The Perks of Writing a Series

Why would a writer consider writing a series?

I've already blogged about what a series involves and how to keep track of the information involved in writing that series.  Now let's see why a series can be a plus for a writer.

Throughout the ages, series have been written, read, and reread.  Many of them have been written for children.  The most popular include Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter, Little House on the Prairie, The Babysitters Club, The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden.  Adult series include Sherlock Holmes, A Song of Fire and Ice, and too many in-between to list.  Everybody has their favorite. :)

What is a series?  According to Dictionary.com, a series is a set of successive volumes or issues of a periodical published in like form with similarity of subject or purpose.

CONNECTIONS MAKE IT EASIER

The "similarity of subject or purpose" can also be called "connections."  It only takes one book or idea to spawn more.  In that one book or idea, a writer has a variety of connections from which to create a series.  If you're looking for one, the following are a start.

Theme
Because series books already contain some type of connection, there's a huge chance you have a theme.  Whether it's family, a town/city/area, shared backgrounds, fighting the bad guys, weddings, saving a marriage, sheikhs, cowboys and ranchers, babies, good vs. evil, and more, there's a basic theme or thread that runs through all of books.

Characters
Most books don't involve only one, main character.  In fiction there are two: the protagonist and the antagonist.  In romance, there are also two:  the Hero and the heroine (H/h).  These second two may switch roles as protag and antag.  Whatever type of book you're writing, each of these two characters has:

• Background - Friends or a acquaintances, occupation, hobbies/interests, training, school(s), life experiences, and more.
• Family - Bothers, sisters, cousins, parents...
• Conflict - What keeps them from getting whatever it is they want

Setting

• City, small town, apartment complex, neighborhood, office, armed forces, jungle, desert, distant planet, the future, the past, alternate reality
• Seasons or weather related.  For instance, three books could be three different stories about surviving the same natural disaster.

MINOR CHARACTERS

The role of a minor character can lead to the role of a major character (protag/antag) in the next book.  This could be a friend, relative, or any other character that appears or is mentioned (introduced) in the first book. The latter can be used especially for longer series that isn't necessarily based on a family.  At least that's what I discovered when 2 related books became an 8 book series.

Summary aka let me confuse you:  After the line I first published with closed, I sold a book to Harlequin American.  I needed more and wondered if anything I'd considered writing in the past would work for this new-to-me line that focused on Home and Family.  I had two stories that were interrelated by the two heroes being friends (1st connection-friends).  These were stories and characters I'd always liked and had hoped that some day they would be published.  They were originally set in two different areas, so to help tie them together a little more, I decided to move the second book to the same setting as the first.  Desperation, Oklahoma (2nd connection-town) was born.   The heroes were both rodeo cowboys (3rd connection-occupation), although they didn't compete in the same events.  One was a bronc rider, the other a bull rider.

So now I had two heroes, Hero1 and Hero2.  While working on those, I discovered some old notes on a story about Hero1's younger brother, who had run away and vanished when he was in high school.  Their father had died, their mother had deserted them, and little brother had picked up and left, early on.  My editor, however, wanted to see a story about the sister of Heroine2 (1st connection for bk3) .  Okay, that was doable.  Enter Heroine3.  Add Hero3, the town's sheriff, and there was the story's 2nd connection: the town.  I adjusted Book 2 to add in a mention of a secret relationship between what would become Hero3 and Heroine3, and decided not to go with the younger brother quite yet.  I had an idea.  Why had the mother of Hero1 deserted her husband and two sons?  Answer:  She was pregnant and too young to be the mother of three.  Of Native American heritage, she wanted to join the rodeo and did.  Aha!  A secret sister!  Heroine4 was created, the unknown sister of Hero1 (1st connection-family, and a new character).  Heroine4 knew who her brothers were and she arrived at her brother's ranch, looking for a job as a wrangler for Heroine1's boys' ranch.  (H/h1 were, by this time, married with a young son).  A revisit to the setting in the first book created the 2nd connection of both ranch & town.  Hero4 was the head wrangler, and of course the two butted heads.  And he was a new character.

Still with me?  Yes, it can be confusing. 

