Voice in long running series

[Lynn]

How do you deal with you own changing voice over time in a series?

I have several long running series, and sometimes I feel like I'm changing too much to fit in my own series anymore.

This has been especially problematic over the last couple of years. I reread my older stuff in my series less often and am not writing as much each year as I used to (unintentionally, entirely), so when I restart, I always feel a little off.

But sometimes it's more than a little. I don't even believe some of the things I believed at the start of the series that are core to the whole set up. I realize my characters aren't me, but it definitely makes the writing more difficult sometimes!

[angela]

I just assume it's making the series better. The characters are all growing!

[Lynn]

I just assume it's making the series better. The characters are all growing!

I don't assume that, if only because there are so many series that I lose interest in as time goes on because it loses the thing that made me like it, and/or because it almost feels like the author isn't the same one who started the series, when I know that's not really the case. It's the author's voice that has been slowly changing over time until it reaches that infection point where I just don't like it anymore.

Maybe I'm more of a pessimist than I realized.

[Simon Haynes]

The first book in my longest-running series was started in 1994. Next year I'll write book 11. In that time I've raised two kids, moved 3 times, had 4 different jobs, renovated 7 houses, started working for myself and separated from my wife of 25 years. I'm not entirely surprised the series has changed over time ;-)

I think the last 3 books in that series (and the prequel) are some of my best work though.

If you're talking about long-running trad-pubbed series, though, do check if the later books have been ghostwritten. Unfortunately they don't always make this clear, and I've been conned before by a fave author.

[Post-Crisis D]

Over a series?  I sometimes feel that way over the course of a single book.  I often feel like they start strong but then go downhill after that.  I frequently worry that readers will think they're getting ripped off, like they'll read the "Look Inside" and be all like, "This book sounds great!" and then they'll buy it and get past the "Look Inside" part and be like, "Did he phone the rest of this in or what?"  Then I look at my sales and realize the "Look Inside" ain't foolin' nobody.

[Lynn]

I feel like my earlier books are better in some ways and the later ones better in other ways.

I'm talking about trade and self published series when I'm talking about reading.

I'm about to start book 11 of one series and book 16 of another and am trying to finish book 7 of another (this week, I hope)... It's been harder than usual, and I just don't feel like the latest books sound like the same me, not even from two years ago.

My current book is always my worst book. LOL.

[Lynn]

I haven't been rereading my older books as often lately. Is that a mistake? Or was it a mistake to read them often to begin with?

[VanessaC]

Interesting question. My series so far have been short (5 and then 6 books) and I've also written them back-to-back, so I've managed to stay within the character voices (I think).

Because I'm writing them close together, I don't go back and re-read, but if I was having a break I would re-read the latest book in the series. I'd also need to keep better notes - my current character has a few verbal tics which help me get back into her voice, and I've kept this in my head, but would need to write it down if I was planning to come back to the series later.

I'd also think about whether the character has changed and grown over the series - for example, Jack Reacher stays the same, but I would suggest that Harry Dresden goes through some big changes.  So, if you have a character that's evolving, then a change in narrative voice makes a lot of sense.

Just some pre-caffeine, Sunday morning thoughts.

[angela]

I worry more about continuity errors. I have a massive series bible for my main series. I have a listing for every character, and I paste things in from each book so I can remind myself of how they talk and what they're like, plus their relationships with other characters, etc. It's actually a massive load of work to continually be consulting the notes, but I'd be hopelessly lost without it. I could not write a series with the same characters without my series bible. It also slows me down and makes stand-alones look more appealing.

Is that what you mean? Character continuity?

[Simon Haynes]

For me it's making sure each character's diction/vocabulary/mannerisms/personality doesn't undergo a seismic shift between books.

[Lorri Moulton]

I re-read all the books in my series before I start a new one.  Luckily, there are only three.

[Lynn]

That's why I reread, for character and continuity. I do basic notes only. My entire series bibles are a couple of pages of a word doc. It's the rereading that grounds me and puts the story details back in my head.

