Things like: How does each book start? What’s the core conflict and major goal? What are the stakes? How does each book end? How does each book build off the previous book?
I won’t need to know every little subplot, but understanding the big set pieces in advance will save me a ton of tears later. They needed to offer new story and raise the stakes. They also couldn’t just be rehashes of the same basic plot from the first book. Each book needed its own plot arc, and that plot arc needed to fit into the series arc. Sure, I knew the story of all three books, but knowing book three is “about the war” doesn’t do squat when you’re trying to figure out the plot for books leading up to that war. After going through the process once, I have several things I’ll do differently the next time I try another trilogy.ġ. I learned a lot about writing sequels from that and was better prepared for book three. I plowed into the second book, Blue Fire (Balzer & Bray, 2010) and made every mistake a sophomore writer can make. I made some notes, finished the book, and sent it off to agents with a little, “this story stands alone but could continue as a trilogy” statement at the bottom of the query.Įight months later, I sold a trilogy. I’d never written a trilogy before, but halfway through the story I saw the bigger story arc that my protagonist, Nya, could be part of if I nudged her in that direction. When I first started writing my middle grade fantasy, The Shifter: The Healing Wars (Balzer & Bray, 2009), I had no idea it was going to be a trilogy.
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