On timelines
As a writer, you can draw inspiration from many things. I will go into this more in a later post, but one sure source is other authors. Especially in fantasy, these frequently write in a trilogy or series format. But when a new writer follows the same path, this is not always looked upon kindly. Often the most generous explanation is that they're being pushed for read-through by their publisher, while less flattering suggestions about copying what's popular also abound.
This feels somewhat unfair. While you can definitely write something fantastical in a single volume, an expansive world is easier created in multiple ones. Relationships between characters, too, can develop more deeply over time. And multiple volumes are an excellent expression of time.
Things are no different in interactive fiction. Some prefer authors not to create series, because they take too long to finish and run the risk of being terminated prematurely. However, at the same time, they expect a mere demo to surpass 200k words and complain that relationships often come down to a single choice or a paint-by-the-numbers set of decisions. So there's some friction there as well.
Which is not to say that I don't sympathize. There are plenty of examples from the world of contemporary media where a popular series was cut short. There's also a lot of IF work out there that feels artificially drawn out, just to keep the Patreon income going.
A rough roadmap
In the end, as a writer, you have to do what feels right for your story. For mine, here are my planned structure and the intentions behind it:
- The work currently referred to as the Remos saga will span three stories of each three parts.
- I'll wait a moment to let some of you log off.
- Each of the sub stories in a set (I will not use the tri-word.. I will not u..) can import characters from its predecessors or be enjoyed fresh.
- Each of these will have a beginning and an end. There may be some threads left loose to connect them, but there will be no cliffhangers.
- "Villains of the week" are disinvited as well. We want to keep the overall saga moving..
- .. but in between story releases, there will be some smaller content updates to fill out the overall world.
I really see this as more of an RPG campaign spanning several adventures, than a series of books. The reason I've chosen for sets of three is not to emulate anyone else either. There are narrative reasons. Plus I expect that by each third sub story, the threads to connect a next one will be so complex that it will just be easier to have a "reset" point.
The goal is to release one part every half year. I'm well on my way to an April part 1 beta at the moment, but only time will tell how ambitious this will turn out to be overall.
Next week, we will talk more about where this story came from. I hope to see you then!