Thursday, April 25, 2013

V Is For Volume...

Yep, you want lots of bouncy, full, thick looking hair. And you totally know that's not the kind of 'volume' I'm speaking of too. Sheesh! Silly.

Volume as in, 'how-many-books-are-in-this-bloody-series-anyway???' kind of volume. I'm all for a good epic fantasy. I don't mind ten to twelve books in a series as long as the story keeps going, doesn't bog down and/or get stupid.

If you're going to write a series of books, don't write to make money off of it, write it until the story is done. Don't throw in crap just to lengthen to book and get the most bang for your buck.

This is just my opinion when it comes to how long a fantasy story should be. When you're building a fantasy world from scratch, you very well may end up with seven books or seventeen. Who knows? How long is it going to take to show off your world and tell this story?

My current works, I think it will only be three books. Simply because there is not THAT much to tell about this one story. I have other books in mind for this world and I don't see a lot of them being more than one book, but it may surprise me and become more. Depends on how involved in the details I want to get.

But there comes a point where it seems like enough is enough. We're getting the same stuff over and over and things keep repeating. It isn't necessary at this point, it's just fluff. A little fluff is fine, but I think I'd have to call it quits after the ninth book of just...fluff.

What do you think is too long for a series, fantasy or otherwise?


Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's why I'm ending at three. Besides, Byron would be really old in the next one and I don't think that would make for an exciting story.

Mel Chesley said...

I don't know, Alex. Indiana Jones was still pretty hot, er, going strong in that last movie. :)

Unknown said...

I've had that before with some fantasy series. I've found that multiple novels set in the same universe but with different characters works best (like Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century).