Writing (not publishing) a series in order or out of order?

[OldDog_NewTricks]

Hello again everyone.

Life is starting to come back around, but that's for another time.

I know I've mentioned a "series" I'm trying to write and being so new to this I always have questions. The collective brain trust here has always been helpful with the advice and I do read it all and then use it to move forward, albeit it slowly. Whether I choose this suggestion or that suggestion or a mixture of many, I thank everyone for the kind and supportive words and advice.

If you've seen the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus", I can relate to his writing of his "Great American Symphony" every time I start working on my "series". From some good advice from another thread, I've decided to try and finish it before publishing it. My dilemma now is do I write it in order or work on multiple "chapters" whenever the mood strikes? The "series" is based on one main character at different stages of her life. Each "chapter" could almost be a stand alone story as each has a specific "plot" and a situational ending, but there is an underlying story woven into all the chapters. Sort of a "The Life and Times of (insert name here)".

So, after all that rambling, how do some of you that write "series" or "serials" structure your writing? In order or out of order or something else? I have an outline of each "chapter" and the associated characters on paper to keep details in order. I can see the basics of each chapter play out in my mind and, like what I've already written, the minute details filled themselves in as I went.

The problem I'm having is that I'm hung up on the chapter I'm working on now. It was always the chapter I had the least concrete conception of, but it fills in some important details of the main supporting character and the direction of the relationship to the main character. That relationship is a big part of the underlying story of the series. I'm worried that if I shelve the current chapter to work on subsequent ones, when I finish the troublesome chapter the details that get filled in along the way will change the "out of order" ones I may start working on.

Another question for those of you who have written series, did you write/publish other one-offs at the same time or just focus on the series? If you did, did they steal possible scenarios away from the series?

I apologize for being so long winded. I only get so much time to spend on this endeavor and need to figure out how to streamline the time I do have.

Thank you all for the previous help. It's greatly appreciated.

 

[MrPixel]

I have two large series going, one all but finished, one an ongoing this-is-their-life story with no ending on the horizon. Two different approaches to your issue. I'm about to drop a story in the latter series that is intentionally "timeless", a complete story that doesn't require lead-in from a previous tale nor does it preface a follow-up, but is within canon nonetheless.

Let's talk about the "almost" finished one. Skipping over a difficult chapter is a way out in the name of progress, but you have to be really careful you don't mess-up continuity. I've been publishing in "books" of chapters, each "book" a beginning-to-end standalone, like a TV series' season. Because I don't upload the chapters until the book is finished, if, upon re-read, I discover a character or situation out of sequence, there is the opportunity to edit preceding chapters. Publish as each chapter is "complete", you lose that opportunity.

My problem with this particular long tale is I've already written the last chapter. There is a huge development hole that's been skipped over. So it and the preceding "book" are sitting there rotting on my hard drive while my attention has been taken by the "our life" story. You want to watch out for changes in your mind, or in my case, evolution of writing style. I'm concerned that my casual tone with the life story will be a jarring misfit in the middle of a slightly more structured story line.

But that's my problem. That you have a general outline might save you from my fate. Good luck.

 

[OldDog_NewTricks]

After more thought, I think "series" really isn't the appropriate choice for my situation. A series is made up of books (longer works with many chapters). What I have is more akin to a single book in a series. What would a better term for a "The Life and Times of (insert name here)" type of work be?

And no...that is not what I'm thinking about for a title or even a working title. Too cheesy.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I wrote a 37 chapter series over the course of three years, only pausing twice to do stand alones for events. I had the full story generally indexed by chapter(I won't say outlined, it wasn't that detailed) so I had the general structure, while leaving it open enough to add more if ideas came to me.

I wrote the first chapter straight through, then wrote a rough draft of the ending. I started chapter two, then wrote a few scenes for chapters further in the future. I continued that way, focusing on the current chapter but occasionally jumping forward.

For example, I was only a few chapters in when I heard a story on NPR about a woman who maintained what she called a "pocket jar" as her child grew up up. Every time she did laundry, she would take whatever she found in the kid's pockets and top it in a big glass jar- coins, pebbles, buttons, little toys, whatever.

I thought that could be a great way to structure a chapter; so I jumped about twenty chapters ahead and wrote a few scenes about the day that Mary's daughter left home for college. After she had left, Mary dumped out the pocket jar she'd kept for years, and sorted the items, triggering memories of the daughter growing up. The details came much later, when I got to that chapter in its place in the order.

This method worked for me, but as noted, I spent three years on the project...

 

[MelissaBaby]

After more thought, I think "series" really isn't the appropriate choice for my situation. A series is made up of books (longer works with many chapters). What I have is more akin to a single book in a series. What would a better term for a "The Life and Times of (insert name here)" type of work be?

And no...that is not what I'm thinking about for a title or even a working title. Too cheesy.

Well, that's a novel, but if you want to post in it in chapters on Lit, it would be considered a series.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Well, I can't answer your other question, I just can't conceive of writing a story out of order, but I have found that writing short stories when the fancy takes me to do so helps to keep me from getting burned out on my longer stories.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

So, I tend to write my stuff like I'm filming a movie - I work on the parts that I want to work on and I slip in things like <SEX SCENE> or <FILL IN HERE> so that I know to go back and finish something before I hit submit.

