Potter Plotter Catching Fire

I have finished reading Catching Fire By Suzanne Collins, the second book in the Hunger Games Series. It was good!I really hated how unfair things turned out for Katiness and Peeta, so in hopes of a HAPPY ending I will read the final book in October when I can get it for FREE from the kindle lending library!


Now this brings me to a topic that is really a pet peeve of mine. I love series books. I truly do when they are done WELL. By "done well" I mean that each book contributes to OVERALL theme of the plot. A good example is the Harry Potter books. Yes they had heaps of stuff going on in each book, enough to make a tangled mess in the heads of the readers, but the overall goal of the stories was the Harry- Voldermort show down. Good vs. Evil. Even in the very first book you get a taste of it even though Harry was so young and Voldermort basicly a vapor. This theme continues in each book building a bit each time. The danger builds and the lure of even MORE secrets keeps the pages turning. Until the final book when the writer's job is to pull all those plot strings she or he has woven through many books to make one beautiful tapestry.

Now that is HOW it is supposed to go. And most writers somehow miss out on that idea and may have a bit of ADD because most book series are scattered and the only linking factor in between the books are the characters themselves. To me sometimes that is not enough. I need not only to be hooked on the charcters but also the story itself.

The first book in a series should be an introduction book. Kinda like a first date. Full of inforamtion and plot and of course lots and lots of narritive to set up the rest of the series. It's not an easy task to make sure the book is like a guide to the characters. After reading the first Harry Potter book you knew Harry's strong points and his weaknesses. It's is true he may have developed a few more of each as the story progressed; In this way the PLOT was supported for the series end game.

I could go on for days on this topic. Seriously. I hate it when the author drops the ball so to speak. To avoid this plan out your books in advance! Don't fly the seat of your pants. What is the overall ending you are wanting to achieve? What must happen in the story support this? Write all of this down and look at it often!! Sometimes I know we can get caught up by writing alone. It's just you and the keyboard. Your in chin deep before you realise you missed an important point that needed to be included. That means re-writes. Ugh. Or if your not so picky a crapy book. Nobody wants a crapy book.

I used index cards for my plot line. In chapter I this needs to happen.... Chapter II they discover...

It keeps ME FOCUSED and helps me remember my overall goals. It's like a map. Follow your map of index cards and you can't get lost!