I'm highly reliant on my good memory for details but do worry a lot that I'm going to screw up my continuity. But notes don't stick in my head the way rereading does and I never seem to write down the right things, so I've leaned on that pretty hard. Only now, I don't want to do it as often. There are so many books to keep up with. Even skimming takes a lot of time.

I would definitely say that the stuff I'm worried about is deeper than character continuity between stories. My characters are only main in one book each. They become secondary characters in subsequent books (and were often secondary characters in preceding books). I have overarching plots that span the entire series (for all my series, because apparently I know no other way to write). I worry I'm going to let myself down with a lot of them because I just can't

Okay, you know what? I'm going around in circles in my head here.

I shouldn't care if things are changing. I'm clearly not enjoying the writing of the newest books because I'm so worried about being different than I have been that I'm strangling my own creativity.

That is going to stop right now.

[cecilia_writer]

Continuity is a big problem for me in my 21 book mystery series - I have an Excel file for the characters including the minor ones who may or may not need to be re-used. I can usually keep track of the main recurring characters. One or two of my readers have alarmed me by announcing they were going to re-read the whole series!
I am never sure about voice, and if I re-read one of the previous novels in the series I am usually struck by how much worse the one I'm actually working on is. My natural vouce is quite light-hearted which is ok for this particular series, but it's hard to tone it down enough for more serious or historical writing without being accused of being too earnest.

[notthatamanda]

Continuity is a big problem for me in my 21 book mystery series - I have an Excel file for the characters including the minor ones who may or may not need to be re-used. I can usually keep track of the main recurring characters. One or two of my readers have alarmed me by announcing they were going to re-read the whole series!
I am never sure about voice, and if I re-read one of the previous novels in the series I am usually struck by how much worse the one I'm actually working on is. My natural vouce is quite light-hearted which is ok for this particular series, but it's hard to tone it down enough for more serious or historical writing without being accused of being too earnest.

Well being earnest is important too, I've read.

[Lynn]

Continuity is a big problem for me in my 21 book mystery series - I have an Excel file for the characters including the minor ones who may or may not need to be re-used. I can usually keep track of the main recurring characters. One or two of my readers have alarmed me by announcing they were going to re-read the whole series!
I am never sure about voice, and if I re-read one of the previous novels in the series I am usually struck by how much worse the one I'm actually working on is. My natural vouce is quite light-hearted which is ok for this particular series, but it's hard to tone it down enough for more serious or historical writing without being accused of being too earnest.

Considering how often I get emailed about someone rereading the series for the umpteenth time, I'm right to worry excessively about continuity for my series. I live in fear of making a huge mistake that can't be undone without erasing a book from existence. Almost did it with one, where I set up the whole main plot based on something that I remembered incorrectly. I tend to retcon a lot as I go in a book. :D

For that series in particular, I do have an excel spreadsheet set up for my timeline. The whole thing overlaps book by book too extensively to keep it all in my head. The universe is huge, at this point. I wish I could write little standalones and never have to worry about this kind of thing, but that's just not me.

Maybe it's a common thing for writers--to think the current book is the worst. I am there with you!

Objectively, I can look at my last published book in that series from more than a year ago, and I'm pretty sure it was a really good book. I thought it wasn't going to be, when I was writing it. I do remember that. It also didn't feel like one of my books when I was writing it, but I don't think I can be objective after all, because I just don't know.

Truthfully, I've been dealing with some mental stuff the last couple of years (peri-menopause is messing with my head more than my body, I think) and I really probably can't be objective at all on any of this. I do know my writing and my motivation to write (not money, the internal stuff is all that's ever worked for me as a motivator) has taken a huge hit.

And I keep thinking every time I open a finished book of mine that my new stuff just doesn't sound the same and is worse off for it.

I swear I even feel sometimes like I've forgotten how to paragraph properly.

Which is all enough of a warning sign that I've tightened up in my writing.

I'm sure I'm probably trying too hard to sound like *me*, which is totally screwing everything up, because a person sounds how they sound and the minute they start *thinking* about it, they sound different.

