Why is the second book in a fantasy trilogy so hard to get right? The first book introduces the
world, the protagonist, the goal – it grabs the reader’s imagination and holds it with everything bright and new. In the third book the reader gets the answers to the perplexing story questions, and sees the goal achieved and the protagonist becoming wiser and stronger after facing the various tests and challenges along the way (or possibly not, if it’s one of the current crop of dark and gritty fantasies by writers like Joe Abercrombie and Jesse Bullington.) The middle book? It can be a bit of a let-down, not much more than a bridge between A and C.
If book 2 is weak, readers may drop out partway through. Lower sales for book 3 may cause the publisher to lose confidence in the writer. The result: future submissions won’t be considered. We stand and fall on the sales figures for our last novel. In the current climate, with the major publishing houses so cautious about what projects they take on, that scenario is extremely possible.
How do you keep book 2 as interesting and readable as books 1 and 3? I’m asking myself that question right now as I embark on a set of revisions suggested by my editors for Raven Flight, the second book in my Shadowfell series. This is the book I started writing during NaNoWriMo in 2011, and had to submit rather underdone. It’s no surprise that the editors asked for substantial changes. I can see for myself that it’s middle-bookish. So, what to do about making the in-between book into a great story in its own right?
Firstly, examine STRUCTURE. With a trilogy we need an over-arching structure that spans the entire series, a grand epic adventure, war or quest that takes from page 1 of book 1 to page 500 of book 3 to work itself out. Whether the action of the trilogy takes six months, a year, ten years or several lifetimes, the overall structure stands or falls on the strength of that ‘big’ story, in which the reader needs to be so invested that he or she is happy to read the 1500 words as fast as we can write them. In fantasy, that over-arching structure is pretty likely to be the good old ‘hero’s journey’ model on which so many classic fantasies are built. Think Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.
As well as the over-arching, three book framework, each book needs its own satisfying internal structure. A trilogy shouldn’t read as a huge story cut arbitrarily into three parts, but as three complete stories, each with a beginning, middle and end. Ideally, each will be strong enough to stand alone, but the ‘big’ story should also be compelling enough to make the reader desperate to read the next instalment.
Raven Flight needs an inciting incident that sends our protagonist off on the next stage of her personal quest, a series of challenges that builds in intensity, pitfalls and setbacks along the way, and a satisfying resolution. Some of those elements are already present in the ms; some need more work. The fact that my trilogy has one first person narrator throughout makes it more challenging to create a complete and satisfying story arc for the middle book. The protagonist’s personal journey is intimately tied up with the epic, three book story. Balancing the need to leave that epic story in a perilous place of non-resolution while also providing a great ending for book 2 will be quite a challenge.
Secondly, look at CHARACTERS. You might put someone different in the centre of your middle book, and allow that character her own journey. Shift the focus a little. Your major protagonist is still working to save the kingdom, defeat the dark lord or find the magic elixir, but now the loyal sidekick/sister/friend gets her turn in the spotlight; she is the hero of her own story while continuing to play a significant part in that of the protagonist. Complete her story in book 2; make the reader care about her. Or turn the story on its head; why can’t the antagonist of book 1 be the protagonist of book 2?
Thirdly, increase TENSION. Book 1 contains the impetus that drives the characters on their quest or journey and introduces the major obstacles that stand in their way. In book 3 we get the final, near-impossible challenge as the story works its way to a grand climax. Book 2 needs its own elements that create tension (and surprise.) Add urgency to the story by making plot elements time-dependent: the protagonist must find the key before midsummer OR … The prisoner must get free before the moon rises OR … Put your characters in jeopardy. Set them impossible tasks. Raise the bar higher for them with each success.
PS: my novel Shadowfell, first in the series mentioned above, has just been published in Australia by Pan Macmillan. Knopf’s US edition comes out in September. Look for a WU feature on the book closer to that date.
Are you wrestling with a middle book? Any insights to share?
