Writerly Ways
Let's talk about series and the formula. I think this might be a bit more noticeable in mystery series than other genres. I'm not saying it's a bad thing either but I also wonder if maybe breaking away from the formula a little might help. I'm going to look at two series I read. First is C.S. Harris's Sebastian St. Cyr series, one of my favorite historical mystery series (I think there's 19 now). Lifting this from my review of last year's book (that I just read last week) we have a very noticeable formula
1. Hero will help and also help Harris shine a light on social justice issues
2. Sebastian will dress up as a poor man and get into a fight and/or get his family threatened
3. Hero's father will be lurking in the shadows and be in the way/or involved somehow but ultimately helps Sebastian somehow
4. Hendon will be disapproving of his son but also ultimately helpful
5. Sebastian's gossipy old aunt will have some clue
6. Ditto Kat Sebastian's ex-lover and actual daughter of Hendon
7. Lovejoy will be there to enable Sebastian (including dealing with any self defense killings) but ultimately not be that helpful in solving the case.
And J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas In Death series (which I think I just saw reached 60 books. Between Robb and Nora Roberts pen names, I have to wonder is she a machine, amazing or are some of these ghost written). Actually I'm leaning toward the latter since some are great and some are almost 1 star material.
Now I have not read all 60 books but I've read more than a dozen. Robb's formula is much more noticeable than Harris' and more annoying (mostly because a lot of it does not move the plot along)
1. Eve will be abusive to her underlings
2. Eve will be very abusive to Roarke's man servant
3. Will hear about her coffee (a rarity) ad nauseum
4. She will have a ptsd nightmare
5. She'll have no idea what normal women do
6. Eve will have kid-phobia
7. Eve will find some reason to bring Roarke into the case
8. Eve and Roarke will fight over nonsense that most people wouldn't
9. they'll have boring make up sex
10 Eve will have to run things past her friends, the journalist, the psychologist and the pop star.
So if we look at the two formulas I think that Harris' bothers me less as almost all of it moves the plot. Robb's does not.
Do you use a formula? How do you use it? Does it make things flow more easily for you (I assume that they would especially when you're expected to turn out a book a year at a min.) I actually haven't written enough series to say that I have a formula. If I do, I certainly hope it moves the plot.
On a random note before the links, I finished a short story today so I'm happy. I'll put up a tidbit (need to get it beta read)
OPEN CALLS
Sometimes Hilarious Horror
Latin American Shared Stories A story that, at its core it is likely to concern, celebrate or give agency to Latin American characters and issues
Rabid Otter Horror Is Open To Novels And Novellas
Springtime Fair Stories that center around a craft, recipe, or ritual AND each author will provide a set of instructions to make/enact the craft, recipe, or ritual that was featured in their story
Dracula Beyond Stoker Issue 6 Theme: Jonathan Harker (this was the one I was short listed with for Lucy's other suitors and invited to write for other options but not sure I have a Jonathan story in me)
Glen Must Die! This one sounds fun
Eleven Wonderful Canadian Literary Journals
The Imagist: Now Seeking Submissions
40 Terrific International Literary Journals
From Around the Web
Extended Metaphor: Meaning, Structure, Examples, How To Use
My Easiest Tool for KDP Keywords and Categories
Don’t Demonize Print on Demand
Why I Stopped Tracking My Daily Word Count
Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Rules For Writing A Short Story
Comparing Matte vs. Glossy Book Cover Finish
How to Choose Amazon KDP Keywords for Books
From Betty
Five Common Reasons the Hero Is Too Powerful this is why I'm often not fond of god-like characters and one of the reasons I drifted away from the Dresden Files
Eight Ways to Add Deadlines to Your Story
Starting Your Scenes with a Bang!
How to Write Irresistible Character Relationships, Part Two
Make Your YA Story Feel Real
On Politics (Not Really) And Other Life-Plots
How to End a Scene
Best Communities for Marketing Your Writing
Why Every Writer Should Try Their Hand at a Horror Story
Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Covets Someone Else’s Life
“Okay, but Why Do They Want It?” - 3 Questions All Novelists Should Ask About Their Protagonist’s Goal
LitRPG Goes Mainstream
Pros and Cons for Writers Sharing a First Draft
Genre Expectations: Writing All the Punks
When Writing in Deep POV Should I Use First or Third Person?
