I’ve been thinking about book series lately and how much isn’t said about them. Most people state they help increase sales because readers keep buying books, but that’s all you really hear. What about the craft behind writing series? To help bridge this gap in knowledge, I am going to do three posts on three different types of series. Today, we’re going to start with episodic book series. We’ll examine what they are, examples, and the key elements for writing one.
Episodic Book Series
An episodic series is a collection of books in one genre that follow the same protagonist (and maybe even a whole cast of characters) in standalone stories. These books can be read in any order because each novel has its own separate plot. Episodic series are also sometimes called independent series or static series.
Examples
There are many examples of episodic series. Most TV shows are episodic like: NCIS, Percy Mason, Looney Tunes, and House Hunters. As for books, most mystery series are episodic: Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, Miss Marple, Alex Cross, etc. It’s often common to write an episodic series about superheroes who save the day over and over, each time defeating a new threat in a new book. Think of any story where you follow the same character(s) in separate stories, and you have an episodic series.
Key Elements
Now that we understand what an episodic book series is, let’s look at three key elements every successful one needs to hook readers.
1. Strong Main Character
As we noted earlier, episodic series follow one or a group of characters through multiple stories. The character is what stays the same; it’s what the readers come back for each time. Because of that, episodic book series need a compelling protagonist for readers to root for across the series. If you can get the main character right, the readers will keep coming back for more.
Beyond the main character, you can also keep the same ensemble cast throughout the series. Or, you can just pick a couple people that keep reappearing. Maybe it’s the sidekick, antagonist, and love interest that shows up each novel. It’s really your call who stays the same and who changes, but the main character must be the same and kept intriguing.
2. Series Plot Concept
As with all series, the books should be in the same genre. For episodic series though, each book should also have a similar plot concept. I’m not saying the plot in each book is the same, but the general topic should be similar. The books are all murder mysteries. Every novel follows a woman looking for love. Each book shows the superhero defeating a supernatural villain.
Readers fall in love with the protagonist of episodic series so we have to keep the same main character in each book. Yet we can’t give the character new skills every time we start a new book. If he’s a famous detective, then each book should be solving a crime. If she is a talented art thief, then each book may be a heist plot. Readers come for the love of the main character and what he or she can do. Hence, each book in the series should have a similar concept, though the plot changes for each novel.
3. Closed External Arc/Open Internal Arc
There are two arcs to every story: external arc and internal arc. The external arc is what happens in the story; the internal arc is how the character grows through the story. In episodic book series, every book needs to have a complete and satisfying external arc. If the protagonist has a murder case, it must be solved by the end of the book. If the main character needs a wife to keep his throne, then he should be married and happily king at the book’s end. Whatever external goal the protagonist was chasing the whole story should be achieved.
On the other hand, the internal arc of each book needs to be continuous and open. Since you follow the same protagonist in every book, the internal arc needs to flow from one story to the next. That doesn’t mean the arcs need to build off each other. If the series can be read in any order, you don’t want something that makes one book dependent on another. But you also don’t want the protagonist learning the same lesson every book. If he gets over a sense of greed in one book, he shouldn’t fight against it the next book. Each book should add to his growth in a new way.
How To Plan The Series
There are three main parts to planning any story: plot, character, and setting. The same is true of a series. Let’s walk through each one and how they relate to episodic series.
Character
The biggest and most important part to plan for an episodic book series is character. Since your protagonist is what carries readers from one book to the next, you need to make sure you have a strong main character before committing to a series.
The most essential detail about your character is making him or her compelling. I did a post a little while back on how to create an engaging character readers can get behind. Essentially, the character needs to be varying levels of proactive, competent, and sympathetic. If you can get the ratio right, you’ll have readers excited to spend numerous books with your protagonist.
I’ve done many posts on character development, including my series called Character Under a Microscope where I dig into tiny details about characters. But, if you are just looking for a basic character starter kit, then start with my post on initial characterization. Just make sure you put some thought into the internal arc and what lesson you want your protagonist to wrestle with throughout the story. Even if you are a pantser and hate plotting a book before writing it, I highly recommend you spend a little time developing your protagonist before starting an episodic series.
Setting
The next important part of planning an episodic book series is setting. Most think setting isn’t hard to plan if you aren’t doing intricate world building like in fantasy or science fiction novels. That’s not necessarily true. You may draw from our world for your setting, but instead of spending time creating the world you spend it researching our world. Regardless, you need to make sure your setting is big enough to hold multiple plots.
For instance, Jessica Fletcher (in the Murder She Wrote television show) lived in a small town where she solved murder mysteries. The problem was that soon the small town’s population was dying out from all the murders! So, the television writers started making Jessica travel to other cities where she happened upon murders so her hometown didn’t die out. Make sure when you pick a setting for your series that it can realistically unfold for books to come.
Plot
The last part of an episodic series that you could plan is the plot. Each book will hold its own plot though so you could discovery write and polish it when editing. However, as stated earlier, you must have a basic concept that each plot follows. A nanny goes into broken homes and teaches the parents how to raise their children. Or a thief steals a work of art from a rich person. Whatever plot concept you pick, make sure it’s one you feel passionate about and can write varying versions of for numerous books.
Final Thoughts
Episodic book series are fun, and they can be quick writes since you already have the character and setting established and a general direction for every plot. If you want to establish yourself and practice writing good books and deep characters, this is the series type for you. It’s also ideal for thriller and mystery writers, as those genres make up most episodic series. If however, you don’t feel like this type of series is for you, stick around! I’ll be covering two more series types in the weeks to come, and one of those might fit your creative aspirations better.
Thanks for reading!
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