OUTLINING A SERIES

Writing a series is a whole different ballgame than writing a standalone novel.

My recommendation?

If you want to write a series, go into the first book with that intention in mind.

Decide whether you are writing a series before you write the first book. Outline the series as a whole and then stick to that outline. Going back and forth with little details, trying to tie things together that you forgot you’d left for your future self to address, and attempting to resurrect storylines that you’d already put to rest is just too much to worry about during the writing process. Trust me, I made that mistake.

The difference in outlining a series and a single book is extensive. Let’s say you want to write a trilogy. You need to have three separate outlines for the separate books with a beginning, climax, and end. But just as importantly, you need to have an overarching outline that each of the three books fits into. Each individual plot needs to fit into a single plot that still flows well and makes sense for your story.

The way you start and write your individual books is going to be different too. In your first book, there is going to be a lot of world-building at the beginning. Introducing your characters, setting, the political and social systems involved, etc. Obviously, your second and third books are not going to start with all of that. So you need a new event within the larger plot to jumpstart the next book, but it isn’t the same kind of world-building as if you were writing a whole new standalone book.

The same thing goes for the endings of your book. You have to bring that final book to a close, but in your first two, you have to leave a lot of things undone. Your readers need a reason to go buy the next book. These first two books both need to be catalysts for the next, not tie everything together like you will in the final book.

See what I’m saying?

If you are writing a trilogy, you don’t need three outlines. You need four. One for each individual book, and one for your series as a whole. Once you have that nailed down, don’t stray from it. The details are important and writing three books takes time, you’ll forget if you don’t have it all clear from the beginning. The flow is really important when it comes to series so your readers don’t get bored or lost and put them down. It needs to stay exciting, fresh, and fluid. Once you've figured that out, you're golden.