Conference Tips Part 1: Creating an Effective Series

                  As promised, I am sharing with you the golden nuggets of wisdom that I learned from my writing conference. When I started typing them up, though, I realized it would be a really long post. So I’ll be delivering them in parts. Here is Part 1: Creating an Effective Series. Remember: these rules can apply to any genre, and don’t take them as written in stone.

Creating an Effective Series:

#1. Make sure to provide a resolution for your main plot. Leaving too big of a cliff hanger will make your readers mad. The sub plots are the ones you can leave open for the next book.

#2. If you ever plan to publish your series, write the first one as a book that could stand alone if it needs to. There is no guarantee that a publisher would buy the rights to your whole series. Plant seeds for another book, but don’t make it necessary. For all of you visual people:

See how the seeds are hidden below ground? The reader might not be able to see them in your first book, but they're still there.

#3. Create a book bible for tracking all the details of your story. You can probably find a template for this if you google it. It’s important to make sure all of your details are consistent throughout the series so people don’t end up saying this about your novels:

#4. When recapping a previous book at the beginning of a sequel (which is always a good idea) don’t give everything about the last book away. You want readers that are starting in the middle of the series to want to be intrigued enough to go back. Always leave them wanting more.

"Ooh! What's that over there in book one?"

#5. This was a tough one for me to hear because I’m totally guilty of this: don’t save all the good stuff for your next book. This might sound like an obvious tip, but stop and think about it. Have you ever said when describing your series something like ‘Oh, well the bad guy’s identity isn’t revealed until book two.” Or how about, “Wait until you get to book three. That’s when the ultimate showdown happens.” If so, then you’re as guilty of this as I am. We have to give our first book everything we’ve got and not hold anything back. When it comes time to write the second book, we’ll come up with something even more epic to include. A writer’s imagination is endless. Remember: you’re not guaranteed to have your entire series published. Wouldn’t you hate for your readers not to get to read your ultimate fight scene just because you had planned it for a book that will never be published? I know. It burns. That’s how I felt when I first heard this tip. Put on some aloe and get back to writing.

#6. And my favorite series tip: Create ‘yes’ moments. Have you ever watched a show or read a series where something seemingly insignificant from the very beginning suddenly popped up much later in the series and became a vital part? That’s a ‘yes’ moment! It’s when those seeds you planted much earlier, have now popped up and blossomed into a full tree when you weren’t looking. If done correctly, it’s a very neat trick.