“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” – Douglas Adams

“To write fiction, one needs a whole series of inspirations about people in an actual environment, and then a whole lot of work on the basis of those inspirations.” – Aldous Huxley

Reading Assignments:

1.) Four Ways to Plot a Trilogy – by Kristen Kieffer
2.) Planning For the Next Book In Your Series – by Chemist Ken
3.) How to Outline a Series of Bestselling Books – by K.M. Weiland
4.) How To Write a Series – by Writer’s Edit (Read the section on “Planning your series” steps 1-2.)
5.) Creating Stunning Character Arcs – by K.M. Weiland (Parts 5-15 of this series goes over how to connect your character arc to your plot arc, not specific to series. Because this is long and in-depth, you don’t have to read each part if time doesn’t allow for you to do so.)
Cliffhangers
1.) The Cliffhanger Dilemma – by Erin Bowman
2.) Cliffhangers – by Karen Woodward
3.) 5 Tips on Writing a Cliffhanger – by Heather Kaczynski
Theme
1.) Don’t Know Your Story’s Theme? Take a Look at Your Character’s Arc – by K.M. Weiland
2.) 10 Common Themes in Literature – by Grace Fleming 

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Writing Assignments:

1.) What is the inciting incident of your series? Where is your series headed in the end? What are the big plot points that you know of in between the beginning and the end? Try to place this in chronological order, regardless of what book you think these plot points will be in. Right now, you’re looking at the bigger picture. 
2.) Work your character’s arc into the plot points you have already. Work out your plot from here as time allows for the week. Again, make sure you have enough for a series and not just one book.
3.) What do your story and character arcs reveal about your theme or the history of your world? How does this affect the story? Are there other stories you can tell that are related?

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Class Discussion:

1.) Discuss the articles you read. Where there any that were more helpful than others? List 1-2 things you learned that maybe you hadn’t known or thought of before. This is also a good place to reintroduce yourself, if necessary.

Getting in the Mood:

1.) Write for 15 minutes: Write a random scene from one of your larger plot points. Keep your story’s theme as you write.
2.) Split into smaller groups, if necessary. Each person gets a chance to read their 15 minutes of writing. 
3.) After each person reads, others give feedback: a) What worked? b) What needs more work? Be as specific as you can.

Group Assignments:

1.) Get into small groups and discuss your plot arc and your character arc. Are there any plot holes that stand out? What works well so far? What can the writer do to make it more engaging? How do the world’s history and themes affect the story? 

LTWF: Writing a Series Course Syllabus