LOL. What a brain dump. Sorry guys.

[cecilia_writer]

I'm sure I'm probably trying too hard to sound like *me*, which is totally screwing everything up, because a person sounds how they sound and the minute they start *thinking* about it, they sound different.

Yes - I find this extremely tricky too. I'm terrified of losing my regular readers (not that there are all that many of them).

[idontknowyet]

The most important thing in any book is being true to who your main character currently is, being true to your own voice, and meeting reader expectations from previous books.

I never thought it would happen, but i stopped reading my favorite author because 35-40 books in she changed what the books were about. Was it her right to do that? absolutely, but it was no longer the series i was looking for.

I would suggest giving your characters a believable reason to change with you, (that was one thing the author didnt do) if you can't see yourself keeping the story the way it was. Understand you will lose some but majority of us join the journey wanting to see where it ends.

[elleoco]

If someone's voice changes over a long period of years, the change is liable to be subtle book to book and accepted. Someone who comes along after 20 are written and reads them all one after another may pick up on it, but even then, chances are if it's gradual, most will follow along fine. The reader who will pick up on it is more likely to be the one who reads the newest book then goes back to the first. I've no idea how many do that. I sure don't.

Continuity errors are something else. Several series have been spoiled for me when an author all of a sudden ignores the main character's previously given backstory or even events from previous books. It often seems the author does it because some new development they want to put in can't happen with the previously given facts.

It's not just POV that changes over time. My first romances were very angsty. The last less so. And from emails, sales, reviews, etc., I need to find my angst button again. Fans of one thing aren't happy with another.

[Simon Haynes]

I stick descriptions of characters and locations into my writing software, and add a (D) to their name if they died.

When I start the next book in a series I copy the previous project, erase all the chapters, edit the frontmatter and off I go. Sometimes I'll open a project for an earlier novel to grab a character I used before, and then I'll change their name to XYZ (1,5) to show which books they appeared in.

I used to maintain a series bible but honestly, the amount of info and the time to update it was overkill.  This way works better for me because it's right there when I'm writing. (Characters and Locations tab are present in the scene editor tab.)

[RiverRun]

In my own reading, I feel like I've tried out a couple of series with a later book in the series, because that's all the library had, and felt meh about it. What was all the hype for? When I went to the look inside for the first book, I thought, "Oh! That's what they were talking about. That looks much more interesting." It's hard to keep a series fresh and interesting over the long term, and while I think its worthwhile to re-read old work to remind yourself how this is supposed to go, (I'm no expert, so just tossing my opinion in), I don't think it's worth it to work too hard to keep your 'old' voice either because it will be inauthentic. And I think a bland, false voice is worse than lack of perfect continuity. 

 As someone who reads series out of order - I expect a later book to be different from the earlier work. In fact, I expect the author's voice to be better, stronger. I want a series to grow in depth and freshness. If book four or eight or whatever seems kind of stagnant, where nothing much is happening and the exchanges seemed canned, I probably won't go back and read the first. I like to know that a series is going to get better.

One of my favorite series is the Russell/Holmes series by Laurie King. And she has often shaken things up in that series. Writing from the perspective of different characters, changing tone, changing location. I guess her readers came to expect that from her, so maybe that's a little different, but it seems to have worked really well for her.

I recently read a Charles Lenox mystery (I read a lot of mystery:) and the author chose to write three prequel books after writing a long series. I was reading some reviews after I read the book, and was amused at how so many of his long time readers had an opinion about that decision. Some loved it. Some hated it. I was one of those that enjoyed it more than his regular series. You just never know. I say take a risk and write it the way you want it. You might lose some fans. But if you don't change, you might lose fans too. I think if you write the book that you want to write, it will show in the final product.

But then I was never good at pragmatic financial decisions, so don't mind me....

[angela]

...

Okay, you know what? I'm going around in circles in my head here.

I shouldn't care if things are changing. I'm clearly not enjoying the writing of the newest books because I'm so worried about being different than I have been that I'm strangling my own creativity.

That is going to stop right now.

