Wiscon Day 2: I Didn’t Mean to Write a Series

[cathschaffstump]

On this panel, authors discuss multiple stories in one universe, aka writing a series.

Panelists: Cassie Alexander, Alex Bledsoe, Dorothy Hearst, and Ellen Kushner

An initial grounding began the series. The authors introduced themselves and talked about writing series, including continuity.

Ellen mentioned that what every series writer needs is an obsessive fan to catalog whats happening in the series. Alex added that you can get those nasty fan letters telling you why what you did contradicts what you had done before.

In some ways, the preset rules can sometimes spark your creativity. It's a constant challenge--giving your readers what they want that they are familiar with while keeping each story fresh.

There are several different approaches to writing a series. Alex mentioned he has one series that focuses on one character at a variety of ages. In another series, he tells the story from a different character's POV for each book.

Ellen discussed writing her characters, and then looking at her characters through the eyes of others. What do they look like from the outside.

Other ways? The place can be the constant factor. So can the character. Minor characters in one book can become major ones in the next.

Cassie asked the authors if they felt hemmed in by the expectations publishers had for their series? The answer was mixed.

Cassie also asked if the book was sold as a series. The answer was no, but essentially a wise author leaves some area to explore as another story for a potential sequel.

How do you know when it is time to move on from a series? Working in the same world can be cool, but it can be daunting. Alex discussed the Spencer series, which is being written after the author's death. He feels that the original books are the only ones in the series.

One of the authors said this about writing a series: "I feel less locked in than lucky. I spent my whole life trying to have my cake and eat it to...and I can."

When people say they love a series, they are wanting the same crack in each book.

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Mirrored from Writer Tamago.