Como escrever uma série de livros.pdf

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Setting Up a SeriesA Readers Question

on April 27th, 2012 by Fiction Editor Beth Hill and last modified on April 28, 2012

This topic comes courtesy of a reader. She asked me to address writing a fiction series, point out what

might be helpful for writers to know before they began a series.

So . . .

My first suggestion is that you plan for your series in advance. If you know youre going to write a

series, youll include teases and clues in book one that will have their resolution in some other book in the

series. If you dont plan for a series, its likely book one will not be as rich a source for series material as

it could be. Also, you might answer too many questions at the end of book one, leaving little to bleed over

into subsequent books.

So, if you have any plans for writing a series, flesh out at least some of those plans before you begin the

first book. Or, if while youre writing that first book you decide the characters or setting or story line

would make an engrossing series, stop writing that first book and make some notes.

What makes you think youve got a strong series? Is it that the story is too big for one book? Too involved

for a single protagonist? Too encompassing for one characters lifetime?

Start your notes and follow some to their conclusions. See if you do indeed have enough story to fill

several books. If you do, start planning. No, you dont need every detail, such as character names and

every event. But make notes on what you do know. And start sketching out how characters and events and

locations intersect and connect and influence one another.

Consider a talisman or other object(s) that will appear in every book. Consider a wise

counselor wholl be called upon in every story or an arch villain whos not vanquished until

the last climax. Consider a series theme that will unite the stories. Consider a series goal that

will not be resolved until the final story is told.

Could you decide about a series after you finished the first story? Of course. But youve made your

already difficult job much more difficult.

If youve not yet published the first story, youre still in good shape because you can weave in the

elements and events and clues and characters youll need for subsequent stories. But dont imagine that

its a simple matter of tossing in a character or a reference to some event. Those characters and events

have to mean something for the current story as well as being a setup for future stories.

_______________________________

What specifics should you think about if youre writing a series?

Decide if youre writing a series based on a character, a fairly consistent one, who stars in every book. If

so, learn something about that character. Realize that he or she will probably not grow a lot over the

course of each book and maybe not much over the course of the series.

The recurring lead character is a draw because readers enjoy that characters quirks and flaws and

style. Readers will come to subsequent books because they want to see this character get in and out of

jams. If you change him too much, you may lose your audience. Thats not to say that he cant change.

w to Write a Book Series | The Editor's Blog http://theeditorsblog.net/2012/04/27/setting-up-a-series-a-readers-ques...

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Just that readers will no doubt expect consistency.

Recurring characters are a staple of mysteries and some westerns.

If each story features a different lead, then you might have introduced all your seriess main protagonists

in the first bookor introduced each lead as a secondary character in the preceding book.

This introduction of the next protagonist as a secondary character is common in

romance series.

Of course, maybe the emphasis is not on the introduction of a lead character but on the story world.

If your setting or fictional world is the connection between your stories, characters dont

necessarily have to appear in multiple books. You may be writing an epic or saga that spans ages and

eras in your story world. What youll want to do in that case is let that setting, that world, be the

connection. You may show what happens to a kingdom or planet over time. One set of characters may

begin your epic; another setperhaps related to the first, yet not necessarily somay close out your epic.

But even if the world itself is what connects the stories, add touches in one story that remind readers of

the other stories.

Maybe its neither character nor setting that unites the stories in your series. Maybe its an event. Perhaps

nuclear war or an alien invasion or a natural disaster destroys much of Earth. You could create individual

stories in different pockets of the world for your series. No characters have to be the same, but there could

be a meeting of characters in one or more of the stories. Or, a resolution could bring major characters

together for the final story.

Other than the broad issuecharacter, event, setting/story worldthat connects your books, what else

should you consider?

Decide on connections.

If the story world is the same and books will share characters, be sure to introduce some (it wouldnt have

to be all) characters in the early books. Leave unexplained clues and mysteries in all books but the last.

Do keep in mind, however, that each book must satisfy its own internal structure and its readers. That is,

satisfy and at the same time tease the reader.

Teases can be as simple as an unexplained whisper or glance, the discovery of an object whose purpose is

unknown, a promise unfulfilled.

Decide on the depths of the ties between stories.

Are stories only connected by place and time or by event or by a single character? Or are there lots of

links? Many related events and characters? Do all characters move through all the books or is it only a

few? And if there are only a few who do, what purposes do they serve?

Consider timelines.

Are stories concurrent or consecutive or is there some overlap? What has to happen when? Before what

other events? To which characters? Who has to know about the events?

When events in one story have to happen at a specific time relative to events in another story, be aware of

seasons and incidental events and the locations (and availability) of necessary characters.

You might want to plot out a timeline before writing the first storydetermine who must be where and

when. Dont forget to include notations for scenes in which a character could not take part.

