On Writing a Series by Nan Reinhardt

Author Anne Lamott tells a story about a time when her little brother was overwhelmed with a science project that he’d put off until the last minute. It involved cataloguing birds. The night before it was due, he turned to his father and, in despair, asked, “How will I ever get this all done?” His father smiled and answered, “Bird by bird, son, bird by bird.”

Those words became the title of one of my favorite Lamott books and my own mantra as I’m writing my second romantic series. My current writing project is the Four Irish Brothers Winery series with Tule Publishing. Each book is one brother’s story. I’m a pantser—I just sit down and start telling a story. That’s always worked pretty well for me, even when writing my first series, The Women of Willow Bay. So when I started writing about the Flaherty brothers, I began with an event that affected all the characters—the death of their father.

I was a good ten thousand words into the first book of the series and it was lovely prose, but I suddenly realized that I couldn’t tell all four brothers’ stories at once—it was simply too unwieldy. If I continued the way I was going, I would end up with a contrived mess that I’d never be able to sort out. So I started again, this time with one brother’s story—Conor Flaherty’s. The other brothers would necessarily appear in Conor’s story; they had to or it would never be a series about four brothers, but it had to happen naturally. Bird by bird or, in this case, brother by brother.

Now as I am working on Book 3 of the Four Irish Brothers Winery series, I’ve discovered some guidelines for writing a series that I’d like to share. First of all, it’s important to figure out if you have stories for all the books in your series. Now, each individual story may change as you go along, but the basic premise for the series—in my case, four brothers have inherited a winery, and somehow, all four of them will eventually come home to River’s Edge to be a part of their family business—will be constant. How each brother gets home is the basis for their individual journey

Second, map out the basics—your recurring characters (and River’s Edge has lots of them!) will show up in each book, so a character list is mandatory. I keep a chart of each character—their hair color, eye color, profession, spouses, siblings, etc. I also keep a rough map of the setting, which should pretty much remain the same throughout the whole series because it’s important to make sure that if the tea shop is next door to the bookstore in Book 1, it’s still in the same place in Book 3.

Third, keep a timeline that carries through each book in the series. In my case, I don’t want to have Conor’s daughter remaining a four-year-old in Book 3 when, in fact, she’s actually six now and starting first grade. It was Christmastime in Book 1 but summer in Book 2, and now, it’s fall into Christmas again in Book 3. I’m guessing Book 4 will have a Valentine’s Day theme, but I’m not sure. We’ll see. The key point being that timelines need to make sense and be consistent from book to book.

Finally, keeping a list of the traits of each main character is major because you  don’t want them showing up with blue eyes in Book 1 and green eyes in Book 3. You also don’t want them doing anything completely out of character in Book 2, 3, or 4. Add a tiny personality clue next to each character’s name in your character list so you don’t have a sweet little lady suddenly going off on a child—although that idea has potential, doesn’t it?

Truly learning your characters and your setting makes writing a series easier for you. By Book 3, for example, you know what Megan the mayor or Mac at the Riverside diner would say in any given situation. You can write great dialogue between the brothers because you’ve been with them for two books. It’s all about getting to know your characters and giving them wonderful, engaging stories.

Keep track of everything because maintaining consistency makes your series feel like coming home with each book, and isn’t that what you want? For readers to long to return to the world you’ve created.

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Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today-bestselling author of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. Nan has been a copyeditor and proofreader for over 25 years, and currently works on romantic fiction titles for a variety of clients, including Avon Books, St. Martin’s Press, Kensington Books, and Entangled Publishing, as well as for many indie authors.

Although she loves her life as an editor, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. Her latest novel, Meant to Be, Book 2 in the Four Irish Brothers Winery series from Tule Publishing releases on July 18, 2019. A Small Town Christmas, which is the first book in the Four Irish Brothers Winery series from Tule Publishing, is available now, and she is currently hard at work on Book 3.

Visit Nan’s website at www.nanreinhardt.com, where you’ll find links to all her books as well as blogs about writing, being a Baby Boomer, and aging gracefully…mostly. Nan also blogs every sixth Wednesday at Word Wranglers, sharing the spotlight with five other romance authors and is a frequent contributor the RWA Contemporary Romance blog, and she contributes to the Romance University blog where she writes as Editor Nan.

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MEANT TO BE, Nan Reinhardt

Can a near-tragedy help two best friends realize they’re meant to be so much more?

Best friends since grade school, high-powered Chicago attorney, Sean Flaherty, and small-town mayor Megan Mackenzie have always shared a special bond. When Sean is shot by a client’s angry ex, Megan rushes to his side, terrified she’s about to lose her long-time confidant.

Upon his return to River’s Edge to recuperate, Sean discovers that his feelings for his pal have taken an undeniable turn for the romantic. While Megan struggles with an unfamiliar longing for Sean, she worries that he may be mistaking a safe place to land for love.

Can Sean help her realize that they are truly meant to be so much more than friends?

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Category: How To and Tips