PIotting for future books, if there might be chance there might be some, I'd added a new female doctor to the town.  Hero5, Hero1's younger brother, (1st connection-family) arrived at the ranch in the epilogue of Book 4 (2nd connection-ranch & town).  Yes, his story was next.  Because of a debilitating injury, Hero5 was tended to by the female doctor (Heroine5).  As it turned out, the doctor had a brother, who had moved to town to become the city attorney a few years earlier and was introduced briefly in Book 5.  We're on to Book 6 with the brother (Hero6) of Heroine5.  Confused?  I am.  Heroine6 had appeared briefly in several of the books, so now she had her own story.  Several tries later, a new set of old characters never mentioned before, stepped forward for the telling of their stories.  Hero7 and Hero8 were brothers (1st connection-family), and another duo of old stories begun, but never told.  The location of their setting was moved within the state, so they could now friends with earlier heroes and heroines (2nd connection-town), they fit well in Desperation.  Heroine7 and Heroine8 were both new characters.

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes it took some thinking and brainstorming to keep the series going.  But I'll also admit that it was fun.  Books 1 and 2 led to books 3 and 4, which led to 5 and 6, and now 7 and 8-- with a bit of new, yet staying with the town, family and friends...and even occupations as ranchers, it worked.

Why did it work?

REVISITING FORMER CHARACTERS

One of the things I enjoy reading the most in a series or connected stories is learning what's been going on with former main characters or simply seeing the mention of former minor characters.  Having those minor characters or even briefly introduced characters take on a major role is just as good, if not better.  That's also why I've enjoyed writing a series.  People grow, their families grow, and so should fictional characters, whenever possible.  Stephen King, even when not writing a "series," will mention a place or name from previous novels.  It always brings a smile to my face.


PERK SUMMARY AND THE BIGGEST PERK

Readers Love Series

With the Desperation series (Hearts of Desperation, if you like), the connections are many.  Theme is much the same as Harlequin American Romance.  Home and Family.  Setting?  A small town.  Characters are connected in many ways, including friends, family, and occupations.  One grows out of the first and so on.  But first and foremost, I'm a reader.  I enjoy seeing "old friends" in a series, meeting new ones, and knowing that in a series I will have my favorites, whether reading OR writing.  That's the biggest perk of all.

As a writer, are you a reader?  Do you enjoy reading books in a series?  If you do, why aren't you writing one?  Yes, it takes work, and sometimes it might seem that there's nothing more to tell.  But in fiction, as in life, there's always more.  Give it a try.  The first book lays the groundwork, the second and subsequent books build the series.  Just remember to have fun!

I'll be a guest blogger at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs on Monday, June 24th.  I'll be delving into the setting of small towns, so stop in and say HI.  There may be some free books available for lucky visitors, too!

The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination. – Elizabeth Hardwick

Hearts of Desperation Main Characters and their Connections 
THE RODEO RIDER, Book 1 - Tanner O'Brien and Jules Vandeveer
 BACHELOR DAD, Book 2 - Dusty McPherson (friend of Tanner) and Kate Clayborne
 THE LAWMAN'S LITTLE SURPRISE, Book 3 - Morgan Rule (town sheriff) and Trish Clayborne (Kate's sister)
 THE RELUCTANT WRANGLER, Book 4 - Mac MacGregor and Nikki Johannson (Tanner's sister)
 THE MAVERICK'S REWARD, Book 5 - Tucker O'Brien (Tanner's brother) and Paige Miles (new doctor in town)
 BACHELOR DAD, Book 6 - Garrett Miles (Paige's brother and city attorney) and Libby Carter (works in the  local tavern, where Kate Clayborne McPherson provides her famous barbecued beef sandwiches)
 A NANNY FOR THE COWBOY - Luke Walker (friend to many in and around Desperation) and Hayley Brooks
 DESIGNS ON THE COWBOY - Dylan Walker (Luke's brother) and Glory Andrews

The Creative Process

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

The Key to Inspiration

A few days ago, I received an email from a reader via the contact form on my website.  She was reading my very first book, a Silhouette Romance titled RACHEL'S RESCUER.  No way was I not smiling when I read that she liked the book, although she hadn't finished it yet.  I hope the end doesn't disappoint her.  It's one of those endings that made me smile as I wrote it.

It's been almost thirteen years since I sold that first book, even longer since I first idea of it creaped into my mind.  It also doesn't seem like it was that long ago.  Not only has Silhouette Romance been a thing of the past, but I've added a few years to my age.  Even so, writing a book is always a new and exciting process.

