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!!
The Writers in Residence 