Writing A Series 2021

Writing a series 2021 can be a daunting undertaking, making your extended writing project easier, and more difficult at the same time. I’ve labeled this blog post with the year 2021 because I do believe I’ve written about the topic in the past. I know for sure I’ve vlogged about it in my 2016 vlog The Write Owl Writing A Series Episode 16 found HERE.

The Write Owl Vlog

I almost hesitate to direct my readers and listeners to my video series. Why? Because, on one hand, it adds to the conversation of my most recent podcast episode, Writing A Series—From A Writing and Reading Perspective Episode 20. On the other hand, I’m a bit startled by how much more of me there was only five years ago—more hair, more body… The less hair part was easy. It was just a question of saving time and money (and loving the feel of the wind through my ears with my sunroof and car windows all the way down). The less body part was a lot harder; still, I’m quite proud of the less body part. That took a lot of time, work, and dedication. And, I feel so much better, healthier, and happier. It was the right thing for me.

I Love A Good Series

Now, as a reader and entertainment consumer, I love a good series. It doesn’t even matter the media, whether it’s print, film, or television. Give me a good, extensive, complex story that’s well-executed and I’m in heaven. It’s part of the reason I have chosen to be a series writer. I ultimately became a writer because I couldn’t find books with a subject matter and a style that I yearned to read.

When writing connected books, in addition to pleasing the dedicated series reader, the random reader is also important. Care must be taken to include the reader who might only read one installment of your series. What do I mean by that? You cannot cut and paste character descriptions from one book to the next. By doing that, at the very least you’ll bore your series reader. At the most, you’ll alienate her (or him). You also cannot assume every reader will read every book in the series in order. Treating each book as a standalone will solve that issue.

If you want to learn more about writing a series as a writer or a reader, tune into my podcast, The Djuna Shellam Podcast. There you’ll find episodes that cover all sorts of topics, both writer and reader-oriented.

Thank you!

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Thanking you in advance! ❤️❤️