After some thought and missing several Mondays and Wednesdays here, I decided that instead of my usual days and topics, I'd change things around a little and share what I've learned about writing in the past 15+ years on Thursdays.  When the mood strikes, I might stop in on a Monday, Wednesday, or maybe a Friday or weekend to share something different, but I'm hoping Thursdays won't find me as Mondays--and Wednesdays--have lately, wondering how I managed to forget what day it was and have allowed the it to pass without blogging. For those who stop by more frequently, I apologize and hope the change will help.

So here we go!

From Idea to Book

The question most asked of writers is, "Where do you get your ideas?"

I haven't discovered a single writer who has been able to answer that question in less than ten words.  Unless the answer is, "Everywhere," that is, and that's an honest answer.  Ideas spring from TV, movies, songs, books, overheard conversations, photos, the evening news, and much, much more.

A lack of ideas isn't usually a problem.  It's what to do with them.  Many a writer has had an inspiring idea for a story, only to discover, once begun, that it lacked something vital and eventually found its way to the bottom desk drawer.  Some ideas work.  Others don't work, no matter how long or hard we work on them or how badly we want them to.

An idea is only the beginning.  That sliver of inspiration goes through a long, arduous process to become a full story.  It involves characters, back stories, settings, goals, dialogue, and conflict, just to name a few.  The process can involve hours spent in front of a blank screen and even more hours, days, months and sometimes years putting letters and words together that become the story on that screen.

Example

RACHEL'S RESCUER was far from the first book I wrote and obviously not my first idea, nor the first book I wrote.  But it was a viable idea and it began as a silent reply to yet another rejection.  That reply was, "They want babies, brides and cowboys?  I'll give them babies, brides and cowboys."

Yes, my inspiration was a rejection.

It didn't take long to create the characters.  The "cowboy" was a rancher in Montana.  The "bride" was a mother, and the "baby" was her six-year-old son.

Then came the questions.

• What is one thing all mothers fear?  Answer: The loss of a child. After thinking of all the ways a child could be lost, I finally found the answer.  Aha!  Ex-in-laws (mother was a widow) were trying to take the child because...?  They had made an assumption about her and considered her (unfairly) to be a bad mother.  Conflict and Motivation for the mother.  She was on the run from them.
• What is the rancher/hero's conflict?  Answer: He didn't believe in love and marriage and didn't want a family.  Simple, right?  But why did he feel that way?  What was his Motivation?  He'd been in a bad marriage, and his wife (an absolute opposite of the rancher) had miscarried their baby.  One important thing.  He loved kids, but didn't know or accept it.
• Where to set the story?  Answer:  Montana.  It was a long way from where the heroine and her in-laws lived.
• How do the H/H meet? Answer: The heroine arrives at the hero's ranch with a sheriff following.  She thinks her ex-in-laws have found her. (They haven't.) Thinking the drive leading to the ranch is a road, she dead-ends at the ranch...with a flat tire.
• How to increase the conflict and keep the heroine there?  Answer:  A snowstorm.

That was how the story was born.

The tagline on the back cover reads: A sheriff, a snowstorm and suspicious ex-in-laws were hot on Rachel's heels...  I wish I could say I wrote that, but I didn't. ☺

 Of course more conflict arose, and the H/H could only fall in love.  It is a romance, after all. :)   But that's for another day.

Rachel's Rescuer
working title was
The Rancher and the Runaway Mom

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. - Steve Jobs

When Your Motivation and Creativity Need a Boost

MOTIVATION MONDAYS

Life has been getting in the way lately, so I'm behind on blogging.  In fact, I nearly skipped today, but something came through in my email that caught my attention.

iVillage.com often has some great motivation tools for a variety of things in our lives.

• Need some decorating or storage ideas?  
• Need some motivation to exercise?  
• Need some tips on making your relationships better?  
• Need tips on healthy foods?

iVillage will send you an email on the latest tips and tricks for all that and more.

Today's topic is 10 Ways to Boost Your Creativity, and here are the highlights:

1. Break Your Routine
2. Do It
3. Daydream
4. Brainstorm
5. Interact with People
6. Schedule It
7. Expand Your Experiences
8. Reflect
9. Relax
10. Change Your Space

Those are just the tip of the iceberg.  Use the link above or below to see it all.

