Medium

Tips for Writing a Believable Fiction Series

by Yvette Araujo

[as originally published on medium.com]

An author and filmmaker, Yvette Araujo has conceptualized and created Fallen: The Book Series. In writing Fallen, Yvette Araujo has crafted a story and characters that develop across multiple books.

The author of a book series has the challenging job of balancing consistency with forward momentum. Each book should have a satisfying story arc and character growth, as should the series as a whole. The writer needs a plan for the resolution of significant unknowns, and the basic premise should stay the same across each book.

Continuity of premise requires that prominent details be free of contradictions. For example, if the first book in a series establishes that an angel cannot fly, the third book of the series cannot feature an angel that flies. This is especially true if flight or the lack thereof is a significant contributing factor in the plot of the story.

If an author does need to make a change in the book’s foundational setup, he or she should make that change plausibly gradual. For instance, to make a character evolve from a confirmed bachelor to a family man, the author could write a series of personal revelations and minor plot points. If the author attends carefully to the established foundation and stays true to the world of the books, the audience will be more likely to come along for the ride.