There are a number os ways you can extend the life of a story series. This post is a basic guide to help you brainstorm ideas and presents various options to extend a story series you’ve already written or a well known series. Sometimes it’s hard to end a series because fans want more of the characters they love and you don’t want to disappoint them, but there are limits to stories and authors as creators.

A great reasons to extend the life of a story series is well known characters , like Robin Hood, Zorro, Frankenstein, and Tarzan already have a fanbase you can tap into. A second reason is to tap into the equity of older work by sparking new interest in it. Both options can help you grow your writer fanbase platform. And a third is to quite a series before you, or it, wears out.

Write a Character Spinoff

One of the easiest ways it to write a spinoff of a character. You can do this with stories you’ve written or when writing a fan fiction piece. Note, if you plan on publishing it or selling it make sure the characters are out of copyright and now part of the public domain, like Sherlock Holmes and many fairy tales are.

If fans had a favorite character in your last series, maybe it was the villain, write a new series about them. This can also help refresh your enthusiasm for a long running series. Writing a long running series can be hard on writers when they don’t want to diss point fans, but are tired of coming up with new ideas. Taking a side step can help get your creativity flowing again.

Extend A World

You can extend the life of a seres by writing a new story that takes place one, or more, towns from where your original story takes place. Have your main character move. You could write a subplot about the politics between the two towns, or pull in cameos of characters from the original series that fans already love.

You could also write a parody of a classic series, like Emily McIntire did with Hooked, part of her Never After Series. This series is actually stand alone books of fractured fairy tales under a theme. If you like dark romance with a twist, give it a try. They are a bit steamy.

Write a Prequel or a Sequel

Prequels and sequels are great way to add life to a series by jumping your series forward or backward in time. This could be a small jump in time to when your characters are younger or older, or even a much bigger jump. Linking to the original series through the history or future of place or an organization can be fun and you’ll get to write new characters. If you have a well developed world that is character like in it’s own right this is a good choice.

If you want to know more about writing a series Sara Rosett wrote a very informative little book that gives you the basics: How to Write A Series: A Guide to Series Types and Structures plus Troubleshooting and Marketing Tactics.

How to Get Out of Revision Hell, My Story

Every novelist’s journey is unique; and I want to start by sharing how to get out of revision hell. Welcome to my pre-launch blog post series introducing: The Amara Orrick Series! My first novel and urban fantasy series!

Anyone who knows me well knows I like dealing with facts, but can also enjoy a healthy debate of opinions. I’m blunt and outspoken, but also tactful, showing sensitivity, and show kindness. I love fighting for the underdog and helping people solve problems. So, it is with this passion for problem solving that share my personal journey of how I got through writing my first draft to where my project is currently at today.

If you want to know how I got out of revision hell, I answer that at the end of the post. So you can skip to the bottom if you want. Or you can read how I got there. I’m sharing with the hope that it will help other writers avoid some of the coldly mistakes I made along the way.

The Beginning

A dream about a witch, turned into an idea for a fantasy novel in my 20’s. A good friend, who was an editor at White Wolf publishing at the time, encouraged me to write it. However, I lacked the confidence to try. Many years went by and still the idea would not leave me alone, so in the early twenty-teens I finally gave in and started writing to the little voice in my head would shut up.

How I Established my Writing Practice

Kindness

Unfortunately the voice inside did not stop. It turned it’s monologue around on me: what makes you think you can write a novel, your dyslexic, who would want to read something you wrote, you can’t even spell, and on it went. I plucked around until I found Natalie Goldberg’s book Writing Down the Bones. As a cafeteria buddhist this book hit just the right notes and helped me quite my inner critic.

Community

I love the phrase Goldberg uses, “Shut up and write.” You have to start somewhere and there is no perfect time. Reading her experience as a poet turned novelist, I realized I needed to team up with someone else who wanted to establish a writing practice. I posted an ad on Craig’s List and found a writing partner.

