for the person who hasn't read the
previous books, the person who's reading out of order - and make sure you’ve
given them enough information to understand who the characters are, where they are,
what’s at stake, and any other essentials they need to know in order to follow
the story (without info-dumping, of course!)
6) Satisfaction – There’s nothing more
frustrating than falling in love with a series for a particular reason and then
having the style, focus or rules change on you. Remember what readers love,
that hook that got them interested in the first place, and give them plenty of
that with each installment while also charting new territory.
7) Perspective - Maintain a sense of the
long view and what you want to ultimately get across in the series. If it’s
character-driven and sequential, know, or at least have an idea, where your
main character’s going to end up. Begin
at the end and work your way backwards to figure out how you're going to get
there by the last book. If it’s concept
driven, don't get too far away from that concept with any one story. Even if
each story has a unique setting or different characters, make sure it addresses
that overarching theme and has fulfilled its mission as part of the series.
*****
Emma Walton Hamilton is the co-author (with
her mother, Julie Andrews) of over 25 picture books, chapter books and middle
grade novels, including the “Dumpy the Dump Truck,” “Very Fairy Princess” and “Little
Bo” series. She serves as director of
the Children’s Lit Fellows program at Stony Brook Southampton, where she
teaches for the Creative Writing MFA, and is a freelance children’s book editor
as well as the creator of the Just Write Children’s Books home-study courses
and the Children’s Book Hub. Find out
more at:
*****
K. M. Weiland has generously offered to offer a copy of her book, "Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success" as a prize. All you have to do is comment on this post to be entered in the drawing. Must be a signed-up member of the Chapter Book Challenge to qualify. Comment before noon on March 16th, 2014. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator on March 18th, 2014 at noon.
