Turning your previous story ideas into a series ?

[OldDog_NewTricks]

Have any of you done this?

I was talking with my beta-reader (my wife) the other day about how my second story for here was going. Unfortunately it isn’t going well. I tend to let a story write its own course, making slight changes in direction to complete the main story objectives. This one detoured too many times and I may shelve it again until I come up with a better direction for it.

We were discussing using one of the other stories I’ve told her for my second try, and she said some of story ideas seemed to “line up” into what could be a decent series if I were to change the names of the characters and location, but left the core story ideas intact.

We did sketch out a neat story line with five or six of my earlier stories fitting together, but the task seems too daunting for my abilities. The idea does intrigue me, though.

Here’s my mental dilemma. I would love to submit the ideas in their original versions, but then if I try and meld them into a series at a later date,

 

[THBGato]

I don't quite follow.

However, there are plenty of examples on here of writers who write connected stories, often creating one large arc.

I'm doing that.

My first published story, The Hardest Step, had a few commenters asking for a sequel. I didn't really want to do one.

So, when I came to my story, Eve & Lucy, I made the MC from The Hardest Step a member of the supporting cast, so readers got to find out what happened to her, if at a slight remove. (The "Eve" in Eve & Lucy is flatmate of the MCs in Love is a Place. Samantha, in that story, is taught by one of the MCs in The Third Date. These are three separate series on my author page, but they are all linked.)

Was that kind of what you were asking?

All it took to do this was to ensure names and setting matched (which is what you seem to be saying you would need to do). I didn't actually run into many continuity issues otherwise.

Good luck!

 

[StillStunned]

Sometimes, if a story isn't working, you just have to abandon it. That doesn't mean never using what you've written: I think all of us have probably recycled and cannibalised bits of drafts to turn them into something better. That's what you should focus on: turning the building blocks into a complete work.

 

[Bamagan]

I think all of us have probably recycled and cannibalised bits of drafts to turn them into something better.

Ah, author cannibalization... the true endgame of the "is it okay to continue this other writer's story?" saga.

 

[StillStunned]

Ah, author cannibalization... the true endgame of the "is it okay to continue this other writer's story?" saga.

"Is it OK to write a sequel to another author's story if I eat them first? I promise to pick their brain."

 

[Bamagan]

"Is it OK to write a sequel to another author's story if I eat them first? I promise to pick their brain."

Ingestion is the highest form of flattery.

 

[ALovelyNudist]

I kind of have. I treat Lit as a personal diary of my erotic tales so I’ve made series based off the people like my lover Owen. The feedback I’ve had so far has been really good about it and I have people asking for the next chapters in the series

 

[OldDog_NewTricks]

I guess I should have been clearer and thought the question through a bit more.

For most of you, your stories have already been published here so reusing them in some form might be problematic. For me, I only have one published story but many that I have shared with my wife. That situation is explained in my bio.

I guess what I was getting at is that if I were to submit a few stories individually, then later use the exact same story concepts (albeit with different character names and locations) to create a series, I would feel like it was a lack of effort on my part.

The only analogies I can come up with are a remake of a movie because the movie company needs to put out something but don’t have any new or original or good ideas. Or the current trend of writing a prequel based on a box office hit just for the sake of producing something. Or a music artist that feels the need to cover an old hit song because they’ve run out of new ideas.

I’m definitely not saying it would be like that for anyone else here. I was looking to see if some else had done it and if they wrestled with that same mindset to help me decide. Individually or as a series or both.

Does that make any sense?

 

[OldDog_NewTricks]

Ok. After reading a bit more, maybe “series” isn’t the right term either. I’m reminded of a group of stories written by @OutdoorCat called “The Keys”. It had ten chapters, each could be read as a stand alone story but were parts of the same one night adventure. That’s more what I meant by a “series” but mine would happen over years, not hours.

 

[Gamblnluck]

However, there are plenty of examples on here of writers who write connected stories, often creating one large arc.