Nano tidbit - (i.e. my short story bit as I'm doing whatever I want here)
Being at the front desk, he knew who checked in with a party, who came with a significant other and who came alone. The latter he committed to memory and could visit with later. The downside to the big hotel versus his old gwesty was it wasn’t a quick nip down to the corner pub. He’d have preferred to have a few of those up his sleeve so he could meet them away from where he worked. It was just better that way.
1. Hero will help and also help Harris shine a light on social justice issues
2. Sebastian will dress up as a poor man and get into a fight and/or get his family threatened
3. Hero's father will be lurking in the shadows and be in the way/or involved somehow but ultimately helps Sebastian somehow
4. Hendon will be disapproving of his son but also ultimately helpful
5. Sebastian's gossipy old aunt will have some clue
6. Ditto Kat Sebastian's ex-lover and actual daughter of Hendon
7. Lovejoy will be there to enable Sebastian (including dealing with any self defense killings) but ultimately not be that helpful in solving the case.
And J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas In Death series (which I think I just saw reached 60 books. Between Robb and Nora Roberts pen names, I have to wonder is she a machine, amazing or are some of these ghost written). Actually I'm leaning toward the latter since some are great and some are almost 1 star material.
Now I have not read all 60 books but I've read more than a dozen. Robb's formula is much more noticeable than Harris' and more annoying (mostly because a lot of it does not move the plot along)
1. Eve will be abusive to her underlings
2. Eve will be very abusive to Roarke's man servant
3. Will hear about her coffee (a rarity) ad nauseum
4. She will have a ptsd nightmare
5. She'll have no idea what normal women do
6. Eve will have kid-phobia
7. Eve will find some reason to bring Roarke into the case
8. Eve and Roarke will fight over nonsense that most people wouldn't
9. they'll have boring make up sex
10 Eve will have to run things past her friends, the journalist, the psychologist and the pop star.
So if we look at the two formulas I think that Harris' bothers me less as almost all of it moves the plot. Robb's does not.
Do you use a formula? How do you use it? Does it make things flow more easily for you (I assume that they would especially when you're expected to turn out a book a year at a min.) I actually haven't written enough series to say that I have a formula. If I do, I certainly hope it moves the plot.
On a random note before the links, I finished a short story today so I'm happy. I'll put up a tidbit (need to get it beta read)
OPEN CALLS
Sometimes Hilarious Horror
Latin American Shared Stories A story that, at its core it is likely to concern, celebrate or give agency to Latin American characters and issues
Rabid Otter Horror Is Open To Novels And Novellas
Springtime Fair Stories that center around a craft, recipe, or ritual AND each author will provide a set of instructions to make/enact the craft, recipe, or ritual that was featured in their story
Dracula Beyond Stoker Issue 6 Theme: Jonathan Harker (this was the one I was short listed with for Lucy's other suitors and invited to write for other options but not sure I have a Jonathan story in me)
Glen Must Die! This one sounds fun
Eleven Wonderful Canadian Literary Journals
The Imagist: Now Seeking Submissions
40 Terrific International Literary Journals
From Around the Web
Extended Metaphor: Meaning, Structure, Examples, How To Use
My Easiest Tool for KDP Keywords and Categories
Don’t Demonize Print on Demand
Why I Stopped Tracking My Daily Word Count
Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Rules For Writing A Short Story
Comparing Matte vs. Glossy Book Cover Finish
How to Choose Amazon KDP Keywords for Books
From Betty
Five Common Reasons the Hero Is Too Powerful this is why I'm often not fond of god-like characters and one of the reasons I drifted away from the Dresden Files
Eight Ways to Add Deadlines to Your Story
Starting Your Scenes with a Bang!
How to Write Irresistible Character Relationships, Part Two
Make Your YA Story Feel Real
On Politics (Not Really) And Other Life-Plots
How to End a Scene
Best Communities for Marketing Your Writing
Why Every Writer Should Try Their Hand at a Horror Story
Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Covets Someone Else’s Life
“Okay, but Why Do They Want It?” - 3 Questions All Novelists Should Ask About Their Protagonist’s Goal
LitRPG Goes Mainstream
Pros and Cons for Writers Sharing a First Draft
Genre Expectations: Writing All the Punks
When Writing in Deep POV Should I Use First or Third Person?
Nano tidbit - (i.e. my short story bit as I'm doing whatever I want here)
Being at the front desk, he knew who checked in with a party, who came with a significant other and who came alone. The latter he committed to memory and could visit with later. The downside to the big hotel versus his old gwesty was it wasn’t a quick nip down to the corner pub. He’d have preferred to have a few of those up his sleeve so he could meet them away from where he worked. It was just better that way.