5 Tips to Writing a Series

I write a number of reasonably successful series, including the popular Adrien English gay mysteries. And this week saw the release of Dead Run, the fourth book in the Dangerous Ground series. That’s the one about the two DSS Agents who have been partners and friends for years before they realize they’re actually in love with each other.

Anyway, one question I’m frequently asked is whether I know I’m writing a series when I begin the first book.


The answer is…most of the time, yes. I knew when I began Somebody Killed His Editor (for Samhain) it would be the first in a new series. The books revolve around a former bestselling mystery author who is dumped by his partner and his publisher the same year he turns forty. I knew that besides solving a murder in each book, Christopher Holmes would be working out the mysteries of his own life, including a new relationship with a younger and more successful lover. The first three books arranged themselves in my mind. I could see the whole beginning arc of what I hope will turn out to be a reasonably long and entertaining series.


But when I started Dangerous Ground, I had no particular plan to make it a series. I knew it could easily be a series if I did the stories a bit like episodic TV and used the storyline of these two alpha males trying to be together without killing each other as my over-arching plot. But frankly I wasn’t sure reader interest would justify it. It was different from the AE series – this was very lean, very streamlined, and the emphasis was on adventure, action and high emotions. Oh, and a fair bit of sex (for me – especially at that time). I had a blast writing it.


Well, it turned out readers were unexpectedly enthusiastic, and the series has continued to build up momentum, and so we’re up to Dead Run. The thing about Dead Run is it’s a pretty good place to leave the series, if I want to stop now, but it’s also a great turning point if I want to keep writing and spin the characters in new directions.


I’m still having fun with the stories and readers are still enthusiastic, and that’s basically what it’s all about.


Or rather, that’s what it’s all about at this point. Before you reach this point, how do you know if you should try and plan for a series or stick to a standalone? Series books are popular, that’s true, but only if the series is popular. A series that isn’t popular actually sinks faster with each release than a new stand alone, so there’s something to think about.


But what are some other things to consider as you’re wondering whether to turn the story of these characters you love into an ongoing saga? Different people have different ideas, but the first thing I always think about is whether there’s enough of a story premise to carry through for five books or more? Do my two main characters have enough of a potential in both their relationship and their personal growth? If the answer to any of those questions is no, then to my way of thinking, there really isn’t sufficient grounds for a series.


In Dead Run, Will has been posted to the American Embassy in Paris. Taylor and Will have been apart for 11 months and that distance is starting to take a toll on their relationship. When they do finally reunite for their holiday, things are slightly off-kilter with them. As much as they want to pick up where they left off, they can both feel the difference in the other, and it makes them both strained and careful – awkward – in how they deal with each other.

Conflict, in other words. Four books into the series, I can still find believable ground for conflict between these two despite the fact that they love each other passionately. Building a relationship is hard and I like to show smart people doing the necessary work to make their relationships last. So in addition to the natural insecurity of having been apart for nearly a year, I try to explore the conflict that already exists within Will and Taylor’s characters. They’ve worked together for years, but being lovers changes their dynamic in ways neither calculated. Will has trouble seeing Taylor the way he used to. Now that his happiness is invested in Taylor’s welfare, he’s overly protective, overly concerned, and a bit controlling. And Taylor, who is still the tough, efficient, self-reliant agent he ever was, naturally pushes back. By the end of the story, they’ve reached some sort of resolution -- of course! -- though not so much of a resolution that there wouldn’t be more to explore between them.                                                

And what about overall storyline? Well, these guys are agents of the security branch of the United States Diplomatic Service. If you know anything about the DSS, they’re some of the best and brightest, even if their branch of the service doesn’t get the attention or glory – or carry the mystique – of the FBI or the CIA or military special ops.

Anyway, Dead Run, new this week from Loose Id.


As for my tips on writing a series?


1 - Make sure your characters have enough personal issues both individually and together to carry through at least five books. Just as a novel has to finish with the character in a different place from where he started, so too does an entire series. By the series end, the main characters need to be changed. They need to have shown growth, they need to have evolved through the course of their adventures.


2 - Don’t put any elements into your first story that you don’t want to live with through five or more books. For example, a health problem that might be difficult to manage or an exotic and troublesome pet or a psychotic mother.


3 - Don’t solve the big questions or resolve all the conflicts in the first book. Your characters should still have dreams and goals and ambitions to work toward through the length of the series. And as you do solve questions and resolve conflicts, make sure you replace them with additional -- hopefully more serious -- ones.


4 - Just as a romance novel is the journey of two people falling in love, so then a series must be about two people trying to build a relationship together. It’s that struggle to be together that creates sexual tension -- not, as some people would have you believe, having a lot of sex! You want readers to be as invested at the end of the series in how that relationship is working out as they were in the first book.


5 - Keep a series “bible” with all the vital statistics of your main characters -- and recurring side characters. It helps a lot to have to go back and read four books to figure out when your main character graduated from college or whether he’s allergic to penicillin.


The most important thing, though, is make sure you’re writing a series for the right reason -- because you love these characters enough to tell their story over a period of years to come.