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.
Last week, we looked at the standard Trilogy format. This week, we will discuss the Serial format.
A Serial is most often used for Thrillers and Mysteries. It can also be used for multi-generational dramas, or a Con, Heist & Prison Break series.
A serial can have as many books as the author cares to write. Anne Perry's Mystery series with Inspector Thomas Pitt has 34 to date and her William Monk series has 24. Diana Gabaldon's Outlander is a long running serial.
The protagonist appears in each book and faces a similar overall story problem such as a murder, a dangerous threat to one or many, a family conflict, etc.
In each book, the main cast is introduced. The hero has special knowledge or a skill set to solve the problem at hand.
The antagonist is often different in each book. In some spy novels, the antagonist remains the same but there are different cases involved. The enemy spy is nearly caught, a major minion is apprehended or killed, but the case itself is resolved at the end.
Most mysteries are serials with a different crime to solve in each book. In the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, there is a recurrent antagonist like Professor Moriarty, but each murder is solved at the end of each book.
Friends and allies are often a continuing thread, but it is possible to add and subtract cast members as the serial progresses. Focusing on different friends and foes in each serial leaves plenty of room for growth and offshoots.
The internal dilemma is usually the same throughout the serial, especially if it is a love interest. Their bond is tested as the books progress.
The protagonist's internal dilemma can also be a sick family member, a child, or responsibility for another character that causes problems for him as he navigates the overall story problem. He may have a personal issue to solve: an addiction, an affliction, or an internal struggle.
The book covers follow a theme, but the titles can be unique. Anne Perry is a good example of how to keep naming a serial as it stretches out. It helps to have a subtitle such as "A Thomas Pitt novel."
Next week, we will take a look at the Relay series.
Related Topics:
Mystery Subgenres
Mystery Skeleton
Thriller & Suspense Subgenres
Thriller & Suspense Skeleton
Con, Heist & Prison Break Skeleton
Literary Subgenres
Literary Skeleton
Free tools and forms are available at www.dianahurwitz.com. You can also check out the Build A Plot Workbooks for Mystery, Thriller, Con, Heist, & Prison Break, and Literary Drama.
There are several ways to structure a series. For the next few weeks, we will examine a few of them. We will start with the Trilogy.
The protagonist usually faces one powerful antagonist and his or her minions over the course of a trilogy. This is the typical format for Fantasy and Science Fiction for adults and young adults.
Book One covers the introduction of the cast, often with the protagonist learning they have powers or tools to defeat the antagonist. There is a central conflict introduced as the overall story problem with two or three turning points before the climactic engagement with the antagonist. This battle arc is completed, but the antagonist lives to fight another day. Friends and foes can perish or suffer. The hero and love interest live but may have been weakened and need to recoup and gather tools, information, or allies for the next book.
Book Two follows the second attempt to defeat the antagonist in the central conflict. There are two to three more engagements with the antagonist before the decisive battle. The antagonist lives to fight another day but may be weakened or appear to have the upper hand. Casualties on both sides often occur to add poignancy. The hero must gather more tools, skills, or allies for the final showdown.
Book Three is the final showdown with two to three skirmishes leading up to the deciding battle. The hero and his allies have all they need. They fight with everything they have. It may appear after the second or third skirmish that they could lose, but they rally at the climax and usually defeat the antagonist and his minions.
The hero's internal conflict can be the same for all three books or change. This can be a love interest, family member, or friend relationship. It can be a debt the character feels he owes, atonement for a past wrong, or an issue that sparked revenge. If a relationship is not involved, the internal layer can be the protagonist's struggle with responsibility for saving others or fighting a battle he didn't choose. He may pay a price, sacrifice something dear, or give up on the future he dreamed of.
Occasionally, there is a different antagonist in each book. In this case, there are several conflicts that lead up to the final confrontation where the next antagonist is revealed.
Friends and foes add interpersonal conflict. There are secondary characters with stakes and relationship issues. The tighter the cast, the more effective it is.
The external layer goal of restoring cosmic or paranormal balance to the story world is successful in most cases. If there is a second trilogy, the antagonist may appear completely defeated or retreat to rebuild his strength or a second antagonist emerges for the antagonist layer.
The covers should be similar with the series as a subtitle. It helps to note which book is number one, two, three, etc.
Next week, we will examine the Serial format.
Related topics:
Science Fiction Subgenres
The Science Fiction Skeleton
Fantasy Subgenres
The Fantasy Skeleton
Free tools and forms are available at www.dianahurwitz.com. You can also check out the Build A Plot Workbooks for Science Fiction and Fantasy.
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.
