I've just finished the 3rd book in my series and I'm writing my plan for book 4.
It's tougher than the first three as I'm bringing all the main plot arcs together, and weaving in new little ones to kick off my next series.
What techniques do you use?
I'd be interested to see if there was a better way of doing it that I'm not considering.
Thanks! :)
Thanks for the answer Adrian. I'm quite an impatient person, so I keep having to tell myself that this plan is going to take more than a day to create!
There are lots of things going on so I know I need to be thorough.
I’m disadvantaged. I have no knowledge of what your series of novels are about.
I hope my answer is of some help.
In a novel the most important events are those related to the plot. How the protagonist reacts and adapts to his/her changing circumstances and his/her growth throughout the novel.
American literary experts refer to dramatic plot events as Landmarks. They stress the importance of explosive Landmarks that stand head and shoulders above storyline, sub-plot, and mini-plot events that usually involve one or more of the rounded-characters.
The Landmark events in chapters should stand out and not be submerged by other dramatic events, that’s if there is more than one dramatic event in an individual chapter.
I assume by your question that you have a beginning, middle and end to your fourth novel in the series. I would make a list of working chapter titles, paying particular attention to those chapters that concern the protagonist.
You may have sub-plots, mini-plots and unresolved issues carried forward from previous novels but I would be guided by what this novel is about. What is the underlying theme? What is the single most important event? What is the main outcome of the novel?
Good luck if you’re dealing with more than one plot. I believe Trollop is one of the few authors who successfully managed to integrate more than one plot in a novel. It takes considerable skill and is best avoided.
Good luck.