So. Now that we have the excitement (hopefully) out of the way, let's talk about templates.
Not blog templates, story templates. The Tenth Ghost, the first Jacob Lane book, started with a prologue and then began a century later with Our Heroine. I kind of liked that approach, so I'm going to try to do the same with the rest of the series. I did not, however, do this with Peace, Goodwill, and Rotten Eggs, but that doesn't count, since it was more of a long short story than a part of the actual series.
That got me thinking about templates for other series. What other series do I have? Well, the Beth-Hill series, of which Heart's Desire is technically book 1. Then there's the Sid and Peterson's series. And I think, series-wise, that's about it. Oh, I have trilogies out the wazoo, but I can't really think of any other series. So. The Jacob Lane series has a template, so each series book will have a familiar feel. I like that, and it should work quite well, at least for the next two. I know what they're about, after all. It's the other six I have no ideas for yet. *g* The Beth-Hill books don't really seem to have a template at all. They're more nebulous, I guess. Although if I do rewrite Heart's Desire in first person POV (how it was originally, until I decided to change it), then that might be the template for those. Sid and Peterson's does have a template, interestingly enough, at least with the second book on. Sid and Peterson swapped chapters in that book, and I enjoyed that so much that I decided to keep it that way. Double first person POVs, btw. Quite interesting to write. I'm not quite sure how that reads, but I bet the audiobook will sound marvelous.
So, is it a good idea to have templates for series books? I think so, because it gives the reader something familiar to come back to. If, for example, Joan Hess decided to stop writing the Maggody series with multiple POVs (including first), I wouldn't like the books as much because of that. I'm not sure I'd stop reading them, but it would feel quite odd to read them without that familiarity.
And how else to connect stand-alone series books? If you want the reader to read them all, then you have to have some kind of thread running through them; not necessarily an unresolved plot point, but more likely a sense of the familiar. After all, one of the highest reasons to continue to read any series is the fact that you like the characters. It doesn't hurt to have each book have a familiar feel as well.
At least, that's my take on it. Not all series have this, of course, and some are very successful in their own right. But it's something to think about. :)
I will post a review of Spider-Man when I get back this evening, btw. I hope it's as good as it looks!
More later...
Not blog templates, story templates. The Tenth Ghost, the first Jacob Lane book, started with a prologue and then began a century later with Our Heroine. I kind of liked that approach, so I'm going to try to do the same with the rest of the series. I did not, however, do this with Peace, Goodwill, and Rotten Eggs, but that doesn't count, since it was more of a long short story than a part of the actual series.
That got me thinking about templates for other series. What other series do I have? Well, the Beth-Hill series, of which Heart's Desire is technically book 1. Then there's the Sid and Peterson's series. And I think, series-wise, that's about it. Oh, I have trilogies out the wazoo, but I can't really think of any other series. So. The Jacob Lane series has a template, so each series book will have a familiar feel. I like that, and it should work quite well, at least for the next two. I know what they're about, after all. It's the other six I have no ideas for yet. *g* The Beth-Hill books don't really seem to have a template at all. They're more nebulous, I guess. Although if I do rewrite Heart's Desire in first person POV (how it was originally, until I decided to change it), then that might be the template for those. Sid and Peterson's does have a template, interestingly enough, at least with the second book on. Sid and Peterson swapped chapters in that book, and I enjoyed that so much that I decided to keep it that way. Double first person POVs, btw. Quite interesting to write. I'm not quite sure how that reads, but I bet the audiobook will sound marvelous.
So, is it a good idea to have templates for series books? I think so, because it gives the reader something familiar to come back to. If, for example, Joan Hess decided to stop writing the Maggody series with multiple POVs (including first), I wouldn't like the books as much because of that. I'm not sure I'd stop reading them, but it would feel quite odd to read them without that familiarity.
And how else to connect stand-alone series books? If you want the reader to read them all, then you have to have some kind of thread running through them; not necessarily an unresolved plot point, but more likely a sense of the familiar. After all, one of the highest reasons to continue to read any series is the fact that you like the characters. It doesn't hurt to have each book have a familiar feel as well.
At least, that's my take on it. Not all series have this, of course, and some are very successful in their own right. But it's something to think about. :)
I will post a review of Spider-Man when I get back this evening, btw. I hope it's as good as it looks!
More later...
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