Heyo, any tips for organizing a large series? Currently working on the second draft of the first book in an 8-9 book series. I’ve got the majority planned out, and am trying not to get too fussed with fine details because I know things can (and likely will) change. I want to get all of the basics down though, but I find it overwhelming– especially near the end where most of it reaches a climax.

brynwrites:

Tips for Organizing a Large Series.

1. Don’t be afraid to outline. Things may very well change in the earlier books, and you’ll need to readjust for them. That’s okay. Outlines are meant to be altered and thrown out when necessary. Don’t let the knowledge that you might not use your entire outline keep you from diving deeper into it if it feels like a natural part of your writing process. You might find adjustments you want to make to the beginning books along the way!

2. Know your climaxes. Even if you haven’t planned out the details of each climax, it’s good to know:

• Who or what your antagonist is.
• What the outcome of this final confrontation will be.
• The level of impact it will have on your protagonist. 

Just like the arcs within individual novels, the climax of each novel should be more tense than the last. (Note that this doesn’t mean the bad guys need to get bigger or badder. Personal stakes are more powerful than any villain.)

3. Know your character arcs. Your protagonist and all major pov characters must have a character arc in every single book, and it must build off what was done in the last book. 

As with all aspects of planning, you don’t have to stick with what you plan out, but it’s always better to have a plan you can take if you need to, instead of reaching the second to last book and realizing your protagonist has already worked through all the areas of growth you set up for their character to have and you now need to shove a new one in without proper build up. 

4. Don’t try to do too much in the earlier books. One great aspect of a long series is that you can take a lot of time to build up to things. Don’t worry about solving all the mysteries, revealing all the backstories, or growing your characters out of their major flaws in the beginning of the series.

5. Vague foreshadowing is best. You can draw more attention to your foreshadowing in contained novels because you have the chance to take out anything that doesn’t follow through, but the final books of a long series may not end up as you originally foreshadowed them to be. 

When foreshadowing for much later books, try asking whether or not the reader will feel like something is missing if there’s no follow through.

Find out more about outlining, writing, and revising here!