Book 4 of Ranger’s Apprentice

With the looming release of Legends of Windemere: Family of the Tri-Rune, I hit a new area of writing:

BEYOND A TRILOGY!

For those used to long series, this might seem a strange thing to be aware of.  Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Narnia, and so many series go beyond a trilogy.  So, this isn’t something rare.  Yet, it brings a new dynamic to a series that complicates the entire product.  Here is where you get into a tough spot of losing/gaining readers with every later book.  The readers that make it this far are invested in the characters, world, and story.  I would go so far as to say that this amps up the focus on the author’s abilities because you have to play a short game and long game at the same time.  A stable tale for the individual books with subplots and main plots that span the entire series.  For example, the destiny of Luke and his love life plot spans all of the books while Nyx fixing the fallout of Hero’s Gate is a 4th book only story.  Everything progresses with character development and main plot, but there is a story within the book that gives a sense of temporary closure at the end.

How is a trilogy different than a longer series?  Well, you have three parts, which makes things a bit easier for the ‘Plot Wave’.  The first book of a series is big on character introductions and you know that most of the main cast will be found here.  The world is set and the plot has some closure, but a big feeling of what is to come.  For example, Star Wars: A New Hope did all of this and while it had closure, it also showed that the war was still going.  The second book introduces new faces on both sides, pushes the main plot more with twists, and ends on a cliffhanger that promises the finale.  It’s a bridge book with some leeway in terms of closure.  (Empire Strikes Back)  The final book closes up all plots and subplots like Return of the Jedi.  Just like a stand-alone book, you have Beginning-Middle-End.

Percy Jackson: Battle of the Labyrinth

Adding a fourth book changes that dynamic because you have to extend the middle.  The first book can still be about character introductions, but some of the future main heroes might benefit from being saved for later.  The last book still can be all about closure, but you’ll probably have a lot of things to close up by the time you get there.  A challenge here is to make every middle book count.  They need to avoid feeling like filler and have a point, even if that point is simply character development.  This can get very tricky.  For example, I have two books in the series that deviate from the main quest.  They focus on an intrusive character plot that I can’t go into here.  These stories bring several characters to a new level of maturity, but there’s a risk.  Without the main plot taking a center stage, some readers may find the books pointless.  Others might be angry that their favorite characters aren’t the ones being focused on.  An issue in a long series is that favorites are chosen and some readers get annoyed if their preferred hero takes a backseat to others.  As I said earlier, going beyond a trilogy has a ton of risk with it.

Here are a few tips if you plan on going for the long series:

1. Never doubt your long game.  Remember that readers won’t always know what you’re planning, so they’ll have an immediate reaction to your series.  It doesn’t matter to them that you know a twist is coming because they aren’t mindreaders.  All you can do is hope they trust you and keep chugging along.
2. Foreshadowing is your friend.  Hard to do if you’re a pantser, but you can add stuff like this during an edit.  Series gain re-readability if there are clues to future events in the earlier books.
3. Give all main characters subplots of both short term and long term variety.  This gives them depth and they can be carried through more than 1-2 books.  By short term, I mean a goal for a specific book.  By long term, I mean a main goal or obstacle such as a curse, romance, vengeance, etc.
4. A book series can remain fresh when you introduce new characters.  This can be done in 2 ways. 1) stagger out your main character (both hero & villain) introductions throughout the earlier books.  Not all in the opening volume, but maybe get the majority of them out within the first quarter.  Cameos count.  This allows readers to get a feel for individual characters before others are introduced.  2)  New faces among supporting cast in every book that are specific to the contained story.  These will help enhance the temporary subplot and flush out the world by creating more inhabitants for the reader to connect to.
5. Never be afraid to check what you’ve written to avoid plot holes.  This includes physical descriptions of characters.
6. RETAIN YOUR CONFIDENCE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE ADVENTURE!  (Same as #1, but worth repeating.)

Finally:

LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE: FAMILY OF THE TRI-RUNE goes live on MARCH 16TH!!!