Apex Book Company

I’m happy to be here at the Apex blog, and want to thank Jason for inviting me.

I’m going to talk about series writing here, specifically novels, though there are certainly short story series, in the sense of linked continuities. (I have written a number of those myself, including the “Rushes” cycle at Strange Horizons.)

When I wrote Mainspring, it was a standalone. I didn’t envision the book as a series. In fact, it never crossed my mind at the time. The book was written on spec, before I’d established myself as a novelist, and I was frankly so intimidated by the novel-writing process that I was profoundly grateful to have written it all. However, this means I didn’t structure it like a series, or put series-style hooks in the plot, or arrange the ending accordingly.

Time went by. People liked Mainspring. Tor looked at me and said, “Well, write another.” I said, “Buh buh buh.” I then had to figure out how to extract a follow-on book from a single-character story arc with a very definite and permanent ending: Hethor isn’t dead, but he’s very retired at the end Mainspring.

So I wrote Escapement. This time I was smart. I structured it with more characters, I didn’t shut all their doors at the endings, I left in clear hooks and directions for a follow-on book. I even had some decent notions what the third book might be about. That has since turned into Pinion, the third and final book in the novel arc I didn’t know I was beginning with Mainspring.

Then I went off and wrote Green. Also a standalone, and intended as such, also single-character. But this time I left it very open-ended, allowed myself plenty of maneuvering room for sequels or follow-ons. I didn’t kill off or retire too many key secondary characters, I didn’t burn down the city or blow up the world or otherwise provide a profoundly terminal ending.

But it was still its own book. Except this time the doors were open. And lo and behold, I’m now planning a book entitled Endurance, which picks up from the final scene of Green and carries forward.

And this time it’s a hell of a lot easier, because I didn’t slam the plot in my own face.

Now I’m really smart, right? I’ve been plotting a space opera trilogy, pure play science fiction with decadent monarchies, ancient secrets, exploding planets, psychotic starships — the whole ball of wax. And for Sunspin, I outlined the whole damned thing as a trilogy from the beginning, so the plot would have the shape and integrity of a full trilogy. Instead of the stutter which the Mainspring cycle has, or even the tentative nature of Green. No, with this one I am launching myself screaming into the void of 600,000 word first drafts.

Could I have done that the first time around? Hell no!

It’s all a learning curve, all a process. I’ve learned the way writers always learn, by doing. I went from the accidental series to the “oh maybe” series to the preplanned series. It continues to be a lot of fun.

I only wonder what comes next.

Jay Lake is a prolific, award-winning author of short stories and novels. You can read more about Jay at www.jlake.com.