# 10 is what I did this weekend.  I moved most of the furniture in my office.  With colder weather coming on, I decided my desk in front of a window might not be the best idea.  Too bad I didn't have time to do some painting!  Now I get to spend the rest of the week (and weeks to come) sorting through all the boxes and containers to throw out the things no longer needed or wanted.  I'm hopeful I can downsize, which in itself will mean less clutter and more room to CREATE!

Be sure to visit 10 Ways to Boost Your Creativity at iVillage for more information on each of the 10 Ways listed above.

"You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club." ~ Jack London

Choosing Our Paths

WRITING WEDNESDAYS

Last week's blog post is still sitting in draft.  After a few paragraphs written during a plague of interruptions, I decided to let it sit and simmer.  I'm glad I did.  Things happen for a reason.

Late last night I finished writing the first three chapters of a new book.  Those pages plus a synopsis will soon be a proposal that will be sent to my agent and then my editor.  Not that it's important, but mostly to set the stage for showing that, although our goals are quite often the same, the ways in which we get there can be very different.

I had a story idea.  I had the main characters.  The setting was already there.  What else did I need?

• Conflict? check
• Characters' backstories? check
• Opening? check
• Idea of what scenes 1-3 (first chapter) will involve? check
• 1st Turning Point? check
• Main Turning Point? check
• Black Moment? check
• Resolution aka HEA? check
• Story plotted?  Uh, not yet, so no check

That's the way I usually start.  Idea, characters (including their GMCs), bare bones plotting and an opening.  It's worked fairly well, but this is the first time I really thought about what I was doing.  I like it better when the plot simply falls into place when I first start to fill out my plotting board, but it didn't happen this time.  Other writers do it different ways.  Some are meticulous plotters, some are pansters and jump right in as soon as an idea strikes.  Others do it a little different each time.

DISCLAIMER:  Below is my method, the path I chose to take.  It is not the right path for everyone.  In fact, a few years ago it wouldn't have been the right path for me.  When I first started writing, it would have definitely NOT been my path.  We grow, we change, and we try new things.

The first chapter went fairly well, and the day after I finished it, I started the second chapter...only to realize chapter 1 need some changes.  Major changes.  All that plotting in my head that I'd done didn't gel when I moved on with the story.  What to do?

My choice at this point was to either go back and rewrite sections of the first chapter or to continue on with the first, keeping in mind what I'll need to change later.  I chose to wait until I finished the third chapter.

Let me say that I have many writing friends who revise and polish as they go.  They're pros at it.  It works well for them and they continue to make it work.  When I try it, I feel like I'm running a race on a treadmill.  I can't let go of the idea that I'm not moving forward.  That's merely a deception I haven't overcome.  Besides, I tell myself, it will have to be done at some point, so why not now?   Well, because I said so, I guess.

When I finished writing the second chapter (without revising anything in the first, but keeping in mind what I would change), I knew my characters much better.  They were letting me in their heads.  I was even jotting down snippets of dialogue to be used later that kept popping into my mind.  Those helped form more scene ideas, so I was able to add more scenes to my plotting board.  I was making headway. But as I opened my template to start chapter 3, I froze.  I was one chapter away from needing a solid plot.

Ideas come to us at the strangest times.  I've been working on making a new habit of taking a pad of paper with me each day when I go to pick up grandkids after school.  I go early for a good parking place, then sit. Prime time, if the brain cooperates.  The day after that third chapter freeze netted me all but three or four scenes for the rest of the book.  To be honest, I was amazed that they came to me so quickly and easily, but looking back, my subconscious was probably working on it all the time when my conscious mind was writing pages.

Last night's writing time took me to the end of chapter 3, so with all three chapters finished, except for the changes that I'll make in chapter one, I'm ready to finish plotting so I can write a seven to eight page synopsis.  Just knowing the main event (mini GMCs) of each scene is like having a road map of where the story is going and where it will end.  Sure, there will be some changes, especially those in the first chapter, but because I'm aware of it, I won't panic.  Or shouldn't, anyway. ☺

That's my path, but rest assured that it changes and morphs with each new story.  I love to hear about the paths of others, because there might be something in them that will be an asset in my mine.  Always remember, your path isn't set in stone.  Like the weather, it can changed in a moment's notice.  That's a good thing, because it means we're not only growing, but these small changes can help keep our writing process fresh.  Choose your path and make it uniquely yours!

