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Apologies, but my search-fu is weak. I've read that agents/publishers are souring on series from first-time authors. How do you tailor a novel to stand on its own, while also making it the first of many? Or is that a fool's errand? Specifically: In my book, Protag is hunted by Lieutenant. Lieutenant represents the Boss. The Lieutenant is the villain of the book, the Boss never makes an appearance (not even in the cliche "cut to Boss's chamber where they brood and yell at minions" scene), they are mentioned in only a few scenes. The Lieutenant is the driving antagonist of the book, and is written as such. The Lieutenant's motive, and indeed the conceit of the novel, all hinge on the existence of the Boss, and the Boss's relationship (lower-case R) with the Protag, but I'm not interested in writing about the Boss in this book. Thoughts? More in general than in relation to my book, but I wanted to give an example. Thanks kindly.
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Sep 15, 2020 16:31
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 08:38 |
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Sorry, to repeat: I'm less worried about my novel in particular, and more interested in starting a general discussion about how to write standalone novels to be the beginning of a series. Not merely how to write sequels to successful stories (Hollywood is filled with unnecessary sequels), but rather: how to plant sequel seeds so that in hindsight, a story feels like the inevitable chapter, without having to market it as Book 1 of a Six Part Trilogy.
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Sep 16, 2020 04:35
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I find it interesting that all the discussions revolve around television. Are there any good books that go on for more than one book, but end with unresolved questions? My gold standard (my role model) is the Honor Harrington books.
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Sep 16, 2020 22:14
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That's not a bad point.
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Sep 17, 2020 01:18
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I'm sure this is going to sound dumb, but I need help with "plot". I've been in a few writing groups, some with published authors, and every group I've ever been in tells me I've got a solid voice. My paragraph-to-paragraph/page-to-page craftsmanship is solid. But when I write "seat of the pants" style, little to nothing happens. My characters "live" in their world but there's no action, no pop, no drama, no conflict. I've tried setting out index cards and all that, trying to craft an outline of a story, with twists and turns, and I blank. I have no idea how to convert a "premise" into a "story". I've read more medium posts and whatever on act structure and so forth, I get the large bits. If you distill an epic scifi/fantasy novel into two paragraphs, I can get there. But there's a chasm between two paragraphs outlining an act structure and the whole book, and I'm really, really struggling to cross that gulf. Any advice, or books that have helped? I know, just write, etc. But I don't know how to convert "cool idea for setting with interesting protagonist" into "story".
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Jun 21, 2021 19:31
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