This can be a very hard thing to do, especially if you're writing endings first and then backfilling, or if you're trying to do long character arcs (like I am) that involve characters changing and evolving over time. I would say if you do go this route, make sure you've got character sketches and bios already done so you know where you're going and where you've been, and so you can make sure you're writing the characters the way they should appear at that time, with the knowledge they'd have at that time.

For instance, in my first series, one of the protagonist's girlfriends was originally his mortal enemy - the story of how they became friends and then lovers in integral to the plot, and I had to know when I was skipping forward to work on certain parts where I was in that evolution if I didn't want to fuck it up.

This isn't always easy, and that's why I think most people tend to write things in order. It can especially become a pain in the ass to keep track of if you've got dual Plot A and Plot Bs going at the same time, especially if those plots aren't set in the same area or time period. For instance, in the current series I'm working on, Plot A is happening in the modern timeline, while Plot B is happening in the 1980s, and I have to keep things straight in both timelines, which has made extra work, but that's part of the fun.

And yes, I have put down my main stories (the three series I did/am doing) and did one-offs. Those were all part of contests, whether it was Valentine's Day, the 750 or the On-the-Job one. The last one was basically a novella, so I had some pretty solid time off from my main story, but thankfully I'd done my homework and had a lot of notes I could fall back on to finish where I'd left off.

If you assemble your stories like I do - scene by scene like a film - than I think you can do things out of order. But this does require a little more planning. You can still seat-of-the-pants it within the scene (God knows I've done that and sometimes it's worked out very well) but you have to have an idea of what each scene is designed to do and how it advances the overall plot or you're likely going to floundering a bit.

The best thing is there's no right way or wrong way to do this, so experiment a bit and see if this works for you.

 

[OldDog_NewTricks]

The advice you all are giving me gives me hope that someday I'll finish it. I may have to pull back and write a one off here and there maybe for a palate cleanser? That and maybe to not fall into a rut or get tunnel vision.

I know I have referenced it before, but the collection titled The Keys by Outdoor Kat is what started me on this quest and (structure wise) is what I was aiming for. That collection happens across one roughly 12 hour period where my idea is more of a young adult to middle age timeframe, with each chapter happening years apart rather than hours. Each of The Keys could be read as a one off, but is better as a whole read in order.

Again, thank you all for the advice. I see it as support for a beginner from the much more experienced.

 

[GrantBricksly]

The biggest issue you are going to have is continuity. If you write it out of order, you run the risk of writing a detail in a later chapter that doesn't jive with a detail in a previous chapter that hasn't been written yet.

The fact that you are not publishing any of it until it's all done helps, because you can go back and change things like that. The question is: will you? Will you notice the error? Or will it slip through your scrutiny?

Personally, I write from beginning to end, in order. And I still end up having to go back sometimes and change things in my Grant & Isabelle stories, which aren't so much a series as a Universe that is connected. In one story, which took place after a previous one, I came up with a bit of information that would explain a plotline. But I realized that the previous story needed to be adjusted to allow for it. I needed to change a crucial piece of detail in the older story in order to keep the continuity. Now, I don't know if anyone but me would have cared, or even noticed. But I cared, and I wanted my story to work.

 

[Writer61]

By accident rather than design, I have written three series in reverse chronological order. With hindsight, I wish that I had done it the other way around, as I would not have had to keep checking forward for continuity issues and better character development, especially with the two that have the same lead character.

One of the downsides to writing in a single universe with some crossover characters is that taking a break with something completely different is less easy.

 

[GrantBricksly]

I've found that the best way, for me anyway, to keep track of continuity is to keep a separate file of all pertinent details. Character names, descriptions, jobs, background, etc. Important locations (and their descriptions if any), Important dates, etc...That way, I can have that file open alongside my writing, and I can both reference it and update it as I write.

Again, I still sometimes have to go back and change things. I might get deep into a story and come up with a brilliant plot twist. However, to pull it off, I need to change something I wrote earlier...So then I have to weigh whether or not my new idea is worth the edit..

 

[ElectricBlue]

Another question for those of you who have written series, did you write/publish other one-offs at the same time or just focus on the series? If you did, did they steal possible scenarios away from the series?

Every story I've written in the last five years has been a side project while writing something else. I think I'm probably four or five levels down. Whether or not those first stories will ever get finished remains to be seen. It's not something I ever worry about.

 

[Britva415]

I can write out of order.

Starting with an outline, I can start at the beginning, write whichever scene happens to be in my mind at the time, even if it’s the last, then write other scenes during different writing sessions, and make sure there aren’t any uncompleted placeholders before calling it done.

I’m saying “scenes” because I’m talking about how I can write a story, but it goes for series too. I plan to write one more chapter of a series and publish it while re-numbering the subsequent chapters, since it’s not actually the last chapter - which is already published.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

The way that I see it, there are episodes that are framed as chapters, episodes framed as serial stories, and larger episodes that comprise a universe of stand-alone stories.

Whether you "write" any of these in chronological order is more an artistic choice of yours. You can always rearrange things prior to submitting. I use a story board approach to writing with sections being written as the inspiration for them strikes me. I am organized enough to keep timelines and character development traits consistent, which makes final assembly much easier.

As for submitting them chronologically, I think it also depends upon your artistic style of writing. I have four stories in my "Brandt Family Adventures" universe that are generations apart. I entice readers to take them in chronological order by ending each with a slight cliff-hanger that gets addressed at the beginning of the next story. They each work fine independently, but the reception from readers is much more positive when they follow the path I laid out for them.