So- full disclosure- I’ve read a lot of trilogies, but I’ve never written one. I have written a stand alone novel, and of course, now I’ve completed a two books series, sometimes called a duology, a set, a couple of books? Right now trilogies are very popular, but they are far from a new thing, and usually they work.
Why do trilogies work? I think they generally follow the three act structure with the first book (while hopefully being a stand alone story) serving as the introduction, the second book encompassing the rising action and character arc, and the third book serving as the climax.
But the Red Death Saga didn’t fall into the trilogy mold. I meant to write one book, realized that I wasn’t going to be able to finish it in one volume and expanded into a two book series.
One of the challenges with two books is that book 2 in many ways has to do the jobs that books 2 and 3 would do in a traditional trilogy. Another difficulty inherent in the Red Death Saga is that book 1 ended on something of a cliff-hanger, so if you really think about it, rather than a book and a sequel, the two books are really just two halves of the same story rather than two stories featuring the same characters. If I ever write a two book series again, I won’t do it that way. 1. Because I don’t like to do things the same way twice and 2. Because I realized I love writing story openings; I’ve discovered that those are the most fun to write.
If I were to write two books again, each book would have an opening, a middle, and a climax. Dance began at the point that would be the beginning of the book and it just kept building from there. It was fun, but didn’t have that new feeling of writing a new book that I always crave when I’m halfway through any manuscript.
Where to find Bethany Griffin:
Website - Twitter - Facebook
Red Death Saga:
Website - Goodreads - My Review
Where to buy the books:
Amazon - The Book Depository - Barnes & Noble
Blog Tour Schedule.
I've noticed that duologies are certainly in as of late, and I'm actually all in favour for them. It's refreshing when things are nicely resolved in two books which both end up being fantastic, instead of having three books and one ends up being disappointing. Thanks for sharing this post with us Carina, this is another series that I really must start soon!
ReplyDeleteYay! I agree. Thank you. <3 I think you'll enjoy this series a lot :)
DeleteI enjoy duologies and trilogies--I just love books, series or not. Sometimes stand alones make me sad because I never feel like I had enough time with the characters.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating post. I have read some duologies (I never knew that term) and I enjoyed them (I also like series, trilogies, and stand alones). I liked hearing what the author had to say about the process and what she would do differently in the future. Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a great duology.
ReplyDeleteWhen I really think about it, I've actually had better luck with duologies than trilogies. I guess you can avoid the middle book syndrome altogether when the story is tighter and less drawn out. A wonderful guest post from Bethany, and thanks for hosting Carina! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see The Red Death books highlighted. I've only read the first but it was great. I will read the second one soon! Great guest blog with Bethany. It's interesting to me especially as a writer who has a series planned. Thanks for hosting!
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