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About Juliet Marillier
Juliet Marillier has written twenty-two novels for adults and young adults as well as a collection of short fiction. Her works of historical fantasy have been published around the world and have won numerous awards. Juliet is currently working on a historical fantasy trilogy, Warrior Bards, of which the second book, A Dance with Fate, was published in September 2020. She has a collection of short stories, Mother Thorn, coming out in late 2020 from Serenity Press, with illustrations by Kathleen Jennings. When not writing, Juliet looks after Reggie, her elderly rescue dog.
Great thoughts! I’m sure most of us can commiserate with the process of making the second novel in a series more interesting! Thanks for the helpful tips.
~L.M.
I’m in the middle of my first book in the trilogy I have planned, but I’ve found that I have to treat them like completely separate books in my mind. I do have to keep the overall structure looming as I plot, but if they don’t stand alone in their own right then the whole series will fold under.
So true, Juliet, that so many book twos tend to be disappointing. I recently finished a highly anticipated book two from an acclaimed debut epic fantasy author, and it very well may have put me off of reading the final book. Much meandering with little tension and zero resolution.
For me, one of the problems with the book was the romantic subplot. The hero and his beloved *almost* get together… again. But, alas, it’s not to be. And the reasons for their being apart are really starting to crumble under the weight of it. It’s starting to feel contrived.
I worked very hard to avoid this–particularly with my romantic plot line. I built its (temporary) resolution into the culmination of book two.The notes from my beta readers and my critique editor give me hope the technique may have succeeded. Thanks for the great tips for a difficult problem.
Let’s hope I find a satisfactory shape for my characters’ romance, too – the love story in my trilogy is not truly resolved until the end of book 3. I’m regretting not having had the time to run this particular ms past some beta readers, painful though that might have been!
My second book tells the story of my protagonist’s sister. The sister she never knew she had. While not a brand new storyline, it will be a new story. I raised the stakes in the 2nd book. In book one, my MC had a deadline to meet or a terrible tragedy would happen to her sister, yet she did not know of her sister or the tragedy. In book 2, the unknown sister knows of the tragedy but her story involves her sister, her father, a ship full of people, and some unwanted guests.
Deadlines are a great way to create and maintain tension. Sounds an interesting story, Talynn.
Thank you! I am currently muddling through the first draft of the second book of my trilogy and was totally stressed about it. Your article came at the absolute perfect time. Thank you for your help!
Laura Lee
Great tips. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that the “murky middle” applies to series just as well as to books. I think your focal points — structure, characters, and tension — work to sharpen any story at any point, you know? But I’ve passed this along to a friend who is working on a trilogy, and I’ll keep this in mind for my future projects as well. Thanks!
Agreed. These tips can help combat the sagging middles of standalone novels too. Thanks, Juliet!
‘I think your focal points — structure, characters, and tension — work to sharpen any story at any point, you know?’
Most definitely! My going back to focus on those while doing this revision is part of my attempt to make Book 2 a novel in its own right, which has to be up to the mark in all those areas (and also fit well into the over-arching story, of course.)
Good reviews for book 1 put the pressure on with regard to book 2!
Great insights, Juliet. I never really thought about it, but you are correct. I’ve never done a series, but I found my second book (currently in draft form) easier to write than the first because I didn’t repeat those “rookie mistakes” I made in writing my initial book. With a series, it is best to plan out the entire structure as well as the structure within the structure in advance, as you point out. Thanks for another thoughtful post, Juliet.
Thanks, CG. I am a planner, of course – for a pantser I guess there is just a lot more work at a later stage. My planning was less good for this particular book because of the NaNoWriMo start. Won’t be doing that again.
So happy to read this great post, Juliet! Perfect timing for me, too. I just finished 3×5 card plotting for Books 2 & 3 of a YA trilogy that recently sold to Harpcollins (Fall 2013). I’ve never written a trilogy before so I’m running a bit scared. ;-) Book 1 is a project I’ve been researching and writing and revising off and on for about 8 years – so thrilled it sold – but it’s also feeling a bit *strange* to begin Chapter 1 back inside my MC’s head and drafting. I’ve truly just begun (only a page!), but my goal is to try to draft both Books 2 & 3 straight through while my head is in the world by the end of October. You point out so many good things to keep in mind.