Consider high points and climaxes.


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Will the climax of each story have a different flavor? What about the ultimate climax for the series? How

are they related? Different? How do the early ones, the ones from each story, affect the high points and

climax for the entire series?

Consider secondary characters.

Which secondary characters should be used in multiple stories? Can a character skip a story or two and be

returned to the series?

Plant clues/explain clues.

Plant clues for future stories. Explain mysteries from earlier stories. Deepen mysteries across stories if

youre not ready to explain them until a later story. Make sure clues fit the story theyre in, even if they

arent explained or explored. And if theyre not explored, make sure youve got a solid reason for that

lack of exploration. Readers like mysteries; they dont like big issues to go unexplained unless there are

strong reasons characters cant investigate.

Each story must be complete and stand alone.

Each book is not just one chapter in the series, though it could be likened to one.

Both chapters in a book and books in a series leave readers wanting more, with a sense of anticipation

toward future events. Yet a chapter, while it may provide some answers, doesnt provide all. Theres a

definite feel of the unfinished with book chapters.

In a series, books still point to future events and a full series resolution, but each book also answers its

own internal questions and story setup. You get to decide the number and depth of the ties to the other

stories in the series, but you also must complete each book.

Satisfy your readers along the way so they know you can carry through with your setup. So they feel the

completion of your stories.

Fulfill your promises.

Books in one series may have more ties between them than what is found in another series. There may be

more unanswered questions in one series than in another. The books in one series might refer often to

events of earlier books. The levels are up to you. But each novel is still a novel and subject to the rules of

good fiction writing. That means a complete story.

Consider the end of the series. Decide if some event will end your series or if the series will be

open-ended. Detective novels can be theoretically never-ending. Do you want to write until you run out of

ideas for your characters or do you envision a stopping place? Your attitude and plans will influence the

stories you write.

Creating Links.

Other than the sharing of characters, events, and story world, how can books in a series be connected?

Create related titles. This could mean a repeated word in each title. It might mean a different flower

or color or make of car for each title. Titles may play on emotions or different verbs or even on the

names of beers. Anything that can connect a series of stories can be used in the titles. Remember to

consider a series title as well. That title may have more to do with the series setting or events or

theme than the individual book titles will. The book titles themselves will probably be focused on the

events in each particular story.

Begin or conclude unfinished business. Let story events leap between stories to pull characters

and/or readers to the next book.


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Maintain a similar tone or style. Use tone and storytelling style to link your books. Book Two

shouldnt be a lighthearted romp if Book One was murky suspense.

Connect or elaborate on themes. Each story may have an individual theme, but each should also fit

into the whole. One story should not work at cross purposes with the others.

Think backstory. Rather than recapping events from earlier stories, treat that information as

backstory and fold it in as you would any other backstory.

Tie stories together by using shared objects. This may mean a talisman is a help to the characters

in each story. Or maybe its the object of the search in every book. Maybe the shared object is a

mascot, a lovable or not so lovable creature or animal. Maybe the shared object is a crown or jewel,

some symbol of power.

Use repetition across books. Repeat an event or a snippet of dialogue or a passage that invokes a

memorable moment or image or emotion from an earlier story. But make sure it fits the current story

just as well as it fit the earlier story.

You could repeat one books closing line as the opening line in the next book. But you could give it atwist. Put it in the mouth of another character, maybe one far from the events of the earlier story.

Present a known story event, but from a different characters point of view.

_______________________________

Books in a series, then, should be both dependent on and independent of the other books. There is

wide variety in the degree of the connections, and no rule to limit your creativity concerning these

connections. But if youve got a series, you do need some connection points.

Are there questions that might help a writer working on a series, help him decide what to include and

where to start? Sure. How about . . .

Do events of early stories lead directly to consequences or events in subsequent stories?

Are the stories fundamentally different or is each a continuation of the previous story?

Are stories concurrent or sequential?

Is there a strong cause and effect between stories or can they take place at the same time without a

problem?

Does it matter if stories are read out of order? Its certain that they will be. How does this knowledge

influence the unfolding of each book in the series?

Is the point of view the same? Not the same viewpoint character, of course. But is Book One first

person and Book Two third person? Is there a sufficient reason to change the POV between books in

a series?

A series holds challenges that individual books dont bring. But the satisfaction of writing them, the fun

of creating a memorable character who can sputter or love or trip through multiple adventures, is strong.

If you have a character or story world or epic event that demands a series, write it. Have fun with the

crafting of related books. Enjoy the weaving of events and series threads that connect those books, that

make your series a memorable and well-crafted one.


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Print this article

But prepare for the special needs of a series. Dont forget what makes strong fiction; just remember that

youve got to take a few extra steps to carry that strong fiction from book to book.

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Como escrever uma série de livros.pdf