Seeing as this is a planned ten book series, do you ever fear that your writing will deteriorate along with the length of the series like Robert Jordan’s (arguably) did?
First question first, as it is an excellent one.
Long series run into some problems, particularly if they’re a single, ongoing story rather than a sequence of episodes. Robert Jordan ran into some of these problems, as has George R. R. Martin. I think much of it can be mitigated by releasing books regularly. The Wheel of Time reads much differently to me now that I know the ending, and am not waiting years between books, only to get one that doesn’t feel like it progresses the story as far as I want.
I feel the other big danger with the long series is the explosion of side characters. Sometimes, it seems that their narratives—and their plots—take the bulk of books, causing some bloat to the series.
I can’t promise my writing won’t deteriorate. I haven’t ever tried something of this length before. However, I have attempted to do some things specifically in the construction of my outline to try to forestall it. Specifically, I’ve outlined quite a lot. (See my other reply.) I know where I’m going.
Tangents will be kept to a minimum; I’ve given myself the interludes, as I’ve mentioned before, to let me explore some tangents. I think this will keep me from feeling I need to tell entire books about side characters; I can give them an interlude, and hint at a greater story for them. Then I can leave them be.
The other thing I’m doing has to do with the flashbacks. Each book will have a single focus character, and I will delve into their backstory. I’m hoping this will give each volume it’s own cohesion; rather than just a tiny slice of a story, I hope this will help make each one feel like it is its own story.
Time will tell if I succeed or not. Until then, I don’t fault you for being wary.
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