Comments on: Series vs. Stand Alone

By: Joe Cromarty

Joe Cromarty — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:44:01 +0000

Ed McBain never got tiresome, even though you knew his main hero, Steve Carella, was probably not going to disappear from the series. I say probably because there were so many interesting detective characters in his series, there was always the possibility that he might. His stories were so strong that even if Carella never died off, the series was still exciting right up to McBain’s death. Had he lived longer, he could, in my opinion, have continued the series forever. Incidentally, McBain said in an interview ages ago, it was not his intention to keep Carella alive, but that his publisher insisted on it. The 87th precinct was, to McBain, the hero. If you read his first book of the series, “Cop Killer” I think is the title, you’ll see that Carella effectively was killed, since he had a mortal wound.
As for my own series character, I plan to have him last for as long as one novel.

By: P.I. Barrington

P.I. Barrington — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:37:25 +0000

Apologies on the “I’ve wrote” error, LOL! Yeah, I’m a writer…you need an edit icon here…

By: P.I. Barrington

P.I. Barrington — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:36:28 +0000

Wow, John! I have a new story that I’ve been debating on releasing as a series and it’s good to hear this. I’ve wrote my Future Imperfect thriller series but needed a Happily Ever After because it was via a romance publisher. I’m not complaining because it was a great experience but I prefer darker endings most of the time. I love cliffhangers and use them a lot and try to work out the most intense ending I can find that leaves a bit of hope–though I’ve never taken a series to the point of ending that series with a dead character. Hearing that you like it on occasion gives me something major to think about.
Patti

By: Agata Stanford

Agata Stanford — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:30:18 +0000

Every one of the books from my series is a stand alone book, no need to start from the beginning. As a reader I find it annoying to have to read through references to old cases having occured in previous books from a series. And I promise to stop writing my Dorothy Parker Mystery Series (I’m currently writing the fifth in the series), as soon as I find it hard for the characters to say anything entertaining. If I’m bored, rest assured the reader will be!

By: Adriana Ryan

Adriana Ryan — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:55:50 +0000

I love that you address the question of what makes a series get stale. The idea that we always know the main character will come out victorious can really get old, as you say. Of course, some of the charm of a series is that you WANT the character to come out okay, because it’s sort of therapeutic to watch someone you can identify with defy all odds. However, it can get old pretty quick, especially if the character is not growing in any way.

I think the dark parts of a character/story are essential to any genre (even romance, where “happily ever after” is so sought after) to make it a meaty, believable read. And those dark parts, where a character is irreparably changed, can be just the right spots for freshening up a series.

Thanks for this post!

By: forensics4fiction

forensics4fiction — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:45:07 +0000

Thanks for a very interesting post. I developed my story with the idea of it becoming a franchise. It may have something to do with the fact that I had developed the story and characters over several years and it simply evolved beyond one novel. At any rate, I love both series and stand alones. I do agree that some authors take a series too long and the characters become either too predictable or stale.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:14:09 +0000

Great topic. I love reading serials and am in the process of writing one. I only plan on 5 books withthe main character so this is a subject I have given thought too. In reality people die or get killed but that is hard when readers want the character to continue so I have given myself the option of moving the character to a different arena.

I see police officers become attorneys, soldiers become security experts, senators become president so why not do the same with my character. I have a protagonist who is a detective yet early enough in the series we know he has a law degree but became a cop rather than pursue passing the bar. The five books all a re leading to a particular ultimatum so rather than have him get promoted or move to a different department I plan on writing about his life post-police work as a lawyer… if that catches on perhaps he wuill get elected judge.. all of a suden my 5-book series could be 15. Hang around and find out.

By: Ruthilyn Sparks!

Ruthilyn Sparks! — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:09:06 +0000

Very interesting! I have been thinking of which way to take some characters, and I like your opinion on the matter. I agree that series characters are quite challenging and I am not sure I am ready to take that route without following the Skippyjon Jones or Llama Llama series. I will continue to work on my “I Worked Hard For You!” collection, and will save the series for a later date when my characters have developed to series-worthy status. Thank you for your thoughts!