Fiction Writing Made Easy

#131: 5 Steps To Start Planning Your Book Series

Feb 27, 2024

Learn about the 5 essential steps to plan your book series, the different categories of book series, analyzing character journeys in popular series like Hunger Games, exploring the strategic implications of a villain's plot, a helpful exercise for generating plot ideas, and tips for enhancing worldbuilding. Planning a book series is a complex process that requires time and dedication, but these insights will help you get started on the right track.

36:23

Creator website

Episode guests

Savannah Gilbo

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

To create a successful book series, it is important to escalate conflict and stakes with each installment, immersing readers in a growing narrative world.

Establishing a clear genre framework and thematic focus for each book in a series helps maintain coherence and guides plot and character development effectively.

Deep dives

Identifying the Theme of Your Series and Each Book

When planning a dynamic book series, it is crucial to start by identifying the central theme of your series and each individual book. The theme serves as a unifying element that ties the narrative together, providing a clear focus for plot and character development. By aligning the themes of your series with specific genre conventions, you can streamline the storytelling process and ensure coherence across your books. For instance, a romance series may explore themes of love and relationships, guiding the plot and character arcs in a cohesive direction.

Introduction

3min

Types of Book Series and Planning

6min

Crafting Consistent Character Arcs and Antagonists in Book Series

13min

Developing Antagonists and Themes in Book Series

5min

Escalating Conflict and Rising Stakes

6min

Exploring New Locations and Characters in a Book Series

3min

“The key to making books within a series work is to grow, escalate, and complicate the conflict and stakes from book to book.” - Savannah Gilbo

A good book series allows readers to immerse themselves in a world and stay there. But how do you write a series that works? To start, here are 5 steps to help you start planning your book series.

Read the blog post here!

Here’s a preview of what’s included:

[01:42] Savannah discusses the the three primary categories of book series—static, dynamic, and anthology.

[03:06] The 5 steps to start planning your book series.

[11:48] Analyzing a character's journey across the Hunger Games trilogy.

[14:50] Unpacking Voldemort's grand plot objective versus the specific goals within each book—and the strategic implications.

[21:35] A useful exercise to stimulate plot ideas for your series.

[29:03] A bonus tip for enriching the worldbuilding/setting of your book series.

[32:45] As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into planning a book series. Don’t expect to have everything figured out in one or two sittings. This is something you’ll need to start and add to over time, so please know that going into this process!

Links Mentioned In This Episode: