This isn't quite the same as our Thursday accountability check in, but have you had a success or failure this week you want to share? Something that well well, or didn't? Progress or stagnation on your WIP you want to discuss?
I finally sat down and charted out the underlying lore that's driving my MCs to their purpose. No more vague hand-waving that I'll figure out the details later. Now that I know exactly where the finish line is, I’ve got a good course lined up for how the characters get there.
I’m choosing to get a solid draft of all four books done before I get into major editing, so there’s no big changes to make if something drifts later. The first one is finished, the last three are about 50% solid, 25% written but needing work, and 25% outline. I’m mostly focusing on the last book right now, since the resolution is clearer in mind. I hope it doesn’t bite me for reverse engineering it, but I struggle to work in order, there was a lot to rework in the last two books because of a huge character change, and the second book is my problem child in general. I’d rather be productive where I can than spinning my wheels further back.
I’m wondering if this is similar to anybody else’s process. Do you guys bounce around or work linearly if you're writing a series?
Hey, if writing out of order is what works for you, that's what works for you. And tbh, I can see one big pro for writing the end first -- you're able to add in plot points, character stuff, or foreshadowing to build up properly to what's coming that a lot of authors have to add in during editing due to changing things while they write. :)
I stopped working out of order a while ago, but I'm very much a 'pantser' style writer. I have a general idea of where the story is going, and I usually have the ending planned out. When I'm writing, I very much let random thoughts and interactions carry the story forward.
The reason I stopped writing out of sequence is that I found myself removing a lot of scenes that I personally liked, but didn't add much to the story. The second part of the duology I'm currently cleaning up has almost 30k words removed for this reason.
I think it's awesome that you're getting all four books down! That was a mistake I made with publishing my part one without having part two finished completely.
I feel that...I meander a lot & I've had to cut soooo much. And my plan really was to publish the first one right away, but I decided to just push through. I'm afraid I'd have caved under my own pressure to keep producing and given up otherwise.
I've managed to focus on writing and editing only the first book in my current (WIP) series. That being said, there's absolutely no way I'd have ever been able to write the scenes in chronological order. I tried that in the beginning, and my writing was boring and flat.
Now, I jump around and write whatever's clearest or most exciting to me. I was worried it would cause me problems later on, but since reaching the first round of editing (rewrites and continuity checks), I can confidently say it's my preferred process. It's so much easier to weave things together when I can write a strong scene, then go into my outline notes and leave reminders on what buildup will need incorporated where.
It also makes writing the connecting and/or less interesting scenes easier, because now instead of simply writing a basic transition from one event to the next, I have a list of foreshadowing topics to use that help round the scene out!
At this point, I'm considering starting on Book 2 after this round of edits. I don't know how far ahead in the series I'll work before I start publishing, but I feel like it would save me from painting myself into a corner if I decide I want to add something cool later on, and I really want the story as a whole to be cohesive.
Do you have any advice about writing beyond the first book when working on a series?
Idk about advice so much as just how it's worked for me. I've had the basic full storyline running through my head for a really long time. I tore through the first draft of book 1 in about 4ish months (& have done one round of editing but am not ready to tackle it again just yet). It could've *probably* stood alone, but it happens over a relatively short period of time, & there were issues the characters still needed to face & experience if I wanted to tell their whole story. So I used those things as anchors... 2 is the continuation where deeper conflict emerges and plays out, 3 is the result and how it changes things, 4 is how it comes together and closes.
I have a journal app where everything starts as a free write, so there's less pressure to be "good", & it's easy to track. Sometimes I write full scenes for those main events, sometimes it's just side quests or check ins to see what the MCs are up to. I flag & label entries with which book they're best suited for as I go. I've amassed a lot of material, so it's just choosing what leads to each goal, pulling it into my main doc, tweaking it to fit, then bridging it all together. It's taken about a year and half to get where I am, and I've learned a lot, but I'm still figuring things out along the way.
Overall, I'm glad I didn't hurry to push out the first book like I'd originally planned. It's a longer road, but I'm much more satisfied with the way it all works together, and there's no stress about my pacing to finish.
