Writing the Fiction Series by Karen S. Wiesner

Author:Karen S. Wiesner [Wiesner, Karen S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-59963-696-2
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

When I asked the series authors I interviewed for any organizational tips they might have, I received some interesting ideas that I’ll include here in no particular order:

MARILYN MEREDITH: “I keep 3 × 5 cards with notes about each series character.”

JANET ELAINE SMITH: “I keep a disk with the new ideas that come to me in any series (a separate disk for each series). Some of the characters in my series even have their own websites (or they appear on my main website) and upcoming books are listed there. My basic problem is that my characters run me, and it should be the other way around. I often feel like a stenographer instead of a creator.”

FRAN ORENSTEIN: “I do a preliminary story line for each book in a series and then an ‘erasable’ storyboard of the characters and locations.”

CINDY SPENCER PAPE: “I’ll do family trees, and I’m a big believer in Microsoft Word tables.”

JANE TOOMBS: “When I conceive a series, I have only a general idea what it will be about. I do a pretty detailed synopsis for the first book, and I invent names for as many books as I believe the series can contain. After I finish this synopsis, I sometimes can see what some of the other books will be about. Also sometimes the titles of the individual books I choose show me what the plot needs to be about.”

LUISA BUEHLER: “When I get to the end of one book, I immediately write broad stroke notes for the next one while the events of the current book are fresh in my mind. You’d be amazed how quickly the subtle nuances fade when you begin the left-brained work of preparing and marketing for the book’s launch. I have folders with notes and even bits of dialogue that I know (because of the series arc) will fit a future book. I wrote seven lines of dialogue three years ago that are finding their way into the book I’m writing now.”

MARY JEAN KELSO: “I maintain a list of who’s who in the series—who is related to which character, the color of their eyes, other pertinent information that can easily get mixed up.”

MYSTERY AUTHOR LORIE HAM: “I keep a calendar of events for every book. I also have 3 × 5 cards for each character, store, etc.”

C.R. MOSS: “For a planned series, it’s a matter of creating a bible of sorts in a notebook or on the computer—a section on the characters, a section on setting, an outline of each story, and a page or two focusing on the overall premise and arc of the series.”

REGAN TAYLOR: “When I start a new book, I also start a notebook for the book and pretty much carry it everywhere with me. I describe my characters—all of them, even ones who make a brief appearance, like the receptionist in the dentist office that they may walk through—on their own page. I never know when one of them will pop up again and by having them drawn out I don’t have to worry about remembering them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.