I wrote about what makes writing (and reading) a book series so appealing last week. This week I want to go the opposite track and discuss the cons of working in the confines of a series.
Seeing a book series through to the end.
There is a level of expectation when writing a series. Especially to the reader. When an author dives into a series there is the belief that they will see it through to the end. Look at the Harry Potter series. Imagine that J.K. Rowling decided halfway through The Goblet of Fire that she needed to work on A Casual Vacancy next instead of starting the fifth book of everyone’s favorite wizard? Imagine the outcry from fandom for that little decision? Think what Warner Brothers would have done if they caught up with the books when making the films?
Writing a series can be freeing in some respects. I wrote about them previously. The level of comfort in living within an existing world. But what if you discover a new world in the telling? What if you feel the pull to something new halfway into your narrative (this being a multi-book narrative not the middle of a single book)? Do you walk away from your current series and the fans of such work to create something new? Or are you stuck?
Greystone’s first “cycle”
I’ve thought about this for some time. By the time the fifth book (three novels and two short story collections) of the Greystone series comes out I will have spent over two years of my life working on nothing else. If I take into account the previous attempts to put together Signs of Portents over the last decade it is more like four years. Quite an extensive portion of time.
And that’s not the end of the story. Not by a long shot. But I’ve created small windows in the narrative to give myself time to create other worlds. Build other stories or series. And then come back to Portents, Loren and Soriya for another couple of years.
Not every writer has that luxury. The pressure of continually working within a specific series can be confining when other worlds beckon.
Spinning your book series in circles
Having a series is a great idea in theory. Growing characters. Seeing them through a journey unable to be contained within a single work. But what if the plot of a book series takes precedent over the growth of those characters?
Excuse the return to the Harry Potter world but my daughter keeps pulling it off the shelf for some reason and it’s stuck in my head. Think about it though. What if Rowling focused so fully on the return of Voldemort she forgot that Harry, Ron and Hermione were living, breathing characters that needed to evolve with each book? What if she knew where they ended up but it was built out so far in the future that she ended up stunting their growth to keep the journey going for book after book?
Spinning in circles is a real problem and finding the hook for a character for their third or thirteenth appearance can be a real challenge. If the character has nothing to strive for, if it is forced upon both them and the reader, is there really a need to continue the series?
A lack of focus
Much like the questions asked above with a book series, there is the fear of losing focus over the life of the series. I’ve read quite a few comics in my day. (You might be surprised to learn that. Don’t be.) Something I always find with writer’s that overstay their welcome on a title is that the focus turns away from the main characters completely for a supporting character that has more room for growth.
Reader’s hate this. They don’t pick up a Jack Reacher book to read about Joe Schmoe in the background that seems to pop up every other chapter. They want to know what the hell Jack Reacher is going to do next. (I totally was going to bring up Harry Potter again. One track mind today.)
If the writer can’t find something interesting to say about their main characters and rely on supporting or even new players to showcase the world of the book series then maybe it is time to button it up. Maybe there has been enough mileage on a single concept.
These are things I constantly worry about, toy with when developing a story into a series to make sure there is enough meat there to keep the reader coming back for more. It is part of the reason for the break from Greystone after book five, to make sure there is something there for the next “cycle” for Soriya, Loren and the rest of the cast. The plot is there to be sure but that is only half the battle. The characters are the rest.
Readers know this and ultimately they deserve the best with each and every installment.
Thanks for reading.