The problem is often the reader has difficulty following the story arc if each story is not numbered. 'Louie the Limp- Fatima and Louie the Limp- Alexis, are not gonna track. It helps now that when you look up an author, it can lists stories by date published.

 

[THBGato]

A lot of authors (e.g. BrokenSpokes, CareyThomas) use their Bio to give a recommended reading order.

 

[Bamagan]

Ok. After reading a bit more, maybe “series” isn’t the right term either. I’m reminded of a group of stories written by @OutdoorCat called “The Keys”. It had ten chapters, each could be read as a stand alone story but were parts of the same one night adventure. That’s more what I meant by a “series” but mine would happen over years, not hours.

I'm not sure why you would want to bother 'refurbishing' your stories with different proper nouns and serializing them when you could just serialize the originals, once you post those. You can manually create collections of otherwise standalone works and call them a series, putting them in whatever order you like. You can even make theme serials, grouping them together because they all feature spanking, or drunk hook-ups, or romance blossoming from getting trapped by a blizzard/hurricane/covid/etc. (although you can only put a story in one series, unless things have changed without my realizing).

 

[Rob_Royale]

We were discussing using one of the other stories I’ve told her for my second try, and she said some of story ideas seemed to “line up” into what could be a decent series if I were to change the names of the characters and location, but left the core story ideas intact.

We did sketch out a neat story line with five or six of my earlier stories fitting together, but the task seems too daunting for my abilities. The idea does intrigue me, though.

Here’s my mental dilemma. I would love to submit the ideas in their original versions, but then if I try and meld them into a series at a later date,

So it sounds like your leaning toward an anthology series. A group of stand alone stories that are interconnected by location and characters. This is a perfect idea if a serial story seems daunting. Just make sure each story has a definite ending, so the readers are satisfied.

You could also drop a hint at the end where the next one might be headed.

Donna sighed and laid her head on her husbands sweat covered chest. They relaxed there, holding each other close, as they caught their breath. The feel of the cool air from the ceiling fan was perfect. "That was great, babe. I can't wait to do this with you when we're on the cruise next month."

 

[OldDog_NewTricks]

@Rob_Royale that’s sort of what I’m thinking. But changing the stories to be told from the viewpoint of one main character at different stages in her life, just using some of my existing story concepts that exist using different characters. Let’s say I want to include a chapter about sex on a beach. I may have a previous story that deals with sex on the beach but has different character names and may be on the west coast. Now I want a lake beach with my new main character. Change the names and locations and some minor bits and then it makes a new chapter.

I like the idea of a bridge or teaser to the next chapter. This is the ending to the story we thought would make a good one to start a storyline. It’s about a young woman who finally sleeps with her college crush. It’s definitely not complete or on paper yet, just the ending how I told it…

“Her body seemed on fire and numb at the same time as it went limp, and a serene darkness swept over her. The last thing she remembered was Steven.

After a while, she woke to the warmth of the leather on her skin, but something was missing. Steven was gone. She had hoped to wake up wrapped in his arms, but that was OK she guessed. She sat up and began tying the robe back around herself. As she stood she saw the note on the end table, scribbled on the back of an already opened envelope.

“See you tomorrow. Love you. Steven.”

Not the story book ending she had dreamt of, but it would have to do. At least there was a tomorrow.”

The next chapter would be maybe 4-5 years later after they were married. After that different stages of her life / marriage all from her point of view.

 

[Gamblnluck]

A lot of authors (e.g. BrokenSpokes, CareyThomas) use their Bio to give a recommended reading order.

And most readers will not read it. Now if the the stories are along a general theme, same universe etc, it is not a problem but if the stories continue the story as a sequence, then you are better off numbering the chapters and using the description field as a sub-title.
But it is up to you. You will hear about it in comments and PM's.
I have 3 separate series using the same characters. I made it obvious be references within the stories where they lie in the greater story. One is complete but their story sort of continues in the third series. A smaller series tells a story that has not even happened yet in my series Pay the Piper. I plan to tie it in later with a paragraph or two if I live that long.

 

[Gamblnluck]

So it sounds like your leaning toward an anthology series.

Yeah totally different than a series.