We have discussed the Trilogy, and the Serial. This week, we look at the Relay.
A Relay is similar to a serial and stays in the same story world, but switches protagonists for each book. A Relay is often used in Literary generational family or Historical sagas. It can be used in Mysteries, Fantasy, or SciFi.
A good example of the Mystery Relay is Tana French's Dublin murder squad series: In The Woods, The Likeness, and Faithful Place. The protagonists work for the same police division, but a different protagonist solves a new case in each book with different friends and foes. In a Relay mystery, the case is new even if you decide to utilize an undefeated mastermind or serial killer.
In a Historical or generational family saga, the challenge facing the protagonist may be the same story world imbalance or feud between clans. Philippa Gregory's historical novel series The Cousins' War (The White Queen, The Red Queen, and The Kingmaker's Daughter) is a good example of a Relay.
The Relay Romance follows a new couple as they struggle to connect. The new protagonist is a relative or friend or secondary character from the first book.
In my Mythikas Island series, this structure works as a tag team approach, handing off the overall challenge to a new character's POV. Each character (Diana, Persephone, Aphrodite, then Athena) faces a "ghost" from their past in their book as the whole cast fights for survival to earn a seat on the ruling council of Mt. Olympus across the four-book series.
The antagonist is usually different in each book, though he could have a relationship to the previous antagonist, especially in multiple generational family or Historical sagas. There are several skirmishes that lead up to the final confrontation with the antagonist. The antagonist can be vanquished, reduced in circumstances, or killed off.
Friends and foes generally change with each story, though there can be an overlap of cast members. The parents could take a back seat to the children. The same court can have a new ruler. The original couple could be in the background in a Romance. Tertiary characters can become secondary characters. Historical characters, such as a king or queen, can remain in place but there is a different intrigue involving them.
The internal dilemma for the protagonist is unique to that character, whether it is a complication, internal struggle, or relationship.
A Relay can be a fresh approach to an aging series. Anne Perry has extended her Thomas Pitt series with an offshoot featuring his son Daniel beginning with Triple Jeopardy.
An offshoot series is a form of Relay and many Trilogies utilize a relay for subsequent stories set in the same story world. Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments trilogy was followed by a step back in time with the Infernal Devices trilogy featuring the parents of the MI cast. She then skipped forward in time in the Dark Artifices trilogy using a new generation of Shadowhunters. The original cast makes an appearance.
I love finding a trilogy and long running series. It leads to a binge then a painful wait for the next installment.
In the current publishing climate, the more books you produce, the more likely you are to stay visible in the vicious algorithm game.
Next week, we'll look at related short stories and serialization of novels and novellas.
Related Topics:
Mystery Subgenres
Mystery Skeleton
Literary Subgenres
Literary Skeleton
Romance Subgenres
Romance Skeleton
Historical Subgenres Part One
Historical Subgenres Part Two
Historical Skeleton
Free tools and forms are available at www.dianahurwitz.com. You can also check out the Build A Plot Workbooks for Mystery, Literary Drama, Romance, and Historical.
Writers are instructed to craft riveting first lines for their books, which causes many writers undue stress. While it would be an achievement to craft the most perfect first line ever written, such as "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times," it isn't necessary to live up to that expectation. A first line just needs to be interesting.
I took a random sampling of the books I've read recently to illustrate how simple a first line can be and still draw a reader in.
1. "The island appeared first as an inky smudge on the horizon, beaded with pinholes of light against the greying sky." While you sleep, A Novel by Stephanie Merritt
The sentence immediately transports us to an interesting place. An island functions as a locked room. Characters can be trapped there, suggesting suspense.
2. "Shadow Market nights were Kit's favorite." Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
A Shadow Market is something different, suggesting a fantasy world. The character likes to go there, suggesting interesting things are about to happen. We get a sense of anticipation.
3. "I've always considered myself to be, basically, a lucky person." The Witch Elm by Tana French
Introduces the POV character's voice and suggests a "but," so we know that he will not be a lucky person much longer.
4. "If only the swans would swim side by side on the dark green lake, this picture might turn out to be the crowning achievement of the wedding photographer's career." Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
There is a wedding. It isn't going perfectly. There will be conflict ahead and we want to know what that is.
5. "We believe what we want to believe." Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
Suggests the character is fooling herself and we want to find out the truth.
6. "Kitten - that is what everyone called her." The Weight of Lies by Emily Carpenter
The nickname suggests something cute and harmless, but kittens have claws and we want to know more about her.
7. "I used to think that drawing studio would be my favorite way to start the school day. Then we started doing nudes, and I realized - after spending an hour and a half staring at an old dude's junk - that no amount of coffee or optimism could get me through the full two-hour class." Shades of Darkness by A. R. Kahler
Okay, I included the second sentence here because I love Kahler's word sorcery. The first sentence places us at an art school. By saying "used to think" we know things aren't going as well as hoped.
8. "They say when you are about to die, your entire life passes before your eyes in a flurry of poignant images, but all I could think of, rather absurdly, was that I should have worn the blue hat." This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber
Introduces the POV character's sense of humor and the fact that her life is threatened. We want to know when, why, what, and how.
9. "The peace and quiet never last." Locked Tight by Susan Kaye Quinn
We know something is about to disrupt the status quo. We will read to find out what it is.
10. "To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate." Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Dead body suggests a mystery is ahead and Nicholas Brisbane will be a figure of interest to the point of view character, hinting at a future relationship.
I studied examples like these to come up with my first line in the Mythikas series. I decided to start every chapter with an interesting first line, which isn't essential, but can add that special something to your manuscript.
"My day of glory was at hand." Mythikas Island Book One Diana by Diana Hurwitz
We know the main character is about to get something she wants, or thinks she will. We will stay tuned to find out if she does.
You don't need to agonize over a first line until you are on your final revision layers. Does your first line hint at something more to come? If not, it is an easy fix. Just read the first line and if the words "and then" naturally follow, you've succeeded. If not, change it until it does.
A good closing line can make the difference in getting the reader to turn the page too.
You can see more examples of opening and closing lines here.
In my Mythikas Island series, this structure works as a tag team approach, handing off the overall challenge to a new character's POV. Each character (Diana, Persephone, Aphrodite, then Athena) faces a "ghost" from their past in their book as the whole cast fights for survival to earn a seat on the ruling council of Mt. Olympus across the four-book series.
