Writing A Dynamic Series With The Freja Peachtree Trilogy
This is the first post in the Lessons From The Media series. This features one of my all time favourite book and series: The Freja Peachtree Series by Aussie (yay!) author Katrina Nannestad. It's a trilogy beginning with The Girl, The Dog And The Writer In Rome, followed by Provence and Lucerne.
It's an MG series, but I think people of all ages would enjoy it. It's heartwarming, easy to read and (#Confession) made me feel like blubbering in some parts. Seriously, you need to go buy this book right now and read it.
There will be some spoilers in here.
Just kidding. (Kinda.)
Something that really impressed me was how Nannestad wrote a fantastic dynamic series. There were cliffhangers (which annoyed me the fan) but each book was satisfying.
A dynamic series is when the story centres around the characters trying to solve one big conflict over the course of several books. This is one of the three types of books series, the other two being static or episodic, and anthologies. I love dynamic series because it typically involves seeing the same characters trying, failing and succeeding over the course more than one book.
Other examples of dynamic series includes The Lord Of The Rings, A Series Of Unfortunate Events and The Wheel Of Time.
It's an MG series, but I think people of all ages would enjoy it. It's heartwarming, easy to read and (#Confession) made me feel like blubbering in some parts. Seriously, you need to go buy this book right now and read it.
There will be some spoilers in here.
What It Does Right
Everything. Go read it now. The end.Just kidding. (Kinda.)
Something that really impressed me was how Nannestad wrote a fantastic dynamic series. There were cliffhangers (which annoyed me the fan) but each book was satisfying.
A dynamic series is when the story centres around the characters trying to solve one big conflict over the course of several books. This is one of the three types of books series, the other two being static or episodic, and anthologies. I love dynamic series because it typically involves seeing the same characters trying, failing and succeeding over the course more than one book.
Other examples of dynamic series includes The Lord Of The Rings, A Series Of Unfortunate Events and The Wheel Of Time.
Elements Of A Dynamic Series
1. There's an overarching plot.
What's the big conflict that your character is trying to solve? What's the recurring source of trouble throughout the series? What's the question that won't be answered until late in the series?
Throughout the whole series, your character will be going back to this one problem which won't be completed until the last book. This is the overarching plot. It should be the most powerful source of conflict and most personal to your character.
Throughout the whole series, your character will be going back to this one problem which won't be completed until the last book. This is the overarching plot. It should be the most powerful source of conflict and most personal to your character.
The overarching plot in the Freja Peachtree series is actually the mystery behind Tobias Appleby and her family in general. Each book has beats that involve Freja trying to find out how Tobias (who, by the way, is totally awesome) is connected to her and her mum, Clem. The question is raised early in the first book but the answer doesn't come until the final book in one of the last scenes. The theme is about family and friends, so of course this is the most impactful conflict to give Freja.
2. Individual books have an individual plot.
While the overarching plot stretches across the series, each book acts like a stepping stone through way of their individual plot. Basically, each book will have at least two sources of conflict, the overarching and another source that's just for that book. Ultimately, the individual plot should serve to enhance the power of the overarching plot, whether directly through the events or symbolically.
Apart from finding out Freja's connection to Tobby, she gets caught up in a crime one per book. By the end of the book, the crime is solved without leaving loose ends. The impact the individual plot has on the overarching plot is that has Freja solves the crimes and become more confident, she also strengthens her relationship with Tobby and Vivi. Combined with her already established relationship with Clem, the ending becomes the most emotional scene in the whole series. It would not have been as strong as it was without the help of having smaller problems to solve pre-climax.
Apart from finding out Freja's connection to Tobby, she gets caught up in a crime one per book. By the end of the book, the crime is solved without leaving loose ends. The impact the individual plot has on the overarching plot is that has Freja solves the crimes and become more confident, she also strengthens her relationship with Tobby and Vivi. Combined with her already established relationship with Clem, the ending becomes the most emotional scene in the whole series. It would not have been as strong as it was without the help of having smaller problems to solve pre-climax.
3. A connection between the two.
There should be something that links the overarching and individual plot together. Whether it's a common theme or the fact that the individual plot was a step in completing the overarching plot, you should be able to point out what unites both plots.
A connection is vital because if there isn't a correlation, you might as well write two separate stories, or maybe consider writing a static series instead. The link is what makes a dynamic series make sense as being one story over the course of multiple books.
The individual plot and overarching plot is linked through the common theme of mystery. As Freja solves the crimes in a single book, it leads to the most important mystery of "who is Tobias Appleby?" Not only that, Tobby even writes crime fiction. See? Everything connects back to solving crimes.
A connection is vital because if there isn't a correlation, you might as well write two separate stories, or maybe consider writing a static series instead. The link is what makes a dynamic series make sense as being one story over the course of multiple books.
