SWRT 156 | Keeping a Series Exciting
How do you keep a story going over a long series without tiring out characters and readers? Is this limited to a single genre? What ways can you use innovation, and plot elements to keep the reader engaged?
How do you keep a story going over a long series without tiring out characters and readers? Is this limited to a single genre? What ways can you use innovation, and plot elements to keep the reader engaged?
Do we love all of the aspects of writing? Or do we get stuck in certain processes? How can we break out of our stuck state? And how do we keep the whole project in mind when working on one piece? We talk about how to maintain your passion even in the parts that are less exciting, and how that helps you craft stories that readers will be passionate about too.
What makes an ending dark? And what is the difference between a dark and a negative ending? How do you craft it so that your readers find it satisfying? We explore how some genres rely more heavily on dark endings, and what the difference is between a dark twist and a truly dark ending.
How should you mirror your Act one and Act three? And why should they be related? What tools does that help you access? Remember your inciting incident doesn’t have to be one climactic moment, but your protagonist must have a choice! How should you develop your character with plot in mind? And what if you are writing a very interior or quiet journey?
How do you keep your middle act functioning for your plot? How do you avoid ending your story too early? How should you effectively use subplots? And what about tools like the “try-fail” cycle or the hero’s journey? Alida walks us through how to give your characters the perfect level of problems, and the skills to solve them!