Developing a Series: Closing Post

I want to again thank Jennifer Hartz and Tami Dee for such wonderful articles about both their approach to writing series and their latest releases. I hope you all enjoyed the week's theme too.

There are a couple great things I pulled out from their experiences I think I would like to try with my own writing.

• Find the time to daydream: Sometimes as writers we focus so much on the need to write, we forget to just let our minds wander. Jenn really illustrated -- through her use of time during her commute -- that just mind-wandering for a little bit can really help you work out your story. And Tami Dee sits down at her computer and just goes with it. So, I'm going to try and not focus so much on my technical tools and just try letting myself brainstorm freely.
• Plot the whole idea: I know a lot of people are not Plotters. I respect that and admire the freedom. As you can see from Tami's success it's not a requirement. However, I do think -- at least for me -- that for a story that crosses over books, plotting is a very important key to success. It doesn't have to be detailed, but at least a simple outline. Along with the plotting, using Tami's idea of a spreadsheet is a great way to track all the details. We're not talking 80K...it'll be 240K or more.
• Allow the seed to grow...don't stifle it with your original idea: Things won't always lead the way we thought when starting out. Don't go all willy nilly in every direction at a whim...but really think about the direction if it's just not working. Both Jenn and Tami showcased this aspect from their own experience writing their series.
• Be diligent: Take whatever time you can to write...even if it's only a few minutes.
• Make each book in the series strong enough to stand alone: Tami Dee really illustrated the point well, when she spoke about giving the reader enough finality to not feel open-ended between books, but still enough suspense to have them wanting to read the next.

I'm so happy I decided to try this exercise on the blog. In the process of completing the first book in my trilogy and starting the second, I realized some things I'm doing well, some things I need to correct before it's too far in, and those things that'll make it easier overall and going forward.

Good writing all!