Yes. There's always Resistance. When you're working on a series, your Resistance gets new things to torture you about.

[Lynn]

Nice to see someone else who will read a series out of order! ;D

I read whatever book sounds most interesting to me first. If I like it, I'll read the rest.

 

[LilyBLily]

I read lots of things out of order. A first book in a series often is not like the rest, especially if it's a trad pub book. Years could have gone by since the first was written, not the mere months we see in ebook-only trilogies from indies. Sometimes the first book isn't much like the rest of the series, just as the pilots for TV shows or even parts of the first season aren't. Also, a smashing debut novel is much more likely to be complete unto itself than are the later books in the series, so there is less perceived need to read the next ones. It isn't even about voice. It's about story arc. The first book is about the main character's arc. The next ones could be about that character's friends' arcs or whatever. Not all series, of course, but some definitely move from the main character to what I'd call anthology stories, the "next case" or "new adventure" arc.   

[elleoco]

The first book is about the main character's arc. The next ones could be about that character's friends' arcs or whatever. Not all series, of course, but some definitely move from the main character to what I'd call anthology stories, the "next case" or "new adventure" arc.

It depends on the series. The only series I've read like that are historical romance where each book is the story of a different relative, friend, etc., and if series weren't so popular, those books would probably be written as standalones. That's what they really are.

Most series I read feature a single person who is the protag in each one, like Craig Johnson's Longmire series. When I discover one of those that grab me, I read from Book 1 forward. In that kind of series, knowing what the main character and the supporting cast have done in earlier stories enhances each following entry. IMO Johnson's Spirit of Steamboat is the best novella I ever read. It changed my mind about stories of that length. However, I also realize if I hadn't read earlier books in the series and known the characters, I might not have felt that way. And it's a prequel.

The other advantage to starting from Book 1 is that usually the earlier books are cheaper. Sometimes the first book is in KU even if none of the others are.

Too bad no one has ever done a survey to find out how many readers only read series in order and how many jump in wherever the series is when they discover it. Catering to jump-in readers means repeating a lot of background info and description that's not necessary if you believe most of your readers are the from-the-first kind.

[notthatamanda]

I always get annoyed if I read something and find out it's a series after. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but I like numbers and I want to go in order. Also, after years of shelving at the school libraries, if it's a series the book number should be printed in a big black and white block at the top of the book spine (looking at you, Magic Tree House). That outta be a law.

[idontknowyet]

ack people reading a series out of order is like people that read the end of the book first.

The only time i can read out of order is if i have already read the entire series to date. Then i go back an reread my favorites, though that usually leads me to rereading the entire series. Definitely not a chore

[Lynn]

I have been known to flip to the back and skim read before reading the beginning. ;D

It either makes me excited to read the book, or tells me it's not worth the trouble. ;)

[elleoco]

I always read endings before committing to a book after Gone With The Wind - until Kindle. There was just no way to do that with an ebook until KU, and by that time I was out of the habit. Some books really are spoiled by crummy endings, and I like to know the dog didn't die.

[notthatamanda]

Don't read Jodi Picoult's latest then. No dead dog but if you care about the ending don't. I'm getting pissed just thinking about it now.

[elleoco]

Don't read Jodi Picoult's latest then. No dead dog but if you care about the ending don't. I'm getting pissed just thinking about it now.

The opening of the only  Jodi Picoult I ever looked at stopped me cold. 

[Simon Haynes]

I've always had big numbers on the spines of my books.

True story - I've still only read about 4 Terry Pratchett novels, even though you'd think I was the ideal reader.  Back in the day there'd always be half a dozen of them on the bookstore/library shelves, but never the first one (which I knew by name) and the rest didn't have clear numbering. I realise they don't HAVE to be read in order, but they do as far as I'm concerned.

There are many, many series I've skipped because I will always start with book one which for some reason I wasn't able to get my hands on. I hate spoilers too.

I have a friend who won't play a game or watch a show/movie until she's seen youtube vids covering every detail at great length. I don't get it, but I know she likes spoilers and she knows I don't, so it works out in the end.