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WRITING A NOVEL SERIES HAS ITS CHALLENGES
It is hard NOT to think that FOX worked to kill the excellent series, FIREFLY.
Guess in what order they aired the episodes?
2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 1.
That's right: they aired the PILOT LAST!!
The episodes, 11-13 were unaired.
No wonder FIREFLY got low ratings.
But those who watched the series enjoyed it immensely.
THE WHY OF THAT TEACHES US
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL SERIES
1.) THEY HAD A GOOD TIME
The tales were a novel blend of Sci Fi with the Old West:
It creates an interesting environment and themes the show with a rustic
sci-fi air
with events like transporting cattle, a train heist, and
even riding in a covered wagon,
add to that superior technology,
spaceships, and creepy science experiments and you have the fantastic
world that is Firefly.
All done with a great sense of humor.
Sometimes you had to work to figure out the tapestry of the universe ...
BUT so do all of us in the real world where lies masquerade as "facts."
2.) THEY CARED ABOUT THE PEOPLE
The relationships felt real. The dangers were ever-present -- not over at the end of a program.
In a series, you deal with the up-close crisis, but you leave the true storm, brewing dangerously over the horizon.
3.) THE WORLD WAS COMPLEX
Our world is multi-cultural. It is just the way the times are.
In FIREFLY, Whedon
didn't only make a space western, but he made a space western with
Asian elements.
He wove together 1850s settlers with Chinese citizens.
No matter what genre you are writing, put clashes of cultures in your tales and draw the reader in.
4.) CHARACTERS WITH A TWIST OF LEMON AND CLASH OF WORLD-VIEWS
Oops. I got this whole section gold. Sigh.
Fun characters are terrific to take a road trip with even if you do not know where you are going.
It is the ride that counts. Make each one of your novels in a series fun to read ...
And folks will return for another trip.
In your world, you meet all kinds. Make your novel world the same.
Religion, politics, sexual conflicts ...
They must seem real or your novel will feel flat.
Just do not show by your narrative which side you favor.
Let your reader decide for her or himself. :-)
Don't forget to take a 99 cent chance to enjoy my new Steampunk: THE NOT-SO-INNOCENTS AT LARGE!
Yes! Firefly worked (still works) because of what felt like an effortless blending of various characters with different backgrounds, interesting world-building, and "real" relationships.
ReplyDeleteGenius, like that of Joss Whedon, makes the difficult look easy!!
DeleteHi Roland - good heavens did they really make that mistake - how crazy. Glad it's still being recognised - I knew nothing about it ... so interesting to read ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteActually, it was not a mistake. The Network Heads thought the story played better that way. Sigh. :-(
Delete