Off to check my plot again and make sure I have all those elements firmly there. :-)
How exciting! Best of luck with getting all that together by the end of October. Your comment reminds me that I am not the only writer under pressure …
Thanks for sharing Juliet. I’m still revising book one, but good to look ahead.
Maybe I’ll just circumvent the whole problem and just write books one and three…
Thanks for your insightful article, Juliet, and for helping to answer that plaguing question of why it is that so many book twos don’t quite succeed.
I haven’t written a trilogy before, but as a reader, I recognize that an internal structure is VITAL for each book to work.
Overarching plots that span a series are great. Really! You need them! But if book 1 doesn’t have some sort of closure itself, it’s really annoying to wait for book 2. And if all book 2 does is pass time until the epic conclusion, my frustration and boredom are going to compound.
Writers really need to sit down and think carefully about that middle book when plotting out a trilogy (or middle books if the series is longer). Each book should have its own plot line, character arc, major obstacle/villain, etc., in order to keep the reader interesting. There needs to be something for the character(s) to overcome, whether it’s putting together the pieces of a mystery, defeating the main bad guy’s sidekick, or seeming to overcome the ultimate villain only to find there is something bigger waiting in the wings. It can’t just be filler because you don’t want to give away the good stuff until book 3.
I’ve found that the “second of three” books that I remember most are those where, near the end, everything changes.
Partway through the second book, the reader is typically ‘comfortable’ with the world as an extended series, instead of just a lone novel. They understand the characters, how the world works, and have a pretty good prediction of what’s going to happen.
In order to avoid complacency, this is when the author has to throw a wrench into things. Sometimes this is a twist, sometimes this is a ‘bad ending’, sometimes it’s an important character dying. But whatever it is, it needs to have impact, so that the reader is desperate to get back to that feeling of complacency by the end of book 3.
One example that everyone has heard of is Empire Strikes Back. When the main villain up to this point turns out to be the father of the protagonist, everything changes. The journey is now much more personal for Luke, and he sees what can happen to people if he loses to the dark side: not just death, but ultimate corruption.
Another example I can’t really go into because I don’t want to spoil things: book 2 of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. It was my favorite book in the series, because when I stopped reading it I couldn’t stop saying, “Holy @#%#.”
I had to smile at the line, “A trilogy shouldn’t read as a huge story cut arbitrarily into three parts….”
I recently divided a long first story of a historical / fantasy series into a trilogy, following the advice of a friend who suggested that the book was too long to interest an agent or publisher. There also were other reasons for breaking up this, my first novel. I had decided, for instance, that if the series was ever to be finished, the individual installments should be 90-120k words each – easier to write and read, especially since I have to write my books around a busy university teaching and research schedule. I try to finish at least one manuscript a year.
My first problem, of course, was the arbitrariness of the division – or, rather, how to eliminate this so that three interconnected stories would emerge. Here is how I went about it:
First, I went ahead and made a fairly arbitrary division on the basis of length, tempered by what seemed – at first glance – to be logical divisions. I considered tempo, setting, action, and plot, and what would be the least jarring for my readers. My second step was to cut down each part of the trilogy as much as possible, removing a total of about 37k words. Finally, I had to consider the second book, which did indeed look like a mere bridge between the first and third books. Moreover, while the first and third books take place over a span of months, the action in the second book is compressed into about three weeks.
The solution to my problem turned out to be deceptively simple. Instead of beginning the third book with a dreadful, plot-changing scene, I decided to move this scene to the end of the second book, which changed the energy and satisfaction quotient of the “middle book” considerably. Everything was left hanging in the air, and the romance introduced in the second novel also was turned upside down. As a bonus, this simple transfer of a scene from one manuscript to another also helped balance the length of the three books, giving me more scope to work in the narrative changes that are needed when you break a long book into a trilogy.
Can you break a long book into three? Yes, I think you can, but it helps if your plot is amenable to such surgery, and it takes a great deal of intensive effort.
One of the things I love the most about Star Wars is that the middle book is the BEST of all three. How often does that even happen?