Happy Thursday! We’ve got a special guest today. Author Darlene Foster has been kind enough to stop in to offer us writers some handy advice on keeping a book series fresh and interesting!
Brought up on a ranch in southern Alberta, Darlene Foster dreamt of travelling the world and meeting interesting people. Her desire to write started when she was twelve and her short stories have since won a number of awards. She is the author of the exciting adventure series featuring spunky 12-year-old Amanda Ross who loves to travel to unique places. Her books include Amanda in Arabia – The Perfume Flask, Amanda in Spain – The Girl in The Painting, Amanda in England – The Missing Novel and Amanda in Alberta – The Writing on the Stone. Readers of all ages enjoy travelling with Amanda as she unravels one mystery after another. Darlene and her husband divide their time between the west coast of Canada and Orihuela Costa, in Spain. She believes everyone is capable of making their dreams come true.
Keeping a Series Fresh
by Darlene Foster
I didn´t plan to write a series. I had an idea to write a book about a young girl who wishes for travel and adventure and ends up going on a trip to the United Arab Emirates. My story was loosely based on my own visit to this amazing country.
It took me three years to write the story. During the next five years, as I looked for a publisher, I began to write a story about the same girl who travels to Spain, another country I visited. I eventually found the perfect publisher and after my first book was released, my publisher asked me if I had another book about Amanda and her travels. I was happy to report that the first draft of another adventure was almost completed.
The rest, as they say, is history. Since then, Amanda has had adventures in England, Alberta and on the Danube. Book number five of the Amanda Travels series was released on October 1, and the first draft of book number 6 is almost completed.
Writing a series has proven to be fun. It is great getting to know the main characters very well. But there is always the chance the stories might get too predictable. I know my readers expect some things to be familiar but each book should come with surprises to keep it fresh and entertaining.
The Amanda travel books are stand-alone and can be read in any order. Coming up with new settings is easy for me as I love to travel. I now travel with an Amanda adventure in mind, taking tons of notes and pictures. Coming up with a story line that is original and exciting can sometimes be a challenge. So what do I do?
Click here to visit Darlene Foster’s Amazon Page & check out the series!
Here is a list of some things that help me get fresh new ideas
- Hang out with young people to learn what they get excited about
- Watch kid’s TV shows and movies
- Read lots of books in a variety of genres including the classics and recently published novels
- Look at photographs to remind myself what made me excited, scared and interested when I was a kid
- Read newspapers, clip and save interesting and bizarre stories. Go through the stack of clippings once in a while, there is usually something that will pop out and generate a new idea or two
- Listen to conversations in coffee shops, on the bus, on the street – wherever. Conversations between adults, kids, or teenagers can inspire excellent ideas
- Ask “what if”. What if Amanda did something she knew she shouldn’t? What if a character said something they wouldn’t normally say? What if……..
- Make sure every book tackles a totally new problem or issue. If Amanda looks for a missing vintage novel in England, she can’t be looking for another book in Spain.
- Introduce intriguing new characters in each book. Even minor characters can create interest and keep the series from getting stale
- Amanda stays the same age in all the books but I try to show different sides to her and have her grow as a person. Every now and then I have her do something totally out of character. Sometimes she even surprises me!
These things help me keep the series from getting stale and predictable. Although I write for children, I believe these ideas would help for any series regardless of the target readership.
Do you have any other ideas to share? I would love to hear about them in the comments.
Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog, Rachael.
Such a pleasure having you on the blog, Darlene! And I totally agree. These tips are great for anyone writing a series! Thank you for sharing and congrats on your fun & adventurous series. 🙂
Connect with Darlene on social media!
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Website: www.darlenefoster.ca
- Blog: https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarleneFosterWriter
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/supermegawoman
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3156908.Darlene_Foster
Spain is amazing country- worth to write about it !
I leave you my post about celebration of New Year’s Eve in Madrid
https://traveltomeetyourheart.wordpress.com/2017/01/07/12-grapes-new-years-eve-spain-madrid/
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Thank you for sharing! 🙂 And for stopping by. 😀
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I hope you will enjoy my post 🙂 I wish you a lot of happiness in the New Year 😀
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🙂 Same to you!
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Thank you 🙂 I invite to follow my blog if you like travels 😀
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Great post, Darlene! These are helpful tips.