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. ~ Robert Frost

From THE END to THE BEGINNING

MOTIVATION MONDAYS

One of the things that motivates me to get moving and start writing is when a new story idea is swirling through my head.  That usually happens during the last half of the current WIP, the least helpful time for new conversations to start up between new characters who have begun to take up residence in my head.  There are times when those newbies can get far too loud, drowning out the current characters, who stand in the corner, arms crossed, scowling.  (Yes, that's how they look in my head.  No, I'm not crazy.  I'm a writer.)

What's a writer to do when the new story takes over before the current one is finished?  Notes.  Copious notes.  Some can be salvaged and prove worthy, many won't.  It's a form of brainstorming without...well, without storming the brain. ☺  In fact, it's more like a dumping those maddening bits and pieces to make way for what needs to be attended to.

Yesterday was the official THE END to the writing of DESIGNS ON THE COWBOY.  Sure, there will be revisions.  That's pretty much a given.  And other small things will need to be attended to, such as a dedication and Dear Reader letter.  Those will come later.  For all intents and purposes, the book is finished, and I'm happy.  I like this book.  It's very emotional.  But then damaged heroes are like that.  Throw in a damaged heroine and...   I hope readers will like it, too.

It's all circular.  The end of one is the beginning of another, which eventually ends and another begins.  It's like George Carlin's joke about the spelling of his first name.  "G-E-O-R-G-E-O-R-G-E-O-R..."

Now that I'm done, I should be off on a vacation, right?  YES!  Uh, no.  But while a vacation isn't possible right now, I had planned to give myself a rest on the story/writing stuff for a few days, but it isn't happening.  Those characters are the next thing to yelling at me to get started.  Motivation for cleaning (and other life things) has been pushed aside, while Motivation (notice it's capitalized with a big M) for writing is cranked up to 12 on a scale of 1-10.  Let's face it.  I will be writing.  (Is there a Twitter # for that?)

Where does that motivation come from?  This time it came from one of the minor characters.  It's pretty obvious to me that this character needs her own story.  I hadn't planned it that way.  The heroes of A NANNY FOR THE COWBOY and DESIGNS ON THE COWBOY are brothers.  Simple enough.  Except they have an older sister who keeps butting in and helping them make their lives better, although they don't think so in the beginning.  My thought?  And the two heroes' thought, too.  The tables need to be turned.  She deserves her own story.  It's payback time.

Having a story idea is one of the best motivators to get a writer writing.  There will be times later when that motivation begins to wane, and we have to plant ourselves in a chair and make ourselves write, but for now, I'm eager to get going.  In fact, I started several weeks ago when those first ideas started pushing their way into my head.  For those who have lots of ideas, but the ideas seem to wimp out, long before they become a book, there are several things to help building ideas into a book and keep that motivation going.

• Find a friend and brainstorm
• Write something--anything--at least every-other day, no matter whether it's good or bad, short or long.
• Make a note of any idea, even if you think it isn't all that good.  Bad ideas can lead to aha! moments.
• While doing mindless chores, listen to the voices in your head.  (Just don't tell the family.)
• Play the What If game.
• Interview one of your characters.  Sometimes there's something in his or her past that will spark an idea of where to go next.
• Write scenes out of order.  Have an idea of what's going to happen a few chapters into the book?  Or near the end?  Or does the Black Moment keep getting in the way when you're writing Chapter 4?  Write it!  You don't have to worry that it's perfect or polished, just get it written down.  Save it as its own file for later, then go back to where you were.  You can pick up scene later.  You'll feel better because you made progress.
• Do ideas come to you at the worst times?  Get a voice recorder (or use the one on your cell phone, if it's equipped with one) and record those ideas and even conversations between characters.  Later you can put it into text.  It's great for when you're driving!  With people using Bluetooths (Blueteeth?) these days, no one will pay attention to you.

My best "idea" time is right after I settle in my bed for the night.  I'm sure anyone who thinks, much less writes, has turned on a light to jot something down.  I've been known once or twice to get out of bed, go into my office, pull up a new Word file, and start typing.  I recently went for my voice recorder and made notes that way, complete with the dialogue of three characters.  Be prepared with notepad, laptop, or voice recorder and let the the ideas roll.

Instead of wishing you had motivation, find it. When you find it, use it.  Don't just think about it, do it.  It only takes a little work to set you on the road and move on down it.

"When a man tells you he got rich through hard work, ask him: Whose?" — Don Marquis