Heroes for More than One Season

This is about writing a series of novels.

Think about your favorite fiction hero. Why do you admire that character? Would you have admired him as much if he only showed up in one book? In Scintilla, I admire Klocards more than I do Mondennio, the latter being the main character. Klocards, in fact, is David Bophendze, a character central to the entire Pax Imperium Terradoma series. It's unfortunate that book four was the first of the five-book series to be published. When you read the earlier ones, you'll understand why. Bophendze is committed to duty, to family and the Imperial Postal Marines.

Rather than say a lot about Scintilla or Bophendze, I wanted to talk to my fellow newbie authors about writing. Short stories are sprints. Novels are marathons. Series novels are triathlons. In the novel-writing world, writing a series is the normal thing—one-off novels are less common. So, let me offer a few suggestions as you plan your novel, series and writing career. Continue Reading