THE WRITING ASYLUM

Where to start my novel series?

Jeez, the beginning would be the most logical place, and most stories do have a natural starting place. But oh no, The Muse decided to be difficult. She is plotting to send me to an asylum.

We’re working on a book series called The ImmorTales. Think immortal beings playing a Game of Thrones — move over White Walkers. Each instalment focuses on an immortal character as their story unfolds. The world-building and factions are complete in a brush strokes sort of way. The Muse spits the story out in pieces rather than in a linear fashion. Kill me now. Most of the stories I have uncovered are several books in type stories. As a consequence, I don’t know where to start the series and it annoys the crap out of me. Where to start this epic? The smartarse remark “at the beginning” doesn’t work when there are eons of history.

So, I’m flinging shiz at my laptop screen and taking you, my reader, along for the ride, as I ask myself —

What elements does book one in a series need?

From a marketing point-of-view, book one is the most important book in the series. Usually, book one is the place readers start the series. Yes, there are weird freaks who read out of order, but most of us suffer through book one with the faith the series will get better. Cock this up, bye-bye series. No pressure at all.

The introductory book in a series acts as a world set-up. Readers learn about the characters, the setting, and how the world works. That’s a lot of detail. Simple stories work best as they limit bombarding the reader with information.

Book one is world-building.

Harry Potter starts with an introduction to the wizard world and characters that last the series. The stakes are at their lowest. Mystery and intrigue are planted. Plot-wise, the story is the weakest, but “The Philosopher’s Stone” excels at its purpose — to set up the series and introduce the overarching series conflict. If J. K. Rowling started the Harry Potter series with the huge “Goblet of Fire” (book 4) many readers would be lost without the buildup of stories from the previous books. The back story played out in the previous book would also have to be squashed in as well as book one’s world building. Ouch.

A good dynamic series builds the story, book by book, story block by story block. Series where each book can be read as a standalone are much more forgiving but book one still needs to be a champion because humans like to start at a beginning and books are marketed with a reading order.

Book ones have a lot riding on their shoulders. Not only should the plot be the most simple in the series, but the story needs to be compelling to draw in the audience. Simple and compelling combined is a tall order. Fudge the pilot, fudge the series. The audience will disburse. All over red rover.

And once you have a simple and compelling story, there is another element to add to the alchemy of the pilot — the essence of the series. The essence is the heart and soul. The genre and tone need to carry into the sequels. Book one promises the audience what’s yet to come. Don’t clickbait your series by luring audiences with false pretences. Save that for the cover, sex sells…

Imagine Harry Potter being expelled from Hogwarts, and the next instalment attending “Glee”. No more magic wands and potions, just singing and dancing. There’s probably bad fan fiction out there, but as a commercial seller, my bet is the volume would be dead on arrival. Fans expect magic from Harry Potter, not song and dance.

Likewise, imagine reading a sweet clean romance and then in the next instalment you clutch your pearls, the hero’s big heart, now a big 🍆…oh my  — erotica. Or worse, you gift your grandmother the book… actually mine would probably enjoy it, but you get my point; writers create reader expectations from the start. There might be nothing wrong with the erotic story on its own. It just doesn’t belong with sweet sexless romance. A series needs to flow.

The Book One Checklist

✅ Set-up

✅ A Simple Story

✅ A Compelling Story

✅ Series Essence

I’m doing my head in trying to uncover my book one for The ImmorTales. So far, I’ve written a few stories novel-length stories set in the world. None of them is book one material. Other tales are in note form ready to be worked on. Working through the checklist, none scream book one. The perfect story will come along, but for now, I’ll just have to pick one of the many stories on the to-write list and write. Who knows, I may be surprised. Sometimes the best answers can only be uncovered while writing. Perhaps I haven’t quite nailed the series’ essence yet.

Just write, Tannille, just freaking write.

Takeaway

Starting a series can be challenging. A lot rides on the first in a fiction series. It’s the birth or death of future instalments. Don’t rush the story. Sequels should be easier… I hope. Lie to me.

~*~

Have you ever been stuck on a beginning?