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The End and the Beginning right in the Middle.

Robin Pike

Robin Pike

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Hello, i'm very new to writing stories (still starting to work on the first one), but my aim is to complete a trilogy. I basically already have the main plot of the books.
(And, now that i think of it, would it be right to call it a trilogy? Well i hope someone will tell me after reaching the actual question.)

So, in order to better understand my situation i'm going to quickly explain what happens in the most simple way i can put it:
- Book 1 will have the main protagonist (Character A) and his companion, that basically also works as a MC because he's always there (character B). Along with these two there's characters C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J and K, these being characters from a sub plot that accompanies the main plot.

- Book 2: Here B is absent, and A is almost a background character. The main plot follows mainly C and D, with E, F, G, H, I and J as support.

- Book 3 is all about K (and other supporting characters that are out of scene in the first two books... lets call it K's crew.)

So my dilemma is when to end book 2 and when to start book 3. I currently only see three options, but there might be more:
1.- Ending Book 2 with the fall of C and D along with their supports (their alive but in a very precarious position).
2.- Ending with the deaths of C and D along with their supports (that happens shortly after their "fall"), not showing what happens immediately after.
3.- Ending after the death of C and D along with their supports, and with the death of A, marking the rise of K.

So if I end Book 2 on option 1, I'll start Book 3 with option 2... and so on.

I know this seems really premature, specially because i'm still to start actually writing Book 1, but i've been trying to put my timeline in order and I feel that this little subject has been costing me some hours of sleep. So i would like some opinions on the matter. I know that it's a bit complicated because you don't know the plot nor the characters, but other people's opinions might help me make a decision on this.

(And back to the first question. Can it be called a trilogy if every book basically follows a different main plot with different characters?)

Thank you in advance for your time. :)
 
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-Riv-

-Riv-

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Robin Pike said:
Hello, i'm very new to writing stories (still starting to work on the first one), but my aim is to complete a trilogy. I basically already have the main plot of the books.
(And, now that i think of it, would it be right to call it a trilogy? Well i hope someone will tell me after reaching the actual question.)

So, in order to better understand my situation i'm going to quickly explain what happens in the most simple way i can put it:
- Book 1 will have the main protagonist (Character A) and his companion, that basically also works as a MC because he's always there (character B). Along with these two there's characters C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J and K, these being characters from a sub plot that accompanies the main plot.

- Book 2: Here B is absent, and A is almost a background character. The main plot follows mainly C and D, with E, F, G, H, I and J as support.

- Book 3 is all about K (and other supporting characters that are out of scene in the first two books... lets call it K's crew.)

So my dilemma is when to end book 2 and when to start book 3. I currently only see three options, but there might be more:
1.- Ending Book 2 with the fall of C and D along with their supports (their alive but in a very precarious position).
2.- Ending with the deaths of C and D along with their supports (that happens shortly after their "fall"), not showing what happens immediately after.
3.- Ending after the death of C and D along with their supports, and with the death of A, marking the rise of K.

So if I end Book 2 on option 1, I'll start Book 3 with option 2... and so on.

I know this seems really premature, specially because i'm still to start actually writing Book 1, but i've been trying to put my timeline in order and I feel that this little subject has been costing me some hours of sleep. So i would like some opinions on the matter. I know that it's a bit complicated because you don't know the plot nor the characters, but other people's opinions might help me make a decision on this.

(And back to the first question. Can it be called a trilogy if every book basically follows a different main plot with different characters?)

Thank you in advance for your time. :)
Click to expand...
If you are writing with the intention to trade publish, you'll be querying a single book with series potential, not the entire trilogy/series (even if you have plans for a trilogy/series). For your best chances, that first book needs to stand alone, meaning that readers aren't left feeling dissatisfied at the end because there wasn't a complete story. There can be threads that could carry over into a sequel, but the main conflict needs to be resolved in a satisfying way. Once you connect with an agent (through your query/pages), you would discuss sequels and potential.

IMO, focus on writing one stellar book that doesn't need a sequel to be satisfying but will have readers (and publishers) clamoring for one. :) Same for the next book. Keep that in mind as you are working out your timeline.

All the best,
Riv

 
Robin Pike

Robin Pike

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-Riv- said:
If you are writing with the intention to trade publish, you'll be querying a single book with series potential, not the entire trilogy/series (even if you have plans for a trilogy/series). For your best chances, that first book needs to stand alone, meaning that readers aren't left feeling dissatisfied at the end because there wasn't a complete story. There can be threads that could carry over into a sequel, but the main conflict needs to be resolved in a satisfying way. Once you connect with an agent (through your query/pages), you would discuss sequels and potential.

IMO, focus on writing one stellar book that doesn't need a sequel to be satisfying but will have readers (and publishers) clamoring for one. :) Same for the next book. Keep that in mind as you are working out your timeline.

All the best,
Riv
Click to expand...

I do hope to one day get it published, but it's not my main priority, for now i'm writing this story for myself. And, as far as i know, agents are not even a thing here, authors can contact the publishers directly mostly.
The first book is a standalone story, the main plot ends at the end of the book. The second book's gives focus to the continuation of a subplot from the first book, becoming now the main point of conflict, and all is resolved by the end of it. The third book picks up on a sub-sub plot that has been in the story since the first book and also concludes it, wrapping up and connecting all three books. So i hope that each book is able to stand on it's own.
I know the beginning and the ending of every major plot point. I'm just a little undeceive on when to end Book 2, because the ending of that plot is a process. (Making a strange analogy with leaves) I don't know if i should end it when the leaf starts to decay on the three, when the leaf detaches from the three or when the leaf hits the ground. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Maybe my problem is that i'm not focusing on writing in a linear way? I have more scenes written for the third book, than for the other two combined at this point. Parts of the story simply pop up in my head and i write them down, it started with the endings and the beginnings, and now i'm filling in the middles.

Thank you for your help Riv. :)
 
stephenf

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It seems to me your making things a tad complex.
Asimov's The foundation was originally published as a sequence of short stories. Read as a novel most characters disappear relatively quickly. For me, It is one of the weaknesses of the books. It was the strong ideas behind the story that keeps the books together. However, the books now seem dated and people do like character-led stories
 
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Curlz

Curlz

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Robin Pike said:
3.- Ending after the death of C and D along with their supports, and with the death of A, marking the rise of K.
Click to expand...

I like this one. It holds a promise that the story will continue with even more adventures, so the reader will be eagerly expecting the next volume in the series. If you end with a happy ending, not hinting that other events might follow, then your reader would have less incentive to pick up the next book and they won't be looking forward to it.
 
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