The individual plot and overarching plot is linked through the common theme of mystery. As Freja solves the crimes in a single book, it leads to the most important mystery of "who is Tobias Appleby?" Not only that, Tobby even writes crime fiction. See? Everything connects back to solving crimes.
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| Gif from Gfycat |
Using The Elements
Go wild with how you want to use them. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:
While the overarching plot is ultimately the core of the conflict, you might want to disguise it. Maybe your characters thought that what happens in the individual plot was the answer only to find out, oops! It wasn't! (Which sucks for them.)
The overarching plot might be a character arc. This means you'll have to pay extra attention to the change your character goes through. Like how the external conflict should reflect the internal conflict, the individual plot should reflect the overarching plot. In fact, this is so important the reflection is relevant to all dynamic series.
Typically, the individual plot takes the driver's seat with the overarching plot in the back seat. However, as the books head toward the finale, the overarching plot begins to take over. Make sure that the overarching plot is clear throughout the series as this will provide good drags to the next book.
While the overarching plot is ultimately the core of the conflict, you might want to disguise it. Maybe your characters thought that what happens in the individual plot was the answer only to find out, oops! It wasn't! (Which sucks for them.)
The overarching plot might be a character arc. This means you'll have to pay extra attention to the change your character goes through. Like how the external conflict should reflect the internal conflict, the individual plot should reflect the overarching plot. In fact, this is so important the reflection is relevant to all dynamic series.
Using Cliffhangers
If you don't know the feeling of having to wait ages and ages for the next instalment of a series you really like, there's something wrong with you. (Sorry-not-sorry.) I don't know anyone who likes having to wait. I certainly don't. But once the series is finished and you look back at all the books, you can't help but appreciate the cliffhangers. The way they dragged you to the next book, leaving clues for the fandom to chew on, all the way up to the conclusion with an epic payoff. All that waiting was totally worth it.
As authors, annoying readers is pretty much our job. (I say "pretty much" because the other portions include torturing characters, consuming caffeine and daydreaming. Occasionally, we write stuff.) We also appreciate it when fans give glowing praise of how everything was finally answered. That means we should add all the cliffhangers we can, right? You know, as long as we have a good conclusion.
Well. Leaving cliffhangers is a risky business. On one hand, you can get the goodies two paragraphs up. On the other hand, you could be getting stuff like:
- Ugh, this book is so unsatisfying.
- They didn't solve the problem.
- This feels like it's the beginning of a book, not an actual book.
Not so great. But here lies the greatness of having an overarching and individual plot. The overarching plot is meant to leave questions. It's meant to be what makes the reader be annoyed. This is the cliffhanger. And the individual plot? It's the satisfaction aspect. Your character spends one whole book trying to solve something and by the resolution, they do. Most, if not all the loose ends of the individual plot is tied off in the same book it was brought up in.
Some books end blatantly telling the question. Others just leave the question floating around and end with a satisfactory note. And then there's some in between. Generally, it works really well if you resolve the individual plot and then raise the questions for the next book which arises from the overarching plot.
A word of caution. I've seen some people say they were unsatisfied with the book because it didn't resolve the overarching plot. The thing is, the overarching plot isn't supposed to be resolved in the first book. Or in the second book. Or in the third book. (Unless it's a duology or trilogy respectively.) It should be solved in the last book. Don't try to compensate for them by ending the overarching plot before the right time. You're never going to make everyone happy. It's a harsh truth of the entertainment business. But that's okay. Most people understand that the cliffhangers will eventually be concluded and be grateful.
Other Thoughts
Initially, I was thrown off by the kiddy cover, but in the end, I bought it. And I'm so glad I did.
- The characters charmed me. Freja was super sweet and relatable. Tobby was genius and hilarious. Vivi grew on me, slowly but surely. Clem didn't get much screen time but she's one good mum. And Finn. We can't forget about him.
- I loved the transformation that Freja, and even Tobby, went through. Freja's shyness in the first book and her boldness in the third book. I didn't catch Tobby's arc until my second read through mostly because of the year-long wait between each book. Details get a little rusty. Seeing Tobby's awkward attempts to soothe Freja become fatherly comforts that totally should be words of wisdom made me grin like Finn.
- It wasn't melodramatic, even when the character got super emotional. At one point, there was a scene where the gang were all crying but it didn't feel overbearing or forced. It even made sense.
- SPOILERS
> The ending made me sob. Figuratively. Clem's death was written exceptionally well and I liked how it alluded to the very first scene in the series, the Arctic landscape. It was a nice link to the start of the series and emphasised the change Freja went through. Tobby and Vivi's wedding with the cows made me laugh even through the after-feelings of Clem's death. <
END SPOILER. - Each book featured at least one dessert. I got cravings. I wanted raspberry gelato in the first book, French pastries in the second and chocolate in the third. I still want them. I recommend you get these foods and eat them while you're reading. Trust me. (Edit: Nannestad even wrote a blog post about the food.
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