Later, I found the ShutUp & Write community. I became an organizer for them and my writing partners came along with me. Once the pandemic hit, all events were taken online and I stopped organizing for them and lost touch with them and many in the community I had created. However, by that time I was in a habit of writing even moving before anyone else was up, and I found new ways to reach communities online. This is when I found the Fictionary community.

After the pandemic I gathered together what was left of my writing group and founded the Brooklyn Writers Exchange, a support group for writers who want to establish a wring practice and network. We meet every Thursday at 6pm in the Brooklyn Heights Library’s craft room. Come join us to write. You can find out more here.

How to Start a Writing Process, My Story

I started by writing the backstory for each of my major characters, the world they live in, and the magic they use. Using Google, I found the Snowflake Method, created by Randy Ingermanson. It’s not a perfect method, but it fit the process I used to write short stories. So, I felt comfortable starting with it; and It was a simple.

I hand written wrote notes posed on my bulletin board, notebooks full of scene, and scenes, as well as editing notes in different files all over my computer. I knew I needed to get organized, but wasn’t sure how to do it. And so, I compiled all my work into two flies in Google Documents.

It wasn’t until the pandemic that I found out more about how to write a more structured novel. I took a writing class and rewrote my first draft almost entirely from scratch a second time. All the while I felt like I was an imposter when it came to calling myself a writer. Even though I had wrote content for many blogs and was a published poet.

How to Deal with Imposter Syndrome, My Story

Education

Until a few years ago I considered myself a pantser. I’m not, nor do I believe any writer can be just a pantser or a planner. Being in tune with your inner voice is an important skill that is hard to cultivate if you insist on planning all the personality out of your writing and replacing it with hard dry structure. All writing is rewriting as my college professor used to say.

I took the course Good With Words, taught by a law professor at the university of Michigan. It boosted my confidence. It wasn’t until I started to try and strengthen the areas of my writing that were the weakest that I finally felt like I could call myself a real writer. The same thing happed when I decide to become a Fictionary certified story coach.

How to Get Out of Revision Hell, Status Update

Until about two years ago I considered myself a pantser. I’m not, nor do I believe any writer can be just a painter or a planner. Being in tune with your inner voice is an important skill that is hard to cultivate if you insist on planning all the personality out of your writing and replacing it with hard dry structure. All writing is rewriting as my college professor used to say.

I took the course Good With Words, taught by a law professor at the university of Michigan. It boosted my confidence. It wasn’t until I started to try and strengthen the areas of my writing that were the weakest that I finally felt like I could call myself a real writer, but I still didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing when I worked on my novel.

I decide to become a Fictionary certified story coach. I use the Fictionary app to edit and revise my work. If you are curious and want to check out their community of writers follow this link.

The manuscript is currently in the homestretch of the revision phase. It took a very long time to get here. It was because when I first started I had no idea how to write a novel, or edit one, let alone revise one. I will talk about that here, plus how there is no one correct way to write a novel, or edit and revise one.

Once the cover art has been finalized it will show here, follow me on your favorite social media poison of choice or my blog for the lates updates.

Pete O’Shea, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is a sustainable writing practice?

A sustainable writing practice is one that can, and will, sustain. Like most things in life with value, it takes work. It should look different for each writer and fulfill their unique needs. What you need will change and grow as you grow as a person and writer because your writing goals will change.

I like to think of sustainable writing practices as a relationship between the writer and their writing. Checking in with yourself and asking what you need at each step of your journey is an important step. How long you practice is entirely up to you. If you love writing and want to sustain it throughout your life, you’ll need to plan carefully to avoid burnout.

I share basic actionable steps below that can work for any writer, follow or break them, make them your own.

How Do You Build a Sustainable Writing Practice?

The first step to building a sustainable writing practice is making a commitment to write regularly. How often you need to write is particular to your goals as a writer and your current skill level. Some say daily writing is a must. However, this can be detrimental to some writers, and we all need time to rest and recharge.

