A guest post from Barry Napier...
I asked myself this question roughly one hundred times as I
was about halfway through the first draft of Everything Theory: Cold Compass.
Honestly, the first answer that came to mind was the fact that I
simply wanted to put myself into an overly ambitious project and see it
through. The second (and honestly most
important) answer was this: because the characters of the story were demanding
it.
At first, I had never intended Everything Theory to become a series. It was going to be a nice little one-off
story with the potential for other books that tied into the same universe with
the same characters. I certainly had no intentions of the books taking up about
90% of my writing time. But as I made my
way through the first book of the series, Cold
Compass, I realized that these characters—primarily Gabe, the central
character—had a lot more going on than could be covered in one book.
I assumed I could probably get three books out of Gabe, his
back story, his father’s sordid history, and the shadow organization that
connects it all: CSAR. I made a few plot
maps and was ready to tackle a trilogy.
Then I ended up introducing the villain of Cold Compass, a mysterious figure named Garrison Sleet. And as I delved more into who/what he might
be, it started to appear as if a trilogy might not cover the entire story,
either.
So as it stands, I have a 5-book series on my hands. It is all mapped out and fits rather well
(although it appears that Book 4 might be pretty lengthy). Book 1 has been released, and Book 2 is a few
editing sessions away from being wrapped up.
I am currently taking a slight break from the Everything Theory books to give myself a break (or maybe it’s the
characters that needed a break) from the twists, turns, and conspiracies.
So…why write a series?
Because sometimes the writer is just the conduit; it’s the characters
within the story that are really producing the words.
To learn more about
Barry, his Everything Theory books
and other works, visit him at his online home:
www.barrynapierwriting.wordpress.com.
3 comments:
Haha best answer ever: because I don't get a choice. I love it. (And it's true.)
Five book series. Bloody awesome. Although, I am waiting for the announcement that it will be even longer consider the fact that 'Book 4 might be pretty lengthy' ;)
Yep. I like the idea of an interrelated series of novellas. Writing one of those right now! ;)
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