by Jackie Houchin
A couple of weeks ago, Gayle shared with us about repeats and redundancies in our writing and how to avoid them. This is only one of the points she’s taught to keep our writing enticing and enjoyable for our readers. She used the TV show, Murder, She Wrote, to illustrate both the allowed and the frowned-upon redundancies.
“TV series like book series need formulas to stay consistent,” one person commented. “It’s why we keep going back.”
On the same note, I love books in a series. When I find a well-written and fun series, I will begin with the first installment, read right through to the last, and then hope there will be more to come. They have the same main characters (which I’ve grown to love) and the plots, although varied, follow a basic plan each time. The settings can be here and there, I don’t care.
(Oops! Yes, I know that for some readers, the PLACE where the series happens is the ‘sweet spot,’ as in outer space, a certain beloved city, or on a cruise ship. It’s why they keep returning for book after book. Sorry!)
Anyway, in a series, I know what to expect, even though I don’t know what to expect, if you get my meaning.
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One series I enjoy is Canadian author Iona Whishaw’s Lane Winslow Mysteries. They are set in British Columbia (with a few side excursions) shortly after WWII. Lane was a British spy during the war, and she uses her “secret” skills to help the local police inspector solve crimes.
The author has written 13 installments, so far, with a little prequel thrown in. I’ve read all but the last, and have just purchased it. It’s a series that can keep going with the same characters and slightly altered plots.
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I have also enjoyed Gabrielle Meyer’s Timeless series, which combines mystery, light romance, and history across a dozen settings and eras. She uses a “time-crosser” or two in each book. These gals (and sometimes guys) are in one of two settings every other day until they turn 25. At that point, they must choose the one they wish to remain in.
While the plot is essentially the same (a choice between two lives, weighing the costs and benefits of each), the era and places, along with the wonderfully researched history, make each book different. They do not follow one another chronologically, like the Lane Winslow Mysteries. It’s a series that can continue as long as the author wants, but each story stands alone. They repeat only in form.
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The other series that hooked me was Ashley Weaver’s Electra McDonnell Mysteries. In these, Electra is a skilled safecracker from a family of thieves who is coerced into working for British Intelligence to avoid prison. Of course, a handsome Major is her handler. Sparks happen, but she is SO “not fitting” for a high-born Brit. Very exciting, suspenseful, and FUN.
The books in this series follow a close chronological order and have a natural ending in book five. If I want to read more in this series, I will have to re-read from book one.
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Where was I? I guess I segued from redundancies, repeats, and formulas to book series. But these examples show that YOU can write a short or long series that grabs and holds your readers without resorting to boring repetition or copycats.
(And for my faux pas about setting, there IS a series I love set on the cruise ship, Siren of the Seas. It’s Hope Callighan’s Millie’s Cruise Ship Mysteries. Set aboard a luxury cruise ship, now as familiar as my own house, or at a port o’ call, the books feature recurring characters and similar plots. The story advances chronologically with each book, and there are multiple dozens of books in the series.)
I’d love your comments on the book series you love (and why you love them – characters, settings, plots?). I have hundreds more I couldn’t list. Let’s compare!!
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The Writers in Residence 
Great post. A book series, just like a good TV series, has one thing that makes it last. The setting might vary like the cruise series you mentioned or a small town series might venture out for a short trip somewhere else, or even a time-traveler switch that lets the reader see new stuff. But the one thing a series has is a great main character. If the reader loves that character and their friends, the series will be a winner. Didn’t we fall in love with Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I.? A great character keeps bringing us back. Aristotle might have said “plot” was the most important thing, but when a TV series or book series has a great main character, we the reader just might forgive them for telling sort of the same story every time. Change the plot and setting a little bit, but keep giving us the character we love.
Posted by Gayle Bartos-Pool
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So true, Gayle. And although I love a good, ‘tight and twisted’ plot, if the character is unlikable, the book is DNF and goes into the donation pile.
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I agree that it’s fun to get caught up in a series, thanks to the protagonist and setting repeating themselves–but the mystery and rest of the story is different. Thanks for the enjoyable post, Jackie!
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Series often depend on some clever hook to grab your attention and then come up with a workable formula to give the stories consistency. The location may stay the same or vary. Sometimes plots are so predictable you know what will happen down to the actual dialogue. That said, the pleasure of series, whether book, television or film, comes down to character character character. When all else fails (or becomes somewhat redundant), we’ll keep coming back for them.
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