One key aspect of building a sustainable writing practice is understanding each writer’s needs are their own. A one-size-fits-all approach does not apply to writing practice. All writers have their own set of goals, therefore they need different things out of their practice. A songwriter, comedian, novelist, screenplay, blogger, copywriter, investigative reporter, or playwright will all have different needs. Circadian rhythms and the personality of the writer also add complexity to a writer’s needs.

I prefer doing my creative work early in the morning when my mind is relaxed and not fully awake. I get up early so that I’m not interrupted and I can slowly wake up mentally while I’m writing. I reserve this time in the morning when my brain is still in contact with my subconscious mind for problem solving, brainstorming new article ideas and fiction writing. I do editing and content writing later in the day when I am at my peak, not being a morning person.

I write every weekday in the morning when I first wake for an hour focusing on my personal creative projects, weekday I work as a copywriter and blogger, and I reserve weekends for personal journaling, no editing happens, and the rest of the day is open for relaxing and recharging. I take writing vacations when I feel I need to.

Find what works for you by experimenting. Figuring out the best time for you to write is a huge first step. I tried different times of the day until I found the sweet spot for me. Don’t feel obligated to write every day, regardless of what others say. And you should not feel guilty or inadequate if you can’t keep up with someone else’s ideal schedule. Find out what works best for you.

Actionable Steps to Sustainable Writing Practice

1. Start small.
2. Set an attainable word count goal within a set time period. (For example, write a short story within three weeks.)
3. Commit to it by setting aside a regular time.
4. Play to your strengths. And take time to learn the areas you’re not confident about. (For me, I wasn’t confident about editing my work. I have dyslexia. Once I knew how my confidence soared.)
5. Evaluate what works, what doesn’t and why, then make changes. (Once you get going, you can skip this step. You can add it back in when you want to experiment at anytime.)
6. Reward yourself when you reach a goal. (I usually have a cup of matcha latte tea, but sometimes I cheat and get it while I’m writing. I love tea!)
7. Repeat.

How can you maintain your writing habits?

Reading Good Writing

Make time to read good writing. This is an important part of training your mind’s ear to recognize good writing. It can increase your vocabulary. Help you become more in tune with rhythm within a language’s written word.

Reading can help you maintain your writing practice by giving your creative mind a rest and stimulate other areas of the brain that process storytelling.

Divide Up Large Projects

Divide large projects up into manageable parts of time you can do in one setting. Using a word count goal can help you decide how many words you can write within the time you have for writing practice. As you become more comfortable, you can increase this, but start where you are now.

A Sustainable Writing Practice Includes Rest

Give yourself permission to rest. I take regular breaks. Sometimes, I do another task or take a walk. However, if I’m having a difficult time a few days off when I feel need it. Other times it is a weeklong vacation. This schedule supports me and helps me grow. When I first started writing, I wrote only two to three times a week for a short period. At first, I discovered that a gradual and consistent pace was necessary. And what I needed changed as I changed and grew as a writer.

Making Mistakes is Part of Learning and Growing

You will make mistakes, everyone does. Learn from them what you can and move forward. Sometimes this means telling your inner critic to piss off. I have a nasty inner critic who tries to undermine my writing practice any chance it gets.

One way I silence mine is by agreeing with it. Next, I tell it that learning comes from making mistakes. The best writers were not great when they stated. Be kind to yourself. There is no shame in learning. Leaning takes curage and should be celebrated.

The initial draft of a project isn’t a polished piece of work. Its purpose is laying down the bones of foundation to support the next step in creating a polished piece of work. It’s supposed to be messy, fun, or whatever it needs to be for your process.

Don’t make unfair comparisons of you work with other writers. They are not you and you are not them. You each have your own obstacle to overcome. Don’t let your inner critic tell you if you’re not the best, you should just give up. Everyone has parts of writing they are better at than others. Play to your strengths and spend as much time as you need to learn in the areas you struggle with.

Developing Sustainable Writing Habits

https://www.writinginstitute.pitt.edu/writingroutine