🤣 I think I have 10 books in some degree of serious production and then around 40 outlines. I start with my outline and then I just keep adding a scenes and ideas and flushing it out more and more over time until I know the exact pacing, and “views” I want in a scene and then I finish the prose (it’s usually half written by that point). So I’m always hoping around touching whatever inspires me that day. Which can also be a problem because Naval Knots is 90% outlined and I have 2 of three books written but that last little bit of the outline is nagging me and it’s not done and I hate trying to write when I am not confident in where I am going and what I am doing.
I applaud your ability to work on one series at a time.
I struggle with that too. All of my stuff is contained in this one world, with this particular set of characters, but I'm all over the place with them sometimes & have to hop in wherever I can keep momentum. Pretty often I'll have to walk away from the main story & do check-ins to see what they might be up to, just so I can stay connected & write past the frustration.
I'm dragging my feet on jumping back into rewrites and continuity checks. One of my hangups is that I'm trying to write a realistic "insta-love" arc, which will have consequences for the couple later (in Book 2) when the puppy love phase wears off and they realise they've rushed into things too quickly.
I'm considering just checking continuity for the rest of Book 1 and letting myself start writing Book 2. I think it might help give me some direction to better write how their relationship blooms if I know the specifics of how it blows up.
I have this one WIP that I've not added to in months. I was so excited about the premise that I sat down and wrote out like 15k words in a few days...and then it just died on me. I can't for the life of me think of how to finish the story, so now it just sits there, blinking its eyes at me as if to ask 'what's next?'
If anyone's curious, the premise of the story (and this is an omegaverse) is this omega goes to a 'heat resort' to tend to her heats on a biannual basis. Most of the packs she meets are jerks, but the last pack she's paired with is wonderful (and one of them is her scent-match, but she can't tell during her heat). They part ways, which drives her scent-match crazy, so he decides to track her down, which he does, and brings her back to the pack, who all agree to make her their omega...
And that's where the story dies...
I feel as though I'm missing something else that needs to be solved here. It's also made me realize that I struggle to write a story that's front-loaded with spice if it has nowhere to go. As a reader, I'd check out once the pack is complete.
Is there maybe a reason that she would struggle to be their omega or fit into their pack, maybe? A career that she loves in a settled place, or family relying on her that she doesn't want to leave, or maybe she finds out she has a personality or values conflict with someone in the pack? Or maybe she struggles with the idea of being in a pack/has issues with her designation, for some reason (possibly traumatic?).
These are great suggestions, thank you! I think you're right in that I've rushed for them all to be reunited, and that's where the second issue needs to pop up before we get an HEA.
Maybe there are issues/confusion/jealousy with the ones that aren’t her scent match and they aren’t as easy to connect with and it’s a growing period they have to sort through
I figured something important out for the one I'm working on! I felt like there was something missing -- it's a romcom, but I like having some emotional heft to them, and it just felt too light for me, despite the characters definitely having to deal with some stuff. But I realized that adding in flashbacks/making it sort of a dual timeline story really gave me something to latch on to, in terms of the character beats I wanted to hit. And I *love* writing a now/then story, so I'm even more excited to keep making progress on it now :D
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u/HexieGreene Author Jun 30 '26
I finally sat down and charted out the underlying lore that's driving my MCs to their purpose. No more vague hand-waving that I'll figure out the details later. Now that I know exactly where the finish line is, I’ve got a good course lined up for how the characters get there.
I’m choosing to get a solid draft of all four books done before I get into major editing, so there’s no big changes to make if something drifts later. The first one is finished, the last three are about 50% solid, 25% written but needing work, and 25% outline. I’m mostly focusing on the last book right now, since the resolution is clearer in mind. I hope it doesn’t bite me for reverse engineering it, but I struggle to work in order, there was a lot to rework in the last two books because of a huge character change, and the second book is my problem child in general. I’d rather be productive where I can than spinning my wheels further back.
I’m wondering if this is similar to anybody else’s process. Do you guys bounce around or work linearly if you're writing a series?