The key to writing a series is accepting the inherent contradiction between Flexibility and Structure. A writer must make critical decisions. Is each novel episodic, a stand-alone experience, or a narrative train that ends at some point? The late Sue Grafton, who had planned her series according to the letters of the alphabet, passed away before she could complete Z is for Zero. Each novel has rising and falling action, but does the series? What about time? Do the characters age? What about long-term character development?
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Breaking Bad, from cancer
diagnosis to finale, spans exactly two years. Compression here lends itself to
a different type of drama. While the medium of television is different from a
novel, writing a series is still writing. Vince Gilligan had chosen to
serialize each episode with a hyperawareness of the timeline. The comfort level
of plugging into a character’s life has evaporated. The viewer must know
exactly where Walter White and Jesse are on their journey. There is a premium
placed on creating a worthwhile character, otherwise it’s Jack Bauer from the
series 24 having yet another awful
day. Therein lies the paradox.
When you write a
series, conflict and pacing come to you, in an almost mystical way. Character
and Conflict are the engine to the narrative train. You get to know the
characters, how they tick, hear what they’ll say, and see how they’ll react.
Structure builds itself through pacing, the knowing when to shine the spotlight
of Conflict and when to pull back on the information you give to the reader.
Control the reader’s attention (and interest) by distributing short-term and
long-term conflicts. Anticipate and subvert their expectations. Short-term
conflicts relate to the plot of the current novel, the long-term arc is a
function of a character’s strengths or flaws over the course of several books.
Do they become a better person or, like Walter White, a monster? The overall
character arc must have an organic logic of its own for the installment, and in
the greater arc of the series. The gamble in writing a series is not knowing
whether the reader wants comfort food, or change. Or whether they will like
what you decide for an ending.
The artistry of
the writing in the Breaking Bad
series that I admire is that you can watch and revisit the series from a
different character’s point of view each time, and understand their motivations
and behavior. I hated Skyler White, Walter’s wife, the first time around, but I
empathized with her on my second viewing of the series. Like Walt, she wants to
protect her family. In the online interviews I’ve read with Gilligan, he said
that he remained flexible to logistics and open to input from his team. You as
the writer should be flexible and receptive to where your characters take you.
Most writers, however, don’t have the luxury of input from other creatives, so
a good structural editor is a boon.
Gabriel Valjan is the author of The Roma Series from Winter Goose Publishing. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts, where he enjoys the local restaurants, and his two cats, Squeak and Squawk, keep him honest to the story on the screen.
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