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Agree with other comments. 🙂 The thing with a series is exactly this: “there is always the chance the stories might get too predictable. I know my readers expect some things to be familiar…” That’s the tough part. Great post!
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Keeping the familiar and different/new in balance! Yep. 🙂 Thanks for the comment, Sarah!
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Thanks, Sarah. It is a balancing act but it keeps us on our toes!
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It is. And you have some fantastic tips here.
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Great ideas there Darlene, you have inspired me to start clipping newspaper and magazine stories. I’m always looking for something interesting to write about on my blog your tip could prove very useful, thank you.
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Such a great takeaway! Thanks for reading and for sharing your enthusiasm. It’s contagious. 🙂
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I´ve been doing this for years. It is fun to look through the pile and get inspired.
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🙂
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Great ideas…I have an admiration for writers….very happy for your success Darlene…well deserved!!
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Thank you for stopping by to read and leave a comment, Kirt! We very much appreciate it. 🙂
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My pleasure…thanks for hosting Darlene!!
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Such a pleasure.
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Thanks, Kirt. I am inspired by folks like you.
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An illuminating guest post, Darlene. I’ve always thought a series might be tricky and a lot harder than one imagines. Great work. Fantastic ideas to keep a series fresh. Thanks for sharing. 😀
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It is a bit tricky but also fun. It is a balancing act between consistency and keeping things new and interesting.
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It’s good that you stay aware of that balance, Darlene!
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Indeed. And you do it well. 😀
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Thanks for reading and commenting, Tess! You’re always such an encouragement. ♡
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Oh, shucks. Just telling how it is. 😀
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Such a great set of tips Darlene that could be used for most any writing with a few tweaks. Really enjoyed hearing how you keep things fresh and the ideas churning.
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Agreed, Sue! Thank you for stopping by to read and for your kind comment. 🙂
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It gets harder as I get more books published. But there were over 60 Nancy Drew books and they were all fun and interesting. Although a bit predictable, we still loved them.
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Magic Tree House is another, as well as Boxcar Children. Both long and well-loved series. 🙂
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And we can’t forget the Bobbsey Twins!!
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😀
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Reblogged this on Margie's Creations.
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Thank you, Margie!
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Thank you for reblogging!
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Wow! Rachel is really a gifted author…
good job 👏.. you turn your passion into success
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Thanks, Nita. Darlene Foster did an amazing hob with this guest post. I’m terribly grateful she took the time to say exactly what I would want to say. 🙂
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Rachel.. just keep up them great work..and keep enlightening is with your books 📚 and entertaining stories.. of Amanda travels
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Darlene Foster wrote those and was kind enough to be a guest on my blog to talk about her experience. 🙂
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Oooooh 🤗 my bad…
oops 🙊!!
Darlene is the author.
It’s your blog..
Oooooh my.. so sorry 😐.. I guess I just got a little confused there
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No worries! I have fine the same thing before. 🙂
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Writing a series about a girl traveling, is perfect for you. Your entire website is about your own love of travel. So I see many more books ahead of you.
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It works for me quite well. I just hope I can keep my reader’s interest.
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Darlene is just a fount of creativity and adventure, I think. Thanks for coming over and commenting, Patricia. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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🙂 Thank you, Chris!
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Welcome Rachael (BTW – I’ve just emailed you) 😀
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Yay! Thank you. 🙂
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I have a cousin who has lived in the UAE for 25 years. He’s always inviting me to go out there. Perhaps I should!
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Oh, you should. It is amazing. My friend worked there for 2 years and when she invited me to visit, I jumped at the chance. Little did I know it would spark a writing career for me.
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🙂
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I hear Adventure! when you say that. 🙂
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I feel heat, unbearable heat…
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Not always. I was there in November and it was very comfortable. I would stay away in the very hot summer months.
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This summer my cousin told me the temperature climbed to 60 degrees Centigrade!
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Reblogged this on Darlene Foster's Blog and commented:
I am pleased to be a guest on Rachael Ritchey’s blog where I talk about writing a series. Enjoy and leave a comment or two.
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Thank you so much, Rachael, for having me as a guest on your blog.
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Such a pleasure, Darlene! Thanks for sharing this gem of wisdom. 🙂
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