A Fanfiction Series?!

*New thread button...so magical...*

To wake up a sleepy section... I have a question to ask all my fellow fanfic writers.

Is it a good idea to plan a series of books staring the same character? (Not books, persay. Um, really long multi-chaptered fanfics. There we go.)

I was told that writing more than one fanfic with the same character is boring. But I don't find writing about the same character boring. I mean, my character is still growing as a character. And it makes no sense to end her adventures when she's eleven after traveling around a region of the Pokemon World.

That's why I was wondering. Because what does one do with a character that still needs to grow and has it in her personality traits that she loves to travel? She wouldn't be one to stay at home for the rest of her life, settling down and starting a family. And as I said before, I like to write about her.

It's just that the readers might not want to see the never-ending adventures of my character. (Pokemon fans make complaints about the never-ending adventures of Ash. But I know from planning things out that my own fic series won't be so...boring. *shoots down ego*

What I'm basically asking is: Could a series following one main character work? Or should I try to create a main character for each book?

As far as I'm concerned, yes, such an idea can work.

When it comes to me, I have a very "shounen" way of looking at things. Of course the story has a primary protagonist but the situations, adventures and people they meet will be the driving factor in how they grow and change. And while there are some shounens (Like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) where the main focuses and cast change along with the story line, most shounens follow the same hero for the whole series run and the readers/viewers never get enough.

While the perfect example would be works like Dragon Ball and One Piece, (the latter especially since the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and the expanding Straw Hat crew is seemingly never-ending) I would prefer to look at the sports mangas where the character starts off young and just with a passion of the game but as the story goes on, they age and become even more talented in their trade. The best example here would be Hikaru no Go.

To keep it short, Hikaru was just an eleven-year-old slacker who only cared about goofing off until he ended up getting posses by Sai. As things progressed, Hikaru found himself immersed in the game, wanting to become good himself to catch up to his rival Akira Touya, eventually Sai leaves Hikaru and while this depressed him at first, Hikaru (with some motivation from those around him), by himself and continues to plow forward in the Go world. The manga end with Hikaru being about fourteen or fifteen. I haven't read the manga in years so I forgot his exact age when the series actually ends.

So yes, a story with one character being the central character being the protagonist for each series can work. There will be complainers here or there, but if you really have things up your sleeve... Well writing fics has always been about the passion of just doing it right? (Well, that's what keeps me going.)

Uhh...yeah, I don't know about the manga being refered to but I do agree that multiple fics with the same main character can work. I mean, as long as the whole plot is so distanced from the original that it wouldn't be plausible to have them in the same fic then I don't see why not. I'm sure that the people who enjoyed the first fic with this character of yours (Mind you, post a link to that fic if you decide to do this follow-up thing, 'cause I wanna' see. :O) would love to see the character they already 'know' pop up again and how she has developed. The reason Ash is so boring because he doesn't develop (Hundreds of episodes and the only change he has gone through is a sudden leap from slightly comical dimwit with a dream to flawless Gary-stu, sheez...<_<); there are certainly many successful series of books centered around the same character(s). The important thing is that the character is well thought-out and multi-faceted and that the plots don't fall into a routine.

Basically, I'm saying go for it. ^-^

I think that it would certainly be acceptable if your character was strong, and the plot was strong as well.

I'd probably recommending adding enough background in each fic for the individual piece to stand alone. That way, people wouldn't have to drag through a whole fic to catch up.

Firstly, thank you for responding. I feel so special now.

Issac Gravity said:

Of course the story has a primary protagonist but the situations, adventures and people they meet will be the driving factor in how they grow and change.

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That's what I was thinking as well. I mean, sure, she's basically the same character. It's just that in each novel-length fanfiction, she meets another character that makes her change in some way. I don't see the point in having a whole new character to change in the same way as my own could.

Forgot about the Dragon Ball series. There is a big change between the original, Z, and GT. But the characters remain the same.

Alter Ego said:

The reason Ash is so boring because he doesn't develop (Hundreds of episodes and the only change he has gone through is a sudden leap from slightly comical dimwit with a dream to flawless Gary-stu, sheez...<_<); there are certainly many successful series of books centered around the same character(s).

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The Harry Potter series is probably the best-known example of a series following the same characters. I know of another by my favorite author, so I do have good examples.

That was one of the positives I thought of for my own fanfiction series. Unlike Ash, my character does actually grow. (The one problem that I have is that I write the books out of order. Right now I'm concentrating on the third book of my series. So editing might be in order. <<)

Ranger O'Brien said:

I'd probably recommending adding enough background in each fic for the individual piece to stand alone. That way, people wouldn't have to drag through a whole fic to catch up.

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Again, I'm going to mention the Harry Potter series. Stephen King said that they are a good way to learn how to do back story, to fit it in so that it doesn't overwhelm the reader. But I do get your drift. If there was a fanfiction series going on that I was following, I wouldn't want to go back and reread the previous fics to get caught up.

Of course, there are no real fanfiction series that come to my mind. It seems as if there is this notion that a fanfiction series can't be done.

Thanks, you three. I guess sometimes I just have to remember that the main reason why I'm writing isn't for reviews, or to please readers. It's because I just love the craft, the art, and the magic.

Ranger O'Brien said:

I'd probably recommending adding enough background in each fic for the individual piece to stand alone. That way, people wouldn't have to drag through a whole fic to catch up.

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This is the problem I ran into when writing my trilogy, and it still has that problem. Be careful where you go with sequels. From personal experience, the original turns out to be the best one.

Well in most pokemon fics, sequels would be pretty boring if you don't spice it up. Don't just have the hero go on another big adventure in some other region. If you're not a writer of excellent calibur then it would be hard to write a series in which the good guy wins in some adventure in every book. Most succesful series either have the good guy lose in some books, or have just one continuing story, without the antagonist being defeated, like in the "Inheritance" books.

And another idea for a series...Have the same setting, and have the story continue, but with time gaps. The characters will be older, and play different roles. Perhaps even a new character will have the role of Protagonist. The best example for this one would be a movie, not a book...StarWars. From trilogy to trilogy, the Protagonist, Anakin, becomes the Antagonist, Darth Vader, while his son Luke becomes the protagonist.

Mr.Altosax said:

Well in most pokemon fics, sequels would be pretty boring if you don't spice it up. Don't just have the hero go on another big adventure in some other region. If you're not a writer of excellent calibur then it would be hard to write a series in which the good guy wins in some adventure in every book. Most succesful series either have the good guy lose in some books, or have just one continuing story, without the antagonist being defeated, like in the "Inheritance" books.

And another idea for a series...Have the same setting, and have the story continue, but with time gaps. The characters will be older, and play different roles. Perhaps even a new character will have the role of Protagonist. The best example for this one would be a movie, not a book...StarWars. From trilogy to trilogy, the Protagonist, Anakin, becomes the Antagonist, Darth Vader, while his son Luke becomes the protagonist.

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And also in Star Wars the individual episodes jump. First Anakin is 10, then 18ish, then 24ish, Luke is first 18ish, then 22ish, and then a bit older again.

=0 Ranger O'Brien is back!

Well, on the plus side, I've rewritten my plot for my fanfiction series so that it can carry more than one book. Yay for random bursts of inspiration!

The one problem is that now I have to read like crazy to see how other books handle such a plot. So I'm reading The Golden Compass to see how things are done. And because I've never read them before.

RaikouRider243 said:

From personal experience, the original turns out to be the best one.

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Depends. My favorite science fiction series is different from other series for a few reasons. One, there is a 3000 year gap between the first book and the second book. Two, the main focus of the plot has shifted. So it all depends on what the series is and how well the books are that follow. (My favorite books of that series are actually the second and the third book.)

It's just like with Harry Potter. I love the second book, but really didn't like the first book. It all depends on opinions, and I see that was what you are saying. I'm just tossing my two cents into the collection cup.

It can work but I like the idea of just writing one book, sometimes ideas get watered down if you push them too far. Maybe a single book and a series of one shots might be better :). I've seen it done a lot in other forums :)

The one problem is that the main adversary can't really be defeated easily in one book. :x I'm really hoping I can do it in three books. I'll just have to see how things go when I plan out the storyline.

And, well, one-shots and I don't get along. XD My one-shots tend to be long.

This is an interesting topic, Hanako.

I do think a series is possible, but have to have great planning and many considerations. It would be one adventure after another, which is great because to me, the adventures never end. The character would of course have to be growing with each arc, expanding the personality and actions more.

I have to agree with you when it comes to setting the series out of order. One of my fics goes into the third while we leave the middle for last. They do say starting with in medias res is always great in writing but takes skill to master.

One shots very rarely work for me. Like you, I have the tendency to keep adding description into everything, making the poor thing into twenty pages or more. I can't stand summing everything up in a one shot. Personally, I would be left with many questions... to myself. xD

For the most part, I say to go for it, if you have the patience. I have to work on my patient skills. I'd definitely like to read your upcoming works soon. =D

*sits, thinks*

K-chan! *glomps* Awesome to see you here as well! XD

I've been planning out my fic, which is really something that I haven't done before. I've also been reading up on how to make a good plot. I'm thinking of only having three books, because one was really unnecessary. It'll save me from having to scrounge around for an interesting plot for four books, instead of three in a main series, and one has a spin-off.

Yes, I think I have a good handle on it. Now all that's left is for me to actually sit down and write it, instead of just thinking about it.