Here is an interesting thought for all of you at home. Have you ever been invested in a story series (novels, T.V., or film) and found yourself wondering about some of the creative choices as it went on (looking at you Dexter). Sometimes they nail it and it is so amazing when they do (Breaking Bad or Marvel’s Infinity Saga come to mind). Other times it can feel like the creative minds lost their way somewhere (Star Wars: 7,8, and 9 or Dexter post season 4). While some of the parts of these later installments work, there are many things that sometimes feel out of place. People like to point fingers and say things like the creative team is out of touch, or hate the fans, or have an agenda or any combination of those. I don’t think that is probably the case. Why would someone who hates an I.P. spend a big chunk of time and money on it to purposely have it fail?
I think a major part of the problem is the uncomfortable reality that when the original parts of the story were created there was no way to know if it would be successful. If the first book, movie, or pilot show bombs there will not be more. This reality scares the creators away from playing a long game. And who can blame them. Why work so hard to set up something in the future when there is very large chance that the future will never come. Instead they focus on the here and now (the local story for a single book, episode of a show, or a movie). With a bit of a track record they may look a bit bigger (the regional story such as we see in a trilogy).
When a story became successful enough to justify exploring a larger world, the writers and teams behind these stories were now painted into various corners by what had come before and had to do their best with what they had to work with. This always came with mixed results for the final product, and the longer it went on the more challenging it would grow.
That was the way things used to be, but now the world is a different place and perhaps those of us that create stories for any medium are no longer bound by the same fears. You can self publish a 27 volume work about a cat with an elephant trunk for a tail that battles a two headed kangaroo named Jeffery for world domination. No one can stop you. Maybe no one will care (I actually might read that, so if you want to do it feel free to take the idea), but you can still do it. This opens up some possibilities.
What would happen if you treated the fantasy series like one story? More importantly, what would happen if you wrote the fantasy series like one story? But wait, you say, that sounds like a whole bunch of work. Of course it does. But if your goal was to write a fantasy series, and assuming that you pulled it off and found an audience, you would be doing it anyway. But you might find yourself facing some of the problems above.
I like the Harry Potter series. I thought it was inventive and unique and it was absolutely successful in capturing the minds of an entire generation of kids. One of the coolest parts for me was the concept of the Deathly Hallows. What a killer idea. But look where we first hear of it. It shows up in the last book, the very place we need it. This is not a slight on J.K. Rowling at all. This is just how it went down, not just for her but for lots of us. I have never spoke to her and I can’t say for a fact, but I suspect that she came up with this killer idea as she was working out the last entry. Of course she had to use it, it’s great.
But what if she had planned out the entire series as a single story prior to starting book one and knew exactly where it would end. The concept of the Deathly Hallows could have been introduced even if just in passing as early as the first book and the readers could have learned more as the series progressed. When it was finally revealed as a major player in the endgame of the story it would have been a huge payoff for seeds that had been planted years ago.
What if Dexter had worked all eight seasons (we would not have needed the ninth in this case) to function together. The Bay Harbor Butcher storyline could have been built up to towards the final season and things could have played out more like Clive Phillips original plans for the character. How would it have looked if the global narrative (the entire series run) was fed by the regional narrative (each season’s overall story) and both elevated by the local story (each episode). What a different and yet potentially more cohesive story it would have been.
I also loved Game of Thrones (books and first few seasons) and I feel like George R.R. Martin was a victim of his own success. When his story became large enough to make a massive T.V. series out of it, it was a moment of incredible success for him. The fact that the first several seasons of the show were outstanding was due to the fact they were faithfully derived from his work. But he had not finished his story yet, and the show had to go on. When others tried to take his baby and wrap it up for him after outrunning the source material the quality dropped and things did not go so well. It was like they took his baby, promised him to feed it, and then fed the baby into a wood chipper. This is not a slight on Martin either. This is just the way it went down.
But what if he had finished it prior to the first book coming out? What would that have looked like? Sadly, we will never know.
Consider for a moment the way that many people consume stories now. I love the marvel universe and I’m digging the shows as they come out on Disney+. You know what I hate though? Waiting. Waiting sucks. So what do I do? Yep, I wait until all the shows have dropped so I can binge them at my own pace. Sometimes I can even get Lily to watch them with me. I am not alone in this. Several people want to experience their stories in this way. Could we do the same with books? Why not? If an author front loaded an entire series couldn’t the publisher drop a book a month and keep the hype and momentum going? Please explain to me in the comments why they could not do this.
By front end loading your entire series you have absolute control over the global, regional, and local stories (each with their own structures) that make it up.
The first book in the series could drop and have a normal run in trying to build an audience, but as it found success the time table could reflect that. If you died before book six came out, no big deal. Your estate could release the rest and your readers would get to finish the story they invested in. Your publisher could rest easy because they would not have to wonder if you were capable of finishing the series, because it would already be done. Seems like a win win for the creator and the audience. This sounds like madness as I type it and the work load seems enormous, and yet I so badly want to do it.
Imagine having total control over the character arcs based on the entire series. Being able to foreshadow, set-up, and pay-off everything. Being able to make discoveries at the end and re-work the front end to make sure it all lines out because it has not been released. Being able to ensure that all your characters are staying true over the entire course.
It is easy to say that this would be a foolish waste of effort. Why? They will tell you the odds of success are so low that no one may ever publish it and if you self publish no one will read it. This may be true, but something I learned in other arts was that you needed to prepare yourself for not only failing in your goal, but also for getting a small amount of success and also for huge success. If you don’t think that your work can stand with the others, you need to keep working it.
There is no excuse to release halfway done art. If you are only going to put your best effort into your work after you are successful than you probably won’t be. If your story must be told, than it is your job, no your responsibility, to make it the best version of your art that it can be. If your goal is only to be published, you would not try this. But if your goal is to tell your story in the best way possible, and your story is a series, well…maybe this is not so crazy.
Anyway. I’m doing this.
Absolutely tell me you think I’m a moron in the comments if you think that. I will also accept any advice you may have. I am documenting my journey and the things I try and learn along the way. If this totally fails you can learn by my mistakes (oh yeah, that Millsap guy tried that and we all saw how that went…har har har).
But…but what if I’m right?
Good luck with your projects everyone.
Author-Ization 