I doubt any aspiring writer sets out wanting to create anything less than impactful stories. I certainly didn’t when I began Whispers from the Machine. Of course, even if we try, it does not mean we will land it the correct way. As I have discussed in previous blogs, the process was a massive learning curve for me. That jump from “an idea”, maybe even a great idea, to world-building and releasing is significant. None of those stages alone equal a story, let alone a series of impactful stories.
Playing it Safe with Book One
From the start, I didn’t know if I would be able to finish book one, or if I would even enjoy the process. That is why I played it safe. I knew Whispers from the Machine should be part of a larger series, but I didn’t want to risk the commitment. Instead, I wrote it to be a standalone book.
I worked to rein myself in, creating an outline that captured the core idea and the world around it. I packaged it into a narrative that gave readers insight into the universe but provided a firm conclusion. The story wasn’t the whole world I had built; it was just a flash of an event within a much larger timeline.
Overcoming the Scope of a Series
This approach was helpful initially because it stopped me from drowning in the vastness of potential paths. It enabled me to have a focus and achievable goals: just get book one done. Just 120,000 words. Just 50 chapters. This felt manageable, far more so than a four-book series of 600,000+ words.
For anyone who has noticed that Whispers from the Machine is now part of “The Stapledon Series,” you’ll know I did, in fact, expand it. Once I was into the process and had an outline that I hoped would create impactful stories, I found the space to see the wider narrative. I saw how this book tied in and where the series could go. In fact, ensuring book one was impactful beyond the series itself is a highly valuable strategy.
Avoiding the “Middle Book” Trap
It sounds obvious, but a common struggle for a series is scope expansion and “middle book syndrome.” Expanding the scope can cause the heart of impactful stories to melt away. If each subsequent book must increase the stakes and character count, you risk losing what people loved about book one. If they loved a quiet, slow mystery, they might be disappointed when book two becomes a fast-paced action slog.
Middle book syndrome is even harder to tackle. This is where the middle volume exists solely to get the reader to the finale. These books can become uneventful or filled with “MacGuffin” tasks—fetch quests designed simply to provide action where there is no plot progression.
My Plan for the Stapledon Series
I am naturally worried that the Stapledon Series will fall into these traps. I am no master writer, and the pitfalls are easy to stumble into. My plan is to outline meticulously; I have chapters sketched out from book one all the way to the end of book four.
But I also want to replicate what I did with book one. I want to approach each volume as a standalone. Each should tell its own impactful story, a “flash in the pan” that connects to the wider narrative. While they won’t be completely independent (my beta readers made it clear they want to follow the main character’s journey!), they must feel complete.
It sounds simple, but it is my way of acknowledging the traps and putting guards in place. If I’m lucky, I’ll end up with a series of truly